Mobility

TravelAbility Insider recently interviewed Lynn Walsh, accessibility and inclusion manager at John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  Her tips for staff training, best practices, and cross-pollinating ideas can be used for nearly any attraction or destination. Here they are:

1. Be honest with visitors. If you’re “working on it”—whether it’s a ramp or a website change—let people know. Otherwise, the disability community is likely to assume that accessibility is not on your radar or that you are not interested in hearing their ideas. And don’t forget to let people know the resources and accommodations you do have—that accessible restroom may not be a big deal to you, but it’s huge to those who need it!
2. Train your staff—all of your staff. From those who interact with guests on a daily basis, to those who are writing the grants or cleaning the facility—accessibility and inclusion are a part of everyone’s job. Training will provide the knowledge and confidence needed for all staff to work within their sphere of influence to create an accessible and inclusive environment for all.
3. See your destination or attraction through someone else’s eyes. Find local User/Experts who are willing to share their feedback and ideas. Lynn has engaged numerous people from the disability community on various projects at the aquarium to learn from their expertise. Work with those who you’re creating the experience for – don’t assume to know what people with disabilities want or need.
4. No need to reinvent the wheel. Engage with peers – share ideas and resources. Is there an Access Network in your location? Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower Chicago’s cultural spaces to become more accessible to visitors with disabilities. CCAC provides free professional development opportunities and other resources to cultural administrators in the Chicagoland area. Look for an Access Network in your area.
5. Look for opportunities everywhere. Recently one of Shedd’s marine mammal trainers was inspired by Cruz, a totally blind sea lion that calls Shedd home. Cruz responds to audible and tactile cues, which made the trainer wonder if Cruz would respond to voices heard through an iPad. To our delight, Cruz does respond to the iPad cues – which means we can now take the sea lion experience on the road to those who can’t physically come to the aquarium due to illness or disability. And yes, that’s a photo of Cruz in the water at Shedd Aquarium.

OUR TAKE: Major museums and cultural institutions are substantially ahead of many other non-theme park attractions on accessibility as they have been conditioned to be responsive to the needs of their local disability communities and by doing so they are already prepared for tourists who are disabled.   Many, such as Shedd Aquarium, have “accessibility” or”diversity” directors, staff positions destined for future growth. Even tourism suppliers without a staff person dedicated to accessibility can deploy any or all of these practical and low-cost ideas on an ad hoc basis to level up their appeal to the disability their own disability community and tourists as well.