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The CU Boulder Graduate Program in Museum & Field Studies (MFS) at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History is known for providing students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in all areas of work within the museum field. One student used her graduate assistantship experience to ensure and support positive experiences for neurodiverse visitors and families at the CU Museum.

Driven by a personal mission, Summer King, who graduated from the program in 2023, utilized her own experiences with accessibility issues in public spaces to influence her work.

“As an adult with ADHD and a mother of a neurodivergent son, I’ve learned to navigate museums in a way that is fulfilling for me. However, when I accompany my son in some public spaces, I often feel that we are out of place,” shared King, who was determined to position the CU Museum at the forefront of best practices in terms of accessibility.

King went to work researching securing funding and finding tools to increase accessibility for neurodiverse visitors and created “A Social Story,” a PDF resource that proactively highlights the sensory environment in each gallery, allowing individuals, parents or teachers to prepare how to navigate and evaluate spaces prior to visitation. This resource can be accessed in the “visit” page of the CU Museum website.

Additionally, King curated two sensory backpacks for guests to use during their visit, adding to the CU Museum’s accessibility services. The backpacks are called Sensory Processing & Autism Resource Kits (S.P.A.R.K.) and contain tools that have been shown to increase focus, reduce stress, calm, and promote a better experience for guests with sensory sensitivities or neurodivergence, such as autism or ADHD.

For example, the backpacks include noise-reducing headphones for visitors with heightened feelings of anxiety or nervousness. Also included in the backpack are a weighted lap pad, which is a therapeutic tool that calms down the nervous system to help with focus and dysregulation; fidget tools, which have been shown to help decrease anxiety and increase focus; and a self-regulating wiggle seat that can be brought from room to room during a tour or field trip.

To further customize the project, King branded the backpacks with CU colors and included a natural history-themed seek-and-find game tube for those seeking a solitary task on which to focus.

These backpack resources are currently available to check out for free at the front desk and are available to use on a first-come, first-served basis while visiting the CU Museum.

“As a neurodivergent parent and museum researcher, it’s important to me that my son and other kids like him have the same opportunity as others to develop a love for museums to propel their own lifelong learning in these spaces,” said King. Her legacy goes a long way in making that happen.