Tag Archives: Summer Reading Program

Artifacts for All: Texas Natural History Museums

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“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.

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Laurie E. Jasinski

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Thursday, July 16, at 7:00 p.m. (Central) with author and research editor, Laurie E. Jasinski.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Ms. Jasinski’s career and book, DINOSAUR HIGHWAY: A HISTORY OF DINOSAUR VALLEY STATE PARK (DBC 18560). Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Laurie E. Jasinski questions about her book. Please submit your questions by July 9. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions.

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.

Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with her book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Her book is also available to be mailed in a large print format. And, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

DINOSAUR HIGHWAY: A HISTORY OF DINOSAUR VALLEY STATE PARK by Laurie E. Jasinski (DBC 18560)

NLS Annotation: “Where the Paluxy River now winds through the North Texas Hill Country, the great lizards of prehistory once roamed, leaving their impressive footprints deep in the limy sludge of what would become the earth’s Cretaceous layer. It wouldn’t be until a summer day in 1909, however, when young George Adams went splashing along the creek bed, that chance and shifting sediments would reveal these stony traces of an ancient past. Young Adams’s first discovery of dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River Valley, near the small community of Glen Rose, Texas, came more than one hundred million years after the reign of the dinosaurs. Indeed, nearly a century after their first discovery, the “stony oddities” of Somervell County continue to draw Saturday-afternoon tourists, renowned scholars, and dinosaur enthusiasts from across the nation and around the globe. In her careful, and colorful, history of Dinosaur Valley State Park, Jasinski deftly interweaves millennia of geological time with local legend, old photographs, and quirky anecdotes of the people who have called the valley home. Beginning with the valley’s “first visitors”—the dinosaurs—Jasinski traces the area’s history through to the decades of the twentieth century, when new track sites continued to be discovered, and visitors and locals continued to leave their own material imprint upon the changing landscape. The book reaches its culmination in the account of the hard-won battle fought by Somervell residents and officials during the latter decades of the century to secure Dinosaur Valley’s preservation as a state park.”—publisher marketing. 2008.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, July 16!

Read With Jenna Jr. Summer Reading Recommendations

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Jenna Bush Hager’s “Read with Jenna Jr.” is an annual tradition that was started in 2023. It continues every summer, with Jenna releasing a kid-friendly reading list covering various age groups, including picture books, middle grade reads, and young adult books.

We’ve included all the books in the NLS collection starting from the first year of Jenna’s Jr. Summer Reading Recommendations. We’re hoping you can find something that will fill your summer with reading fun!

For more information check out the Read with Jenna Jr. website.

Picture Books

MAXINE GETS A JOB by Alexandra Garyn (DB 121796)
GAGA MISTAKE DAY by Emma Straub (DB 121991)
PERLA, THE MIGHTY DOG by Isabel Allende (DB 121789, en español DB 122285)
VERY GOOD HATS by Emma Straub (DB 115352)
BIG by Vashti Harrison (DB 123132)
GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein (DBC 06031, BR 19020, BT 0000207, LB 0001793)
HOW TO WRITE A POEM by Kwame Alexander (DB 114707)

Middle Grade Books

ALONE by Megan Freeman (DB 104269, LB 14467)
SUMMER AT SQUEE by Andrea Wang (DB 120743)
MAGNOLIA WU UNFOLDS IT ALL by Chanel Miller (DB 121279)
BRIDGE TO BAT CITY by Ernest Cline (DB 123053)
MID-AIR by Alicia Williams (DB 127046)
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET by Judy Blume (DB 37405, BR 07171, BRG 03180, BT 0000220, LB 03468, LB 06053)
ONE AND ONLY RUBY by Katherine Applegate (DB 115989, BT 0000113)
WAYS TO GROW LOVE by Renée Watson (DB 104005, BT 13463)
HUMAN KABOOM by Adam Rubin (DB 114731)
STARFISH by Lisa Fipps (DB 102975, BR 24096, en español DB 121063, LB 0000472)
SCHOOL TRIP by Jerry Craft (DB 115050)

