Accessibility Services Helps Museums Like This One Become Disability-Inclusive

Matthew Castelluccio was interested in an outing with his wife Elaine and twin 12-year-old sons Dominic and RJ for Veterans Day when he settled on the New York Hall of Science. While there, the family came upon Human Plus, an exhibit on disability and adaptive technology.

"My kids grew up knowing me as a wheelchair user," says Matt, Vice President of Community Support for United Spinal. "They are familiar with adaptations and my mobility. But it was mind-blowing to come across a technology- and disability-related exhibit."

The exhibit features a white cane navigation pathway demonstrating low-vision mobility. It also offers an auditory experience featuring the pulse of music to demonstrate how people experience music without fully hearing it. There are also prosthetic exhibits, and visitors can design their own wheelchairs.

"Most kids don't get to hop in a wheelchair and experience how to navigate in it. It breaks down the stigmas," Matt said about Human Plus's wheelchair exhibit. "I was also impressed that it wasn't just a tiny, temporary exhibit like some places do to observe a disability awareness month. This full-scale, immersive exhibit presents disability and adaptations as part of the bigger picture of science."

The Human Plus-United Spinal Connection

Matt sent photos of the disability-inclusive exhibit to fellow advocates at United Spinal, which is how he discovered that his coworker Kleo King helped make it happen.

"The Hall of Science is very conscientious about accessibility," says Kleo. She is the Senior Director of Accessibility Operations for United Spinal's Accessibility Services and a NYSCI board member. "When the Hall of Science gets funding for capital upgrades, they never say, 'We are doing this because we have to comply.' Instead, it's a very upfront, 'we want to upgrade for better access and inclusion.'"

One of Accessibility Services' larger projects is at the same MTA subway stop as the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park grounds that host the NYSCI facility.

Citi Field, home of the New York Mets and other events that take advantage of its 40,000-plus seats, opened in 2009 to replace Shea Stadium. Accessibility Services consulted with famed stadium architectural firm Populous to gather information from a full range of people with disabilities, design seating in all price ranges and vantage points in the $850,000 ballpark, and more.

More recently, Accessibility Services teamed up with the Buffalo Bills to build a stadium that exceeds the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Today, Accessibility Services is working on the first-ever soccer-specific stadium in New York City. The 25,000-seat stadium for the New York City FC Major League Soccer team is projected to open in 2027. Designed by HOK, it is next to Citi Field and part of a mixed-use project featuring thousands of affordable housing units.

When the ADA was enacted in 1990, most public facilities first considered access for wheelchair users. However, Accessibility Services has always addressed compliance and innovative solutions to create a more inclusive environment for all people with disabilities.

"One of the things that has emerged is quiet rooms or spaces, where a person on the spectrum can avoid the roar of the crowd," says Kleo. Braille signage and wayfinding are a must, as well as infrared hearing loops at ticket counters, concessions, and more.

The Big, Accessible Hall of Science

At the disability-inclusive Human Plus exhibit, visitors can virtually sit-ski the Alps.

Dana Schloss, Associate Vice President of Exhibits at NYSCI, notes that the building was built six decades ago for the World's Fair, long before the ADA was enacted. However, NYSCI leadership constantly develops programming and facilities that include people with a full range of disabilities.

"We have redone a lot of the museum in the last six years. We're thinking of inclusivity in all exhibits and all parts of the building," she said. "We think about Universal Design all the time. We know that ADA compliance is the beginning. NYSCI aims to offer an inclusive design for all."

Matt said thousands of museums could benefit from duplicating NYSCI's immersive exhibit, which explores technology while approaching disability as an everyday part of life. He especially praised a sit-ski experience that replicated the Paralympic sport. In a time trial run, kids could virtually slalom between the flags and down the giant slope.

"All these kids were asking my boys about mobility because they saw me using a wheelchair," said Matt. "My boys get it, but I think about hundreds of people that day who left the exhibit with an appreciation and understanding of life with a disability."

And not just that day. "Think about every day the museum is open. How many people who might not have direct experience with disability - how they walk away with such a positive experience."

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