Presenters: Rebecca Bradley, Manager of Access Programs, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Cedith Copenhaver, Docent Program Manager, Oakland Museum of California Keni Sturgeon, Director, Science and Education, Pacific Science Center Moderator: Lisa Eriksen, Principal, Lisa Eriksen Consulting This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While many museums are working to improve access for people with physical and cognitive disabilities, most are still struggling to offer opportunities for learning, social engagement, and creativity or worse doing nothing. How do we provide access for all on limited budgets? Presenters discuss how technology, collaborative strategies, and programs can be used and developed to serve visitors with physical-access challenges, memory loss, and other developmental and intellectual disabilities.

1. Achieving Access With
High Tech And High Touch
Western Museums Association Annual Meeting
San Jose, CA
October 26, 2015

3. Disability, access, and language

4. American with Disabilities Act
1977, San Francisco's Section 504 occupiers
Photographed by Anthony Tusler
From Patient No More: People with Disabilities
Securing Civil Rights Exhibition

5. Presenters
• Cedith Copenhaver, Docent
Program Manager, Oakland
Museum of California
• Keni Sturgeon, Director, Science
and Education, Pacific Science
Center

6. Presenters
• Rebecca Bradley, Manager of
Access Programs, Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco
• Lisa Eriksen, Adjunct Faculty, John
F. Kennedy Museum Studies &
Principal, Lisa Eriksen Consulting

7. Museums = caretakers of cultural artifacts
AND
agents of
social change
& access for
all people

8. Persons with disabilities:
Current numbers and growth in the future
In
millions
Year
Projected growth in number of people with Alzheimer’s – alz.org

9. Prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S.
• 5.3 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease
today – potentially almost 14 million by 2050
• 200,000 individuals under age 65 have younger-onset
Alzheimer’s
• Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are
women
• Older African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely
than older whites to have Alzheimer's disease and other
dementias

10. Costs of dementia by 2050
• Five-fold increase in
government spending
under Medicare and
Medicaid
• Nearly five-fold
increase in out-of
pocket spending

11. Caregivers

12. What does this mean to museums?
• Unidentified visitors with
disabilities
• Multi-generational
audiences
• Need for specific
accommodations and
programs for a growing
audience!

13. Technology
at all levels –
low, medium
& high

14. Collaboration, partnerships and the
human touch
PHOTO: Terry Carroll.
Free of charge. Admission is by appointment and space is limited.
You are invited to join us at the Oakland Museum of California
for a California Encounter!
This interactive tour provides a chance to join others in exploring art
in a friendly and welcoming environment—no art experience required!
Specially trained Museum Docents will share their love of art and artists
in the Museum’s Gallery of California Art.
For more information or to make a reservation, please contact
Judy Filipoff at jfilippoff@alz.org or by calling 800-272-3900.
You will receive a confirmation and detailed information about coming
to the Museum before the tour.

15. High Touch, Low Tech
Cedith Copenhaver Docent Program Manager Oakland Museum of California

16. Can we dream?
I’m busy, how can I do this?
— Little staff
time
— No budget

17. Inspiration

18. Denver Museum of Art
“Art and About”

19. NY MOMA
“Meet Me At MOMA”

21. Docents
— Passionate, dedicated volunteers
— Suggestions for training

22. Reach out to potential partners
— Alzheimer’s Association of Northern
California and Northern Nevada

23. Assess needs of community
— What are other organizations in the area
offering?
— Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: Artful
Discoveries

24. Setting up a pilot program
— Be realistic
— Recruit interested volunteers
— Reach out to partners in the community
— Don’t reinvent the wheel

25. Formulate goals
— Create and deepen the Museum experiences for individuals in
this community
— Continue to support and promote a museum accessible by all
individuals
— Activate the entire Museum as a space for learning,
socializing, reflection and community exchange.
— Create a comfortable space where individuals are able to
share their ideas and experiences and have their voices heard
and validated
— Create a stimulating environment where individuals and their
caregivers can interact with each other.
— Improve the individual’s quality of life.