Young Adult Books

RULES FOR RULE BREAKING by Talia Tucker (DB 120104)
SUMMER NIGHTS AND METEORITES by Hannah Reynolds (DB 121707)
POWERLESS by Lauren Roberts (DB 117629, en español DB 119901)
CHECK & MATE by Ali Hazelwood (DB 117989, LB 0001455)
ONE TRUE LOVES by Elise Bryant (DB 107017)
BLOOD AT THE ROOT by LaDarrion Williams (DB 121038)
NIGERIA JONES by Ibi Aanu Zoboi (DB 116574)
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED by Angeline Boulley (DB 114761, BR 25116)
SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY by Jenny Han (DB 116483, LB 0000284)

Marfield Prize for Outstanding Writing about the Arts

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Since 2006, the Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is announced annually by the Arts Club of Washington. The award recognizes the author of an outstanding nonfiction book about the visual, literary, media, or performing arts. This $10,000 prize is designed to recognize excellence in arts writing for a broad audience. The winner was announced in mid-April, and the prize was awarded on June 4.  

For more information check out the Marfield Prize website.

Titles in the NLS collection are:

Winner

CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER by Natalie Dykstra (DBC 11759)

Nominees

3 SHADES OF BLUE: MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, BILL EVANS, AND THE LOST EMPIRE OF COOL by James Kaplan (DB 119773)
COCKTAILS WITH GEORGE AND MARTHA: MOVIES, MARRIAGE, AND THE MAKING OF WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Philip Gefter (DB 121300)
GET THE PICTURE: A MIND-BENDING JOURNEY AMONG THE INSPIRED ARTISTS AND OBSESSIVE ART FIENDS WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO SEE by Bianca Bosker (DB 119366)
DRAWN TESTIMONY: MY FOUR DECADES AS A COURTROOM SKETCH ARTIST by Jane Rosenberg (DB 126498)

Past Award Recipients in the TBP collection:

2023: ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD: THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AND ME by Patrick Bringley (DB 113368, en español DB 126480)
2022: MR. B: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S 20TH CENTURY by Jennifer Homans (DB 111898)
2018: LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean (DB 92869, BRC 01820, LB 11432)
2016: YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFE: THE STORY OF RAINER MARIA RILKE AND AUGUSTE RODIN by Rachel Corbett (DB 86724)
2015: RAZZLE DAZZLE: THE BATTLE FOR BROADWAY by Michael Riedel (DB 88018)
2013: INSIDETHE DREAM PALACE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NEW YORK’S LEGENDARY CHELSEA HOTEL by Sherill Tippins (DBC 27079)
2012: LADY IN GOLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF GUSTAV KLIMT’S MASTERPIECE, PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER by Anne-Marie O’Connor (DB 75392)
2008: WHITE HEAT: THE FRIENDSHIP OF EMILY DICKINSON AND THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON by Brenda Wineapple (DB 69087)
2006: STEEL DRIVIN’ MAN: JOHN HENRY, THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND by Scott Reynolds Nelson (DB 67453)

TBP Book Club Title Announced for July 2025!

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Join the Talking Book Program for a book club discussion on Thursday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. (Central). We’ll be discussing the book ART THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, CRIME, AND A DANGEROUS OBSESSION by Michael Finkel (DB 115367, LB 14518).

Our book club discussions are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.

Or if you prefer, reply to this email or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge, mail you a large print copy of the book, or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

ART THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, CRIME, AND A DANGEROUS OBSESSION by Michael Finkel (DB 115367, LB 14518)

NLS Annotation: For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. Strong language. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2023.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, July 25!

