The Akron Zoo is adding new accessibility features to help make every guest’s visit to the zoo enjoyable. They include a guest comfort station to help people who might feel a little overwhelmed by everything going on at the zoo and a new program that uses touch to teach visitors about different animals.
The Akron Zoo’s director of marketing, Elena Bell, said a zoo can be the perfect recipe for sensory overload. She said they’ve created a comfort station located in the zoo’s Komodo Kingdom Education Center. The room was built with walls that filter out noise and lights that guests can dim. The room also includes furniture and sensory toys that are designed to soothe and entertain visitors.
Bell said the room is for nursing mothers or anyone who needs a break from the zoo’s bustling and busy atmosphere, neurodivergent or not.
“We can be very crowded, and we can be very noisy,” Bell said. “We have noisy animals and those are things that are out of our control. So, what we instead offer are different resources that guests can use to help overcome those overwhelming stimulus that we have here at the zoo.”
Sensory overload happens when someone’s brain is unable to process their environment, according to Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist at University Hospitals who works with children experiencing sensory overload.
Wiznitzer said sensory overload can cause anxiety, elevated heart rate and even a change in skin color. He said that anybody can experience it.
“It’s not only people with autism; it’s also people with anxiety disorders that can really get overwhelmed by things that are going on around them,” Wiznitzer said. “So there’s lots of reasons that you can end up with this picture. The idea is once you have the picture, you have to do something about it, irrespective of the reason why it’s there.”
The zoo also announced another initiative which will debut this summer. The Sensory Explorers program features five different stations that are centered on learning through touch and feel.
Each station includes a sensory box highlighting a different animal at the Akron Zoo. It includes items visitors can touch, such as skulls, pelts and eggs. Zoo staff will walk visitors through various demonstrations that include the sensory boxes.
“We hope to accomplish with the sensory explorer boxes is offering an experience for guests who maybe don’t get to enjoy the full experience of the zoo” Bell said. “That may be visually, not able to always see the animals. So then, they’re still able to experience the learning and getting up close to these animals through touch.”
The Akron Zoo has been certified as sensory accessible since 2017 when it became the first zoo in Ohio and the second in the country to get the designation from KultureCity, a nonprofit organization that aims to make the world more accessible to people who have autism.
According to Bell, the zoo trains its employees and volunteers to understand what sensory processing looks like and what staff members can do to help.
Bell said the zoo also offers guests sensory bags, including headphones and fidget toys, that are designed to dampen the zoo’s busy environment. And there are quiet zones throughout the park.