26. Training
— Learn from the experts
— What is Alzheimer's?
— Signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease
— The experience of an early stage
individual
— Benefits of an arts program
— Dealing with common behaviors

27. Planning
— Explore the space: where can the group fit
comfortably? How many participants? When is the
gallery quiet? What seating will we use?

28. Fun Part!
— Pick a name
— Make a flyer

29. Practice
— Practice, practice, practice!
— Follow tours at the FAMSF
— Frank evaluations from outside
collaborators and each other

30. Pilot Tour
— Aim small–one pilot tour
— 5 docents trained
— Two docents offer one tour,
alternating stops
— Free for participants

31. Logistics
— Nametags made for
all participants and
docents
— A handout with the
four artworks for
participants to take
home

32. The tour

33. Conclusions from pilot tour
— Participants
enjoyed tour
— Demonstrated
audience need
— Docents valued
experience
— All involved
wanted to
continue

34. The next year
— Every other month to begin with
— Practice session before every tour
— Debrief after every tour
— Docent take turns offering tours
— Mix and match docent pairings
— Experiment with start time
— After 6 months increased to
monthly

35. Scheduled through the
Alzheimer’s Assn
WWW.ALZ.ORG | 800.272.3900
Museum Tours
For people with early stage dementia
WHAT: These museum tours are free for individuals with early stage
dementia, to visit local museums with their care partners to discover
exhibitions together through interactive guided tours.
WHO: Individuals with early stage dementia and their care partners.
WHEN: Varied by museums, tours may be held monthly or every other
month throughout the year. Please contact the museum or Lan Trinh for
upcoming tour dates and times.
WHERE: Currently, tours are held at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco:
de Young & Legion of Honor, Oakland Museum of California and
Cantor Arts Center.
Artful Discoveries
de Young Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.
San Francisco, CA 94118
Contact: Rebecca Bradley
(415) 750-7645
Artful Discoveries
Legion of Honor Museum
100 34th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94121
Contact: Rebecca Bradley
(415) 750-7645
California Encounters
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak St.
Oakland, CA 94607
Contact: Lan Trinh
(800) 272-3900
Conversations at the Cantor
Cantor Arts Center
328 Lomita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Contact: Lan Trinh
(800) 272-3900

36. Next steps
— Plan to be sustainable
— Evaluation
— Continued training
— Increase number of docents
— Funding
— Expansion?

38. Exploration for All:
Autism Early Open
Pacific Science Center
200 Second Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109

39. Exploration for All; an
Institution-wide Initiative.
Exploration for All = Institution-wide Initiative. Goals:
As more museums are becoming aware of special needs families, non-profits
have begun initiatives to serve these visitors.
Pacific Science Center’s Exploration for All = institution-wide initiative to
beginning to understand how best to serve these families.
PSC’s 1st step was learning what our visitors want in these sensory-sensitive
events.
PSC’s 1st activity in this initiative has been our Autism Early Open events.

40. What PSC’s Done in the Past: Survey
In Summer 2008 – PSC developed and administered a survey and held a
series of focus groups w/special needs visitors and community members.
Results from survey:
Type of program % Very
Interested
Open Pacific Science Center 1 hour early for families with autism 88%
Social group sessions at Pacific Science Center 64%
Bring science to autism events 61%
Parent/Child workshop 56%
Half-day summer camp 54%
Child workshop 52%
Full-day summer camp 49%
Story time with science activity 44%
Lecture on autism topic 44%
Camp In 34%

41. What PSC’s Done in the Past:
Focus Groups
Ideas for future programming from Focus Group Participants:
Ø Open 1 hour early
Ø Social group sessions
Ø Camps
Ø Science to autism events
Ø Camp In
Ø Workshops
Ø Story time
Ø Lecture

42. Autism Early Open:
Current Initiative
In 2011, PSC began offering an Annual Autism Early Open Event.
In 2014, thanks to a grant from Safeco Insurance, PSC offers monthly Autism
Early Open events.
Began Fall 2014 with Staff Training.
Starting January 2015 - On the second Saturday of each month,
families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder explore PSC
Free; morning visit from 8-10 a.m. – before we open to the public. Experience
exhibits:

43. From This….
To This…

44. Exploration For All:
Other Summer 2014- Summer 2015
Ø Printed version of Sensory
Guide
Ø Purchased new closed
captioning devices.
Ø Staff training
Ø Worked with 22 community
partners
Ø New Wheels Accessible Map

45. Biggest Challenges
1) Developing accessibility and inclusion training for staff that
was applicable in a science museum setting
2) Developing relationships within the Autism Spectrum Disorder
community.