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Georgina Kleege

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Tuesday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m. (Central) with author and educator, Georgina Kleege. Note that this time is a bit earlier than our usual author talks.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Georgina’s career and her latest book, MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WHAT BLINDNESS BRINGS TO ART. Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Georgina Kleege questions about her book. Please submit your questions by July 8. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here

Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with her book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WHAT BLINDNESS BRINGS TO ART (DB 93533, BR 22550) by Georgina Kleege.

NLS Annotation: Author of Sight Unseen (DB 48328, BR 12149) critically examines the ways institutions make art accessible to blind people and the connection of visual arts with language. Uses personal experiences, scientific studies, and historical literary analysis to support her arguments. 2018.

We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, July 15!

Art for All: Texas Art Museums

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

Austin

Blanton Museum of Art

The Blanton is for everyone.

The Blanton recognizes the wide-ranging abilities and needs of visitors and offers services to ensure the Museum is accessible to all.

For questions, specific accommodation needs, and to share feedback, contact the Blanton’s Visitor Services team at accessibility@blantonmuseum.org or 512-471-5482 during Museum hours.

Visitors with Limited Mobility

  • Elevators are available on all floors of the Michener Gallery Building and the Smith Building. Austin by Ellsworth Kelly is wheelchair accessible.
  • Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are available for use on the ground floor of the Michener Gallery Building and both the ground floor and second floor of the Smith Building.
  • Entrances have touch-free door access. Wave your hand to activate the sensors and automatically open the doors. Sensors are located on the left side of the exterior and after both sets of interior doors.
  • Wheelchairs are available for visitors to use on a first-come, first-served basis. Ask for assistance at check-in.

Visitors Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision

  • Large-print texts of labels in some galleries are available upon request. Please email if you would like these prior to your visit.
  • Audio guides are available in English and Spanish for Austin by Ellsworth Kelly.

Visitors Hard of Hearing or Deaf

  • Assistive listening devices
  • Open Captioning
  • Sign language interpretation

MexiciArte Museum

All current programs and education lessons are readily available online in a digital format. Digital programs are accessible through mobile and additional internet connected devices. Because of their internet-based accessibility, any screen reader or accessibility browser extension already in use by a visually impaired person would be able to aid in bridging that gap. Additional accommodations are available upon request, including bilingual tours and associates. If you have any questions, please email info@mexic-artemuseum.org or call 512-480-9373.

Dallas

Dallas Museum of Art

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities to discover the power and beauty of art. To request an accessibility accommodation such as ASL interpretation, gallery chairs, or wheelchairs, please email access@dma.org or call general information at 214-922-1200.

 Specific programs and accessibility accommodations include:

Meadows Museum

Any person needing a disability-related accommodation in order to participate in a Museum program should contact the Education Coordinator (museumaccess@smu.edu) at least one week prior to the program to arrange for the accommodation. For more information email Meadows Museum’s general information at meadowsmuseuminfo@smu.edu or call 214-768-2516.

  • Mobility
  • ASL Interpretation
  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Access for Visitors with Vision Impairments
  • Service Animals

Nasher Sculpture Center

The Nasher Sculpture Center strives to be a sensory-friendly environment where all visitors can learn and experience modern and contemporary sculpture. Specific accommodations are available for visitors with the following:

Visitors with Autism

  • Sensory Kits
  • Quiet Room
  • Sensory-Friendly Resources

Visitors with Vision and/or Hearing Impairments

  • Verbal Descriptions of Artworks

Visitors with Limited Mobility

  • The Nasher Sculpture Center offers a curbless ADA compliant main entrance with buttons located on the left side of the entryway to open the front doors when you arrive.
  • The entire Museum is wheelchair accessible.
  • Service animals are welcome at the Nasher.
  • Wheelchairs, seating in the galleries, and portable chairs are available for use upon request at the admissions desk. The garden is also designed to be accessible for visitors with limited mobility. Ramps are available on both sides of the sculpture garden so that guests may see every work on display.

