Museum of Work & Culture Announces Summer SensAbilities Program
Free Admission and Therapist-Led Activities on Mondays
(WOONSOCKET, R.I.) ??? The Museum of Work & Culture will launch its slate of summer SensAbilities programs on Monday, July 9.
Made-to-Order Mondays will provide free admission for families, day programs, and aides who wish to experience the MoWC in a low sensory, less crowded environment. Sensory elements such as lighting and sound are adjusted, and trained staff and volunteers are on hand to provide supplementary tools and offer tours to visitors who have children with special needs.
In addition, the program will provide families free access to therapist-led art and music activities designed to help children and teens with sensory sensitivities engage creatively with the MoWC???s themes.
The first of these programs will be held on Monday, July 9, at 10am and 1pm with Wright???s Dairy Farm and Bakery. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with bakers from Wright???s while filling and frosting their own ??clairs.
Each session is open to up to 10 participants, and registration is required. Families can register by emailing mowc@rihs.org or calling (401) 769-9675.
These events are free and made possible with the generous support of CVS Health Charity Classic.
Made-to-Order Mondays is a part of the MoWC???s SensAbilities program. Additional offerings include SensAbilities Saturdays, when the MoWC opens an hour early on the second Saturday of each month for families seeking a less crowded environment in which to enjoy features and exhibits. The MoWC also offers tools to help parents and caretakers prepare for their visit. A social story has been created as a step-by-step illustrated guide to help those on the autism spectrum navigate exhibits. Additionally, the MoWC provides checklists and ???first-then??? boards to better control time and sequence. These materials are available in the MoWC and on the Rhode Island Historical Society???s website.
SensAbilities Saturdays was selected by Rhode Island Monthly as the ???Best of RI Editors??? Pick: Special Outreach Program??? in their August 2016 issue.
Other Made-to-Order Mondays will include:
July 23, 2 and 3pm: Explore the historical traditions of French Canadian and folk music with music therapists from Hands in Harmony. Participants will have the opportunity to play with percussion and string instruments, engage with rhythm, repetition, and composing.
August 6, 10 and 11am: ???Worry Warriors??? provides participants with a bit of background information on Guatemalan worry dolls and materials to construct their own worry warrior. After completion, comic book panel pages will be available to narrate the story of each participant???s warrior.
August 20, 2 and 3pm: ???Of the Home??? offers sensory-based art experiences using common household items so that families can learn from and easily utilize the experiences after the workshop.
About the Museum of Work & Culture
The interactive and educational Museum of Work & Culture shares the stories of the men, women, and children who came to find a better life in Rhode Island???s mill towns in the late 19th- and 20th centuries. It recently received a Rhode Island Monthly Best of Rhode Island Award for its SensAbilities Saturdays all-ability program.