“Unearth a Story” is the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Program. This week focuses on information about Texas natural history museums. In fact, did you know that most natural history museums offer accessible tours? Well, they do. Look below to find information on accessible tours near you!

Austin

Austin Nature and Science Center

For questions, contact the Austin Nature and Science Center at: anscprograms@austintexas.gov or 512-974-3888 during museum hours.

Texas Science and Natural History Museum

For questions, specific accommodation needs, and to share feedback, contact the events team at tmmevents@austin.utexas.edu or 512-471-1604 during museum hours.

Canyon

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

For questions, contact the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum at 806-651-2244 during museum hours.

Dallas

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

The museum staff encourage you to contact them in advance of your visit with any questions or specific needs at 214-428-5555 or info@perotmuseum.org.

Mobility Needs

• Handicapped parking
• Companion care restroom
• Wheelchair accessible entrances and exhibits
• Free wheelchair rentals
• The Hoglund Foundation Theater is accessible to guests with disabilities

Sensory Processing Needs

The Perot Museum has partnered with KultureCity® to enhance their ability to assist and accommodate guests with sensory needs. Their goal is to provide an inclusive experience for all guests during all events. They strive to raise awareness of the needs and challenges faced by individuals with sensory processing needs by supplying their staff with annual training and by offering the resources and accommodations featured below to their guests. Please download the KultureCity® Sensory Inclusive app (Apple Store, Google Play) for more information on the resources and accommodations offered throughout the museum.

The following items and resources can be accessed throughout the Museum:

• Sensory bags: Sensory bags containing special KCVIP badges, feeling thermometer, fidget tools, and noise-canceling headphones are available at the Box Office.
• Headphone Zones: Headphone Zones are located throughout the museum
• Quiet Area: A quiet area is located on the Lower Level in a designated room.

El Paso

El Paso Museum of History

The El Paso Museum of History is committed to serving all visitors. If you or your group require special needs, contact them in advance at 915-212-0320 or email RSVP.EPMH@elpasotexas.gov.

Fort Worth

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

For questions, specific accommodation needs, and to share feedback, contact Guest Services at 817-255-9300 during Museum hours.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History welcomes all guests and is wheelchair and handicap accessible. A limited number of wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis for guests to check out at the Lantern Box Office.

Limited handicap parking is available in the Will Rogers Lot east of the Museum and in the National Cowgirl Museum lot south of the Museum.

Sensory Friendly

• The Calming Room: The Calming Room is a space for those with sensory needs to relax and re-center during their visit. We encourage guests to bring whatever they may need into the space, such as fidget toys, headphones, etc.
• Sensory Backpacks: Sensory backpacks include several items that may help guests with sensory needs enjoy their visit to the museum. Backpacks are first-come, first-served and are available for guests to check out at the ticket counter.
• Sensory Saturday: Sensory Saturday is a free opportunity for families of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities to explore the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in a safe, understanding environment. To learn more about Sensory Saturday check out the museum’s website.
• Sensory Times: During Sensory Times lighting and sound are adjusted to accommodate for our visitor’s sensory needs. Sensory Time is included with regular admission. To sign up for Sensory Times check out the museum’s website.
• Communication Board: This communication board is personalized for the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History and contains frequently used words and environment-specific words to support individuals’ communication during their visit to the museum. We invite you to visit guest services to check out a laminated copy or download and save to a digital device.

Houston

Houston Museum of Natural Science

You can contact the Accessibility Programs Manager at accessprogramming@hmns.org or call 713-639-4629.

HMNS’s goal is to make the Houston Museum of Natural Science accessible to all visitors. They are excited to offer specialized resources to support experiences for visitors with disabilities and their peers and families. Before coming to the museum, download and review their tips, guides, planners, and other resources to make your visit to HMNS more enjoyable for you and the whole family. Ask questions! If you have any questions about which exhibits are appropriate for you or your child during your visit, please ask a staff member. They’ll be happy to help you create the best museum experience for you or your family!

Accommodations Request

HMNS is committed to creating an accessible and welcoming educational environment for all visitors, including those with disabilities, to providing the resources and programs which allow visitors to experience HMNS in an accessible way, and to enhancing all visitors’ delight in natural science and related subjects. In order to accomplish this and provide you with the best experience possible, they ask that guests submit a voluntary accommodation request form at least 14 days in advance of your planned visit. Accommodations cannot always be guaranteed, but they will try their best to fulfill requests to the best of their ability. If you would prefer, you can download and mail the form located on the museum’s website. 