Contact

If you are planning a visit and would like to reserve any of the Nasher’s assistive resources in advance or if you have other questions, please reach out to their Visitor Experiences staff at 214-242-5100 or their Manager of Visitor Experiences via email at ileerosson@nashersculpturecenter.org. 

El Paso

El Paso Museum of Art

The Museum is fully accessible and welcomes all service animals. For additional accommodations or requests, please contact the Museum at 915-212-0300.

Fort Worth

Amon Carter Museum of American Art

The following accommodations are available for visitors to the Carter:

Assistive Listening Devices

Assistive listening devices are available upon request for use during all public events or tours.

American Sign Language

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is automatically provided for many events or may be requested up to 48 hours before for all other events. Email for additional information. This is provided in partnership with intern students and faculty support from the Tarrant County College (TCC) Sign Language Program.

Color-blind Glasses

Check out a pair of EnChroma color-blind glasses at the information desk. Sizes are available for both children and adults.

Visual Description and Touch Tours

These free tours can be arranged to cover the collection as a whole or concentrate on specific objects or themes. Fill out the form or email them at least two weeks ahead of your visit.

Large Print Labels

Booklets with large print labels are located in every gallery.

Audio Stops

Hear more about artworks from artists, Museum staff, community members, and others by dialing in or streaming on your smart device.

Tactile Tool Kits

Tactile tool kits feature 3D-printed copies and raised-line drawings of select artworks, visual descriptions in braille and large print, and additional sensory objects.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

The staff of the Modern is committed to making their building and programs available to all visitors. If a specific need is not addressed below, please call 817-738-9215 in advance of your visit.

  • Parking spaces for disabled visitors are reserved in the Museum parking lot by the main entrance.
  • Museum entrances are wheelchair accessible. The Museum offers wheelchairs free of charge to visitors at coat check on a first-come, first-served basis. Portable stools are also available upon request.
  • All public areas, including galleries, auditorium, restrooms, elevators, education studio, Café Modern, and the Modern Shop, are accessible to people who use mobility aids and wheelchairs.
  • The Museum welcomes service animals.
  • Assistive-listening devices are available upon request for auditorium programs on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a new option for assistive listening, the Listen Everywhere phone app that plays the film’s audio through your Bluetooth hearing aids or any phone headphones.

Houston

Blaffer Museum of Art

All galleries and facilities are accessible by elevator and by ramp. Gallery stools are available upon request. Certified service animals are welcome. Gallery wall texts are available in English and Spanish. If you have questions about accessibility resources and programs, email infoblaffer@uh.edu or call 713-743-9521.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is a place for all people. The Museum is committed to making the art collections, buildings, programs, and services accessible to all guests.

Welcoming Guests Who Have Limited Mobility

Guests with limited mobility are encouraged to use the porte cochere at the Beck Building (5601 Main Street) or the valet entrance at the Kinder Building (5500 Main Street). Most public areas of the Museum, including the galleries, parking garages, theaters, restaurants, shops, and outdoor spaces, are wheelchair accessible.

The MFAH has wheelchairs that you may check out free of charge with a valid photo ID. The wheelchairs are available at any Museum entrance on a first-come, first-served basis. When you arrive, ask for a wheelchair, and the security staff can assist you. The MFAH also welcomes your personal walkers and wheelchairs. Motorized wheelchairs are permitted.

The Museum is accessible to visitors with limited mobility via escalators, elevators, and ramps. Wheelchair and family-accessible restrooms and elevators are located throughout the main campus.

Welcoming Guests Who Are Hard of Hearing or Deaf

Assistive-listening devices are available during lectures, films, and other programs. To request an assistive-listening device, check with any staff member.

Welcoming Guests with Dementia and Alzheimer’s

On the second Monday of the month, the Museum offers “Looking Together,” a program designed for individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or dementia to discover and discuss works of art together with their family members or care partners. Admission is free, but space is limited, so be sure to preregister. Contact sniemeyer@mfah.org  to sign up and for more information.

