
By Arthur Jones, Nebraska Public Media News
Lincoln, NE-The Lincoln Children’s Museum is introducing sensory-friendly hours for guests who may find the museum overstimulating.
The museum will make accommodations by dimming the lights and turning down the volume on various exhibits. Workers will also provide sensory bags at the welcome desk, which include helpful tools for those with sensory sensitivities.
The Lincoln Children’s Museum is Kulture City certified, which means that the staff at the museum have been trained in how to help with sensory tool identification and use. Kulture City is an Alabama-based national nonprofit that focuses on sensory accessibility and acceptance.

Mandy Haase-Thomas, the museum’s Chief Operating Officer, said the goal with the sensory friendly hours was to make the museum accessible and welcoming for all of the community.
“Play is so, so important for cognitive, for physical, for social connection,” Haase-Thomas said. “So in offering these sensory times, we’re able to continue to welcome in and be an accessible place for children in our community.”
She added the sensory friendly hours are not just for the children.
“Sometimes it’s not even the children that may have the sensory need, it’s the adult,” she said. “Because we don’t think of things like PTSD, ADHD, anxiety, Parkinson’s, TBI or traumatic brain injuries as having some sensitivity need. And so if a parent has that, we want to make sure that they can still come to the museum and make memories with their kiddos.”
The sensory-friendly hours are 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday and Thursday at the Lincoln Children’s Museum.