Sensory Sensitivities & Autism

• Sensory Backpacks: Check out our Sensory Backpacks, created and given to HMNS by Boy Scout Alex Hightower, at Museum Services! Just exchange a photo ID with the Team Member at the Museum Services desk in order to check out a backpack for your visit. When you are finished, you can drop the backpack off at the Museum Services desk and receive your photo ID back. Our Sensory Backpacks include fidgets, stuffed animals, ear defenders, and sunglasses, among other things, to ensure that you have a comfortable, sensory-friendly visit with us.
• Sensory Room: The Sensory Room is available in the Lower-Level elevator lobby of the Duncan Wing. There are beanbag chairs, fidgets, headphones, a weighted lap blanket, and a bubble tube. The Museum can feel overwhelming at times. This Sensory Room is a quiet space created to help HMNS visitors who are neurodivergent and their families or groups de-escalate and transition comfortably back into their visit or program. This room is not staffed and can be accessed on a first-come, first-serve basis. There may be times that the room is unavailable for use. Please keep all sensory items within the Sensory Room, respect the items as well as the space, and leave the room as you found it.
• Certified Autism Center: All HMNS locations have worked with The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a global leader in online training and certification programs, to be designated as a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC). Their staff has completed training and certification in best practices when assisting individuals with autism. By undergoing additional autism-specific training, the goal is for their team to be better equipped to provide better service and experiences to all. Click to learn more about Certified Autism Center™
• Sensory Friendly Events: Three times a year, HMNS offers Sensory Friendly events where exhibits and venues are modified for those with sensory sensitivities. Exhibits and venues are modified to create a sensory neutral environment. The Burke Baker Planetarium and Wortham Giant Screen Theatre also offer modified 2D shows with house lights on and the volume reduced. Sensory Backpacks, which include ear defenders, sunglasses, and fidgets, are available to check out with an ID at the Museum Services Desk, and Touch Carts with tactile specimens to explore will be available throughout the museum’s permanent exhibit halls. For more information and to pre-register for free permanent exhibit hall entry, check out the museum’s website.

Blind & Low Vision

• Touch Tours: Touch Tours for those who are blind and low vision are available on select dates. Trained educators use detailed verbal descriptions and hands-on objects from our teaching collection to provide tactile tours of the museum’s many exhibition halls within the classroom. Each tour will focus on a different exhibition hall and topic. Pre-registration is required for this program. To RSVP for Touch Tours, please email accessprogramming@hmns.org with your name, contact information, and date you would like to attend.
• ReBokeh App: HMNS partners with the ReBokeh All Access app for iOS users. ReBokeh All Access uses geofencing technology to unlock the full extent of ReBokeh’s features to guests in the museum, automatically and on your own personal iOS device, so you can seamlessly customize your visual experience while in the exhibit halls. Features include adjustments to exposure, brightness, contrast, color, zoom and stabilization of images, inversion options, and AI image descriptions. The ReBokeh App is available to download through the iOS app store and will not require log-in or payment while onsite at HMNS Hermann Park.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing

• ASL Interpretation: ASL Interpretation is available upon request with advance notice of your planned visit. Please send voluntary accommodation requests to accessprogramming@hmns.org, fax to 713-639-4681, or call 713-639-4620. Certified ASL interpreters are often not available on short notice. As a result, sufficient advance notice—ideally no less than 14 days—is requested.
• Wortham Giant Screen Theater: HMNS provides free Dolby CaptiView closed captioning systems and Listen Technologies assistive listening devices for deaf and hard-of-hearing guests. Please request one while buying your ticket; devices are first-come, first-served and usable from any seat. Film-specific accessibility depends on distributor-provided content, so check with staff during ticket purchase.
• Burke Baker Planetarium: Open captioning and/or printed transcripts are available for each show, upon request. Please send voluntary accommodation requests to accessprogramming@hmns.org, fax to 713-639-4681, or call 713-639-4620 ideally a week in advance of your planned visit.

Physical

• Wheelchairs: Child-sized, adult-sized, and bariatric wheelchairs are available for visitors to borrow at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis. You may check a wheelchair out at Museum Services just inside the main entrance to the Permanent Exhibit Halls in exchange for an ID. There is a wheelchair ramp outside the main entrance of the museum. If you are entering the museum from the parking garage, a security guard will give you access to a ramp leading to the exhibit halls where you can proceed to the box office in the Grand Hall.
• Accessible Parking: There are a few accessible parking spots available at the front of the museum on Caroline Street. We also have accessible parking spots available near the elevators on every floor in the HMNS parking garage. Plan a little extra time for parking as the Museum District can get crowded.
• Metro Lift: The Houston Museum of Natural Science is in the Metro Lift System, so you can easily schedule transportation to and from the museum for your visit or tour.
  

Tips

Best Times to Visit

For a lower volume and less crowded experience, the best time to visit is right when the museum opens during the week, especially on Mondays.

If you have questions about how busy the museum is, call 713-639-4629 to speak with a Visitor Services Department representative.

Service Animals

We welcome service animals, identified by the ADA as any breed of dog or miniature horse, that are trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability unless the animal poses a direct threat, is not housebroken or is not under control. Emotional support/comfort/therapy animals and pets are not permitted in the building.

Professional Care Assistants

For each visitor that pays admission, one Professional Care Assistant receives complimentary admission. Caregiver privileges are valid only when the caregiver is accompanied by the individual in their care.

San Antonio

Witte Museum

 For questions, contact the Witte Museum at 210-357-1900 during museum hours.