The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is hosting quiet hours on Wednesday during its Zoo Access for All Celebration.
Officials said to assist those with sensory sensitivities, excess noises will be silenced or turned down. Noises required for safety, such as train crossing signals and vehicle in reverse sounds, will still be heard at the usual volume during quiet hours.
“Elephants will still trumpet, but you won’t hear announcements or music over the PA system,” Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard said in a statement.
The event is all day Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is free with Zoo admission.
The Zoo opens daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Cincinnati Zoo members enjoy early entry at 9 a.m.
“The Zoo is for everyone. Our goal is to be a place where both animals and people can thrive, no matter who they are, no matter what challenges – physical, economic, or social – they face,” Maynard said. “That’s what our Zoo Access for All program is all about.”
Since launching the program in 2017 the Zoo has formed a Family Advisory Council and added:
- Adult changing tables.
- Sensory maps.
- Sensory-friendly restrooms.
- Visit planners and social narratives.
- Skip the line passes.
- Financial assistance for schools through the Living Classroom Education Access Fund.
- Sensory bags filled with oral motor chewy tubes, fidgets, bubble makers, noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, etc. available for check-out at the Welcome Center.
- 2 Calming rooms – 1 in Vine Street Village & 1 in Mai Thai’s Market.
For tickets and more information and zoo accessibility, visit cincinnatizoo.org
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