Pennsylvania Museums

PA Museums will partner with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and experts in accessibility to design and implement a methodology and toolkit to help museums improve accessibility for traditionally marginalized communities. The project will go beyond ADA accommodation to tackle the unconscious bias that creates and reinforces systemic barriers to access at all levels of museum operations. Following an initial research and development phase, 20 museums will pilot and evaluate the program. The project team will analyze data from the testing phase and refine the program for sharing with the museum community. The accessibility toolkit will be disseminated through webinars, articles, social media, and presentations at professional conferences. The tools will allow museums to establish their own accessibility baselines, meet national standards for museum access, and foster systemic cultural change in their organizations.