RICHMOND, Va. — The Autism Society of Central Virginia held its Sensory Friendly Morning event at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC), which curated its exhibits with low or no sound and dimmed lights to accommodate families of children with autism.
The event on Friday comes as the society recognized the museum with its autism-friendly community designation, which identifies it as a place that is accessible for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder or sensory concerns.
“They’ve worked so hard over the last several months to receive this recognition and honor, and it’s really neat to see a lot of our friends and family of the Autism Society celebrating with us and the kids playing and having a chance to really be themselves,” Ann Flippin, the museum's executive director, said.
The designation means guests can come to the museum and check out sensory supports to help them self-regulate during their visit.
Museum Director of Education Maggie Creech said the VMHC has been working on the designation since before the COVID pandemic.
“Our staff has gotten a lot of training, and we put a lot of supports in place to make the museum more inclusive for all of our visitors, including those with autism and other sensory-friendly concerns,” Creech said.
Friday's event had a particular focus on the traveling Bricks Exhibit, which the VMHC says is the first time the Lego-themed curation has come to the U.S.
The exhibition features more than 100 models of vehicles from different eras, constructed from nearly a million LEGO bricks.
“We’ve found that because of the popularity and hands-on nature of Lego, that’s really good for people with all different learning styles, whether that is that they learn better with things that are hands-on, the specific sensory nature of putting stuff together,” Creech said. “This is our largest turnout to one of our sensory-friendly days that we’ve ever had, and that’s due in no small part to the popularity of Lego.”
For Ida Barksdale, who has two children on the Autism Spectrum, it’s a weight off her shoulders knowing her children can experience this exhibit at the museum at their own pace.
“It adds another place to the list of places we can go without excessive research, and that is a gift,” Barksdale said. “It’s just such a big step that we’re moving up this hierarchy of needs that we’re working on for our cultural and educational access to things, and I think it’s really wonderful."
The last day of the traveling Bricks exhibit is Sunday; however, Creech says the entire museum is now more accessible than ever for families of children with autism.
“Just because Lego is going doesn’t mean that our autism sensory-friendly days are going or that our family-friendly programming is going,” Creech said. “In March, we are opening up an exhibition about the American Revolution in preparation for the upcoming 250th anniversary. We have a lot more coming down that will appeal to people of all ages and all people.”
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