If you’ve stopped by our museum this month, you may have noticed a few thoughtful additions to our gallery space. Located on our second and third floors, our new accessibility carts invite guests to enhance their visiting experience in ways that feel grounded in support.
Made possible by an Ohio Arts Council grant awarded in 2025, these carts reflect our commitment to creating a museum experience that is welcoming. As museums and cultural centers continue to expand their perspectives on how to engage with the public, we are proud to be a part of the community that is actively turning suggestions into reality.
“Accessibility is inclusion,” says Shawnee Turner, Vice President of Interpretation and Education. “At its core, accessibility allows for all to learn, experience, shape and create what we have to offer.” This philosophy guides our development of these new resources and informs how we think about Freedom Center programming and structure going forward.
Each accessibility cart offers a selection of tools designed to support a wide range of access needs and sensory preferences. Visitors may choose from items such as noise-reducing headphones, fidgets, sunglasses and fidget seats allowing them to engage with the museum in ways that best suit them. Bags are also offered for those who wish to bring several tools with them while moving through our exhibits.
These new resources join a host of offerings already activated in our museum. Over the past four to five years, the Freedom Center staff and community collaborators have worked to enhance the visitor experience through measures such as closed captioning on exhibit films, accessible business cards, Braille museum maps, mobility scooters, extended time frames for automatic door holds and audio and light adjustments on new exhibitions. “Working with our state and local community collaborators, we continue to build networks, invite feedback, and improve accessibility in and around the museum” says Freedom Center Curator Stephanie Lampkin, PhD. We’re excited to improve our accessibility goals through partnerships with Easterseals Redwood, Clovernook, ALS and See3D.
Our commitment to these implementations, as well as those to come, ensure that our guests can focus on what matters most: exploring, reflecting and connecting with invaluable narratives of U.S. history.
Interested in learning more about what accessibility features can be found at the Freedom Center? Head to our webpage.