46. Key Insights/Unexpected Results
1) Partnerships are vital.
2) Surprised to learn how many others were in need of sensory
sensitive programming.
3) Did not expect such a positive
reaction.

47. Autism Early Open:
Training Assessment General
Staff
Accessibility
&
Inclusion
Training
Fall
2014.
Facilitated
by
Partners
for
Youth
with
DisabiliCes.
First:
Inclusion
101
–
1
hour
intro
(190
staff
aHended)
Second:
Strategies
to
Support
Youth
with
DisabiliCes
and
Encourage
PosiCve
Behavior
–
3
hours,
intermediate
level
(36
aHended)

48. Autism Early Open:
Training Assessment – All Staff Session
Inclusion 101 – 1 hour intro: Overall:
99% agreed or strongly agreed the training “impacted their
understanding of inclusion”
98% agreed or strongly agreed the training “helped them understand
inclusive communication”
99% agreed or strongly agreed the training “helped them to better
understand the characteristics of various disabilities”

49. Autism Early Open:
Training Assessment – In-depth Session
Strategies to Support Youth with Disabilities and Encourage Positive Behavior –
3 hours, intermediate level. Overall:
99% agreed or strongly agreed the training “helped them to better understand
the characteristics of various disabilities”
100% agreed or strongly agreed the training “enhanced their understanding of
the support those on the spectrum needed”
99% agreed or strongly agreed the training “helped them see ways to
encourage positive behavior”

50. Staff
Thoughts:
“I had one boy who worked with me in
Tinker Tank the whole 2 hours, he was so
impressive”
“A mother and her son some to every Early Open. She loves the calming effect
that the real-time weather data set on the Sphere has on her son”
“I am so grateful to find out a wonderful way my new workplace is safe and
inclusive for all families”
“What have I gained? Learning to be completely inclusive even with my words”
“The most rewarding aspect is how receptive and open the visitors are”

51. Autism Early Open:
Evaluation
Started
January
2015.
Between
January
and
April
(4
events),
had
600
parCcipants.
Visitors
provided
feedback
through:
a) an
in-­‐person
interview
while
on-­‐site;
or
b) an
online
quesConnaire
aYer
the
event
Only
20
parCcipated
in
the
assessment
between
Jan-­‐April

52. Autism Early Open:
Evaluation
16%
26%
8%
7%
42%
Toddler
(4
and
younger)
Elementary
(5-­‐10
years)
Middle
School
(11-­‐13
years)
High
School
(14-­‐17
years)
Adults
(18
and
older)*
The
majority
of
groups
who
aHended
an
ExploraCon
for
All
event
were
comprised
of
adults
and
elementary
age
children.

53. Autism Early Open:
Evaluation
Repeat
Visitors
30%
1st
Time
Visitors
70%
Over
two-­‐thirds
of
ExploraCon
for
All
families
and
groups
were
aHending
the
event
for
the
first
Cme.

