On Thursday, January 17, Four Rivers presented a workshop entitled, “Improving the Visitor Experience for Visitors with Physical Disabilities,” which took place at the Annapolis Maritime Museum in Eastport. The speakers at the workshop included Marian Vessels, former Director of the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center; Caleb Berkemeier, Training Specialist at the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center; and Meredith Peruzzi, Manager and Curator at the Gallaudet University Museum.
The speakers shared a number of resources that will be useful to the staff at local heritage museums and attractions. They include:
Website of the Mid-Atlantic ADA center: http://www.adainfo.org/
Toolkit for Serving Visitors for Disabilities: http://www.adainfo.org/training/serving-customers-disabilities
Accessible Museum Exhibition Resources
How to Interact Appropriately with a Blind Person
PDF of Marian Vessels’s presentation: Mobility Devices in Cultural Settings
Recommended disability customer service video from the DC Disability office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Pictured below: View of the workshop in progress at the Annapolis Maritime Museum (top), and (bottom) — workshop speakers (L to R): Caitlin Swaim (AMM Curator); Marian Vessels (seated); Carol Benson (Four Rivers Executive Director); Meredith Peruzzi; Caleb Berkemeier; Lisa Robbins (workshop organizer, Four Rivers Education Committee). Photos courtesy Jody Christian.