Danville Science Center resuming sensory friendly nights after being stopped due the pandemic

DANVILLE, Va. – The Danville Science Center is going to resume its sensory-friendly evenings after being forced to suspend them because of the epidemic. The event will take place on Thursday from 5:00 to 7:30 o’clock in the evening.

The sensory-friendly events are designed to be welcoming and approachable for anyone who may have some kind of disability.

“It gives teachers, families, and parents the opportunity to visit the Science Center with some special accommodations to the lighting and sounds,” said Adam Goebel, executive director for the Science Center. “They have an opportunity to have an activity from our corporate partner, The Hughes Center for Exceptional Children. They always do a wonderful job bringing developmentally appropriate sensory activities for all of our participants.”

This event will include a petting zoo with a variety of animals, including llamas, hedgehogs, and more. In addition, the brightness of the lights will be reduced, and there will be less noise in the galleries.

“Some of the special accommodations include some of our louder exhibits being turned down and the lighting being turned off. When we have our theater experience, we show a sensory-friendly movie in our theater at each one of our sensory-friendly nights. The sounds are down a little bit, so it’s not as an immersive of an experience and the lights are up a little bit,” explained Goebel.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event for free. However, registration is essential due to the fact that there will be a limit on the number of attendees.

“We want to make sure that finances and transportation are not limiting factors for people that want to visit the museum. We are constantly looking for ways to partner with community organizations and other agencies to be able to be more accessible and also more inclusive to everyone,” added Goebel.

The next night that is sensory-friendly will be on December 8th.

“Oftentimes, these evening events give families that don’t necessarily have that flexibility during the day to come and the opportunity to also witness and experience everything that we have to offer throughout the year as well,” said Goebel.