As July marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we join disabled advocates and their allies across the country in celebrating and honoring Disability Pride. At the Intrepid Museum, we recognize the ADA as an essential baseline. Through programming, exhibition design and the visitor experience, we strive to foster multisensory and inclusive experiences for all visitors, partners, staff and volunteers. These efforts would not be possible without the disabled self-advocates, family members, staff and partners who have consulted and provided feedback on our work throughout.
Much of the Intrepid Museum’s accessibility work started with specialized programs, such as sensory-friendly programs for children, teens and adults with autism and sensory sensitivities, or verbal description and touch tours for visitors who blind or have low vision. These essential programs continue, but we also now strive to make all of our programming more inclusive. Our goal is to provide all visitors with choices as to how they engage with the Museum.
Being centered on a former Navy aircraft carrier, as well as a Cold War submarine, presents creative challenges for accessibility. We address these challenges through a mix of physical adaptations, multisensory exhibition design, programming and digital resources. For the submarine Growler, the accessible accompanying exhibition on the pier includes several interactive and immersive elements, such as one on sonar and one on the sounds of different areas of the submarine when it was in service. These exhibits had extensive testing with disabled user/experts, veterans and members of the public before final installation. In addition, detailed audio description, photographs and other content is available to anyone on the free Bloomberg Connects app. Much of the space is also viewable on the Museum’s Google Arts & Culture page. Education programs for different audiences also open the submarine to more people. We apply this multi-layered approach throughout the Museum.
Much of these efforts are exemplified in Making History Accessible: Toolkit for Multisensory Interpretation, available on the Museum’s Accessibility Tools page as both a PDF and Word document. This multi-year project brought together history sites, disability advocates and NYU Ability Project to create a resource for historic houses and sites of all sizes and budgets.
Upcoming Access and Inclusion Programs
The Intrepid Museum offers access programs for specific audiences and inclusive public programs all year. Here are the ones coming up during Disability Pride Month. All are free with advance registration.
Sensory Friendly Evening: Picture it! Photography Workshop on Intrepid
For Teens (14+) and adults with autism or sensory sensitivities and their families and friends
Wednesday, July 10, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Learn more and register for Sensory Friendly Evening here.
Early Morning Opening: Speed & Style: Supersonic Flight
For children (ages 3-18) with autism or sensory sensitivities and their families
Saturday, July 20, 8:30am – 11:00am
Learn more and register for Early Morning Opening here.
Virtual Verbal Description Tour: Apollo: When We Went to the Moon
For adults and teens who are blind or have low vision
Offered on Zoom twice. Click the links to learn more and register:
Free Friday Astronomy Night
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation provided for all talks and demonstrations. The screening of First Man on the flight includes open captions. Visitors who are D/deaf or hard of hearing should register for priority access to the member line and pre-visit information.
Friday, June 28, 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Learn more and register for Free Friday Astronomy Night here.
Want to visit the museum? We would love to have you! Find out all about our offerings here and plan your trip today.
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