A museum true to its heart

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This Tuesday, April 11, I’ll be one of a group of people with different disabilities doing an accessibility review and walk-through of the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois.

It’s going to be a long day: the review and walk-through starts with an orientation at 9 a.m. followed by an explanation of the Accessibility Advisory Committee. We’ll walk through the exhibition spaces together and then share our feedback of the experience and answer questions like “What is accessible to you?” “What needs improvement?”

In addition to walking through the exhibitions, we’ll hear part of a program with a holocaust Survivor and try an interactive hologram where we can ask questions of a hologram of a Survivor.

It’s an honor to be asked to participate in accessibility reviews like these, especially when the organization understands that making museums and cultural centers accessible to people with disabilities help everyone. And the staff at the Illinois Holocaust Museum does understand that. From the invite they sent: “We strongly believe that having a group of people discuss accessibility with us is one of the most valuable ways to understand how to improve the museum experience to accommodate all visitors.”

The invite acknowledges that the review “makes for a long day and difficult subject matter” and assures us we’ll take breaks as necessary, including coffee breaks, fresh air outside, or anything else we may need.

It’s sure to be an interesting day.

Hats off to our neighbor Ruth: without her offer to drive Luna and me to the Illinois Holocaust Museum Tuesday morning, I wouldn’t be able to participate in this important project.