54. Autism Early Open:
Evaluation
20%
29%
43%
63%
64%
71%
88%
80%
71%
57%
37%
36%
29%
12%
NW
Special
ArCst
Meet
&Greet
(April
only)
Quiet
Space
(Laser
Dome)
Wellbody
Academy
Exhibit
Live
Snake
Show
Just
for
Tots
area
Planetarium
Open
House
Dinosaur
Exhibit
Figure
4.
Visitors
experiences
with
all
areas
of
the
museums
they
visited
Good
Didn't
Go
There
Not
Good

55. Autism Early Open:
Evaluation
100%
100%
Woud
recommend
this
event
Would
aHend
again
Figure
5.
AYer
experiencing
Explora(on
for
All,
100%
of
visitors...
(n=16)
Very
Unlikely
to
Unlikely
Neutral
Likely
to
Very
Likely

56. Autism Early Open: Evaluation
A few comments from families:
“An enriching family experience that would be overwhelming during normal
hours of operation.”
“Had a chance to connect with other families of the similar needs kids.”
“Our kids (16, 13, 11) have vary levels of sensory processing and autism as
well as hearing impaired. The PACE was perfect, low crowds, less noise, and
other parents don’t look weird at us.”
“Able to bring the whole family and learn together.”
“She has a speech delay, this interaction is good for her and she has room to
explore things she’s interested in.”
“We don’t have to wait in line, my son is a little impatient”
“Helps monetarily, and low stress because with too many people and noise my
son gets upset, so we have a great experience in this environment.”

57. Exploration for All/
Autism Early Open:
Next Steps
Received another year of funding from Safeco Insurance to:
1) Continue funding for monthly Early Open program
a) increased marketing budget
b) program same as last year
2) Institutionalize accessibility and inclusion training through a “train-
the-trainer” program
3) Conduct focus group/research to evaluate (and expand?) our
accessibility and inclusion efforts
4) Involve our MSEEC staff in training and developing/prototyping a
weekend EE program specifically for those on the Autism Spectrum

58. Accessible Technology at the Fine
Arts Museums of San Francisco

59. Accessible Technology:
From Low-Tech to High-Tech
• Low-tech used at the Museums
– Video Remote Interpretation
– Assistive communication apps for iPads/
tablets
• High-tech used at the Museums
– Beam Tours

60. But what if my museum doesn’t
have the resources?
Staffing? Money? Support?
All museums are different.

61. Video Remote Interpreting

62. Alternatives
• A notepad and pencil!
• Always keep them handy!
This may seem like a silly
suggestion and really
“low-tech,” but if Deaf
visitors need assistance,
having a notepad and
pencil handy will ease
communication needs.

63. Proloquo2Go

64. Alternatives
• Create social stories for visitors to
download in advance
• If you are planning a program,
create visual schedules with
images and text
• If you are planning a program or
gallery tour, use supplemental
images with text.
• Example: If you are looking at
various types of media in the
galleries, use an image of a paint
brush with the words “paint
brush” or an image of a sculpture
with the words “sculpture”

65. Example of a social
narrative from the
Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York City

66. Beam Tours

67. High-tech initiatives = long development
and implementation process

68. Pilot Program
• June 2014 – November 2014
• 12 pilot testers
– One tester followed from June – November to
track progress (novice to expert)
• Diverse pilot testers representative of the
disability community
– Compatibility with various augmentative and
alternative communication devices, assistive
technology

69. • Cross departmental involvement
– Curatorial
– Conservation
– Facilities
– Volunteers
• How could this technology benefit all
departments?

71. • To test the feasibility of the self‐guided
remote access program using BeamPro
technology for the museum’s purpose of
increasing accessibility for the disability
community.
• To assess the benefits of the remote
access program using BeamPro technology
for users with physical and mobility
disabilities.
Purpose of Evaluation

72. USER BENEFITS –
• The BeamPro gives users independence
and control as they explore the de Young’s
art collection, creating a visit experience
that is the next best thing to being there in
person. Driving the BeamPro is liberating
in a way that feels exhilarating to these
users.
Examples of Evaluation Findings

73. MUSEUM BENEFITS –
• Museum staff members envision the
remote visitor program as enhancing the
museum’s capacity to meet its mission of
accessibility.

75. Alternatives
• Be creative!
• Use tools and resources
that you already have.
• Use an iPad or a laptop
to evaluate user interest.
• Utilize community
partners.

76. Lia Phagan, 14,
enjoyed a visit to the
Harn Museum of Art
virtually on a laptop.
The Harn Museum
utilized a tablet in the
galleries to share the
experience with her.

77. What are you currently doing in
your museums?