Welcoming Guests Who Have Low Vision or Are Blind

On the second Saturday of the month, the Museum offers “Art Beyond Sight,” a gallery program for guests who are blind or have low vision. Trained gallery educators use verbal descriptions and hands-on materials to engage participants with the MFAH art collections and exhibitions. Admission is free, but space is limited, so be sure to preregister. Contact sniemeyer@mfah.org  to sign up and for more information.

Welcoming Neurodiversity and Guests Who Are on the Autism Spectrum

Preparing for your Museum visit a few days in advance can help guests who are neurodiverse and those who accompany them to have the most enjoyable experience possible.

Contact Us

The Museum welcomes comments and suggestions about how to improve programs and services for visitors with disabilities. If you have questions about accessibility resources and programs, email accessibility@mfah.org or call 713-639-7300.

San Antonio

McNay Art Museum

Guests with special needs may call 210-824-5368 or email info@mcnayart.org  to make arrangements. Wheelchairs are available, and most galleries are wheelchair accessible. Some areas require additional assistance.

San Antonio Museum of Art

The San Antonio Museum of Art is committed to serving visitors of all ages and abilities.

Lightweight folding stools that also serve as canes are available by the stairway in the Great Hall, and wheelchairs may be requested from a security guard at the front desk at the time of your visit. Wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Service animals are welcome in the Museum.

For more information on the accessibility of the building, call 210-978-8100.

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Lisa Fittipaldi

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Thursday, June 19 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) with world recognized artist and Texas author, Lisa Fittipaldi.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean will talk with her about her career as an artist as well as her book, BRUSH WITH DARKNESS: LEARNING TO PAINT AFTER LOSING MY SIGHT (DB 60724, BRG 02047). A Q&A chat will follow.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Lisa Fittipaldi questions about her book. Please submit your questions by June 12. We will select questions based on the responses, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here

Or if you prefer, reply to this email or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with her book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

BRUSH WITH DARKNESS: LEARNING TO PAINT AFTER LOSING MY SIGHT (DB 60724, BRG 02047) by Lisa Fittipaldi.

NLS Annotation: Author discusses her life after being diagnosed with vasculitis in her forties. Describes her feelings of despair during her first two years of blindness. Relates that a gift from her husband–a child’s watercolor set–became the catalyst for her new career as a renowned painter, and for her new outlook. 2004.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, June 19!

Summer Reading Program Presents: Texas Cuisine

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Featured Collection: What’s Cooking, Texas? Texas Cuisine through the Ages

By Aly Head, Reference Librarian

Food is the great unifier, a staple of every major occasion from celebration of life to mourning of loss. It reflects culture, socioeconomic status, and history. As such, by looking at the food of a people, researchers may learn more about them. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is therefore celebrating Texas food in all its forms with a new featured book display.

  • [Chili Festival]. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 1991/077-703-1. TSLAC.

TSLAC has a variety of artifacts related to dining throughout Texas history. Many of these artifacts were included as part of our exhibit, “Setting the Texas Table.” Want another taste? Check out our blog post, “Setting the Texas Table: ‘Dishing’ on the Artifacts Collection at the Texas State Archives,” which explores some of the dishes intertwined with Texas history at the Governor’s Mansion in detail.

  • [Chili Festival]. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 1991/077-703-10. TSLAC.

Whether you believe beans belong in chili or not—a debate for the ages—TSLAC has materials relevant for a variety of diets, historic and modern. Food can be viewed through the lens of genealogy to build a timeline into the past, affected by availability of certain foods and spices through trade, exploration, climate, and times of economic hardship or prosperity.

  • Military Plaza-Chili-Con-Carne, or Mexican Supper. Places Collection, 1/103-628. TSLAC.

While food isn’t allowed in the Reference Reading Room, the collections at TSLAC hold a wide variety of materials highlighting Texas cuisine, both historical and modern. Some of these materials are currently on display in the Reference Reading Room through July. Other items, listed below, are available remotely via E-Books. More information about our location and hours can be found on our “Visit Us” webpage. For more information about access to the titles on display, please contact TSLAC reference services at ref@tsl.texas.gov or call 512-463-5455.

Summer Reading Program Presents: Mountain Climbing

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Adventure is the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Program. This week we’re featuring books about mountaineering.

Adult Nonfiction

ALONE AT THE TOP: CLIMBING DENALI IN THE DEAD OF WINTER by Lonnie Dupre (DBC 16029)
CALLING: A LIFE ROCKED BY MOUNTAINS by Barry Blanchard (DBC 02626)
DEAD LUCKY: LIFE AFTER DEATH ON MOUNT EVEREST by Lincoln Hall (DBG 08121)
EIGER DREAMS: VENTURES AMONG MEN AND MOUNTAINS by Jon Krakauer (DB 55906)
FOREVER ON THE MOUNTAIN: THE TRUTH BEHIND ONE OF MOUNTAINEERING’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND MYSTERIOUS DISASTERS by James M. Tabor (DB 67223)
GHOSTS OF K2: THE EPIC SAGA OF THE FIRST ASCENT by Mick Conefrey (DB 82748)
HIGH CRIMES: THE FATE OF EVEREST IN AN AGE OF GREED by Michael Kodas (DB 67804)
KILLING DRAGONS: THE CONQUEST OF THE ALPS by Fergus Fleming (DB 53702)
LEFT FOR DEAD: MY JOURNEY HOME FROM EVEREST by Beck Weathers (DB 92591)
MOUNTAIN: MY TIME ON EVEREST by Ed Viesturs (DB 78694)
NANDA DEVI: THE TRAGIC EXPEDITION by John Roskelley (BR 07444)
TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD: A BLIND MAN’S JOURNEY TO CLIMB FARTHER THAN THE EYE CAN SEE by Erik Weihenmayer (DB 51505, BR 14512)
TWO SHADOWS: THE INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF ONE MAN’S TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY by Charlie Winger (DBC 03296)

Adult Fiction

ABOMINABLE by Dan Simmons (DB 77604)
ABOVE ALL THINGS by Tanis Rideout (DB 76263)
EDGE OF JUSTICE by Clinton McKinzie (DBC 02926)
MOUNTAIN OF THE DEAD by Jeremy Bates (DB 111004)
PATHS OF GLORY by Jeffrey Archer (DB 68935)
SEVENTEEN by Hideo Yokoyama (DB 92989)
STORMS OF DENALI by Nicholas O’Connell (DBC 00221)
THIS COURAGEOUS JOURNEY by Misty M. Beller (DB 109156)
THIS WRETCHED VALLEY by Jenny Kiefer (DB 118975) IN PROCESS
VIEW MOST GLORIOUS by Regina Scott (DB 106556)
WAY OF THE BRAVE by Susan May Warren (DB 98178)

Young Adult Fiction

EVEN THE DARKEST STARS by Heather Fawcett (DB 89269)

Juvenile Nonfiction

BODIES FROM THE ICE: MELTING GLACIERS AND THE RECOVERY OF THE PAST by James M. Deem Grades 5-8
EVEREST: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF EDMUND HILLARY AND TENZING NORGAY by Alexandra Stewart (DB 106544) IN PROCESS
Grades 3-6
RESCUES! by Sandra Markle (DB 62920)
Grades 4-7
TO THE TOP! CLIMBING THE WORLD’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN by S. A. Kramer (DB 40184, BR 10059)
TOP OF THE WORLD: CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST by Steve Jenkins (BR 13015)
Grades 2-4

Juvenile Fiction

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH by Eric Walters (BRG 03241)
Grades 6-12
CLIMB OR DIE by Edward Myers (DB 47312, BR 10476)
Grades 6-9
PEAK by Roland Smith (DB 64746, BR 17994)
Grades 6-9