ALPLM Offering Free Deaf/Hard of Hearing Event on Thursday

By Benjamin Cox on March 7, 2023 at 7:05pm

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will offer special services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community this Thursday.

The program has free admission from 4-6PM. The ALPLM will offer extra supports as a part of the “Abe for All” initiative. ALPLM spokesperson Chris Wills says it allows for a more inclusive experience for this who are deaf or hard of hearing: “What we do is bring in American Sign Language interpreters to assist visitors and help them engage in the museum more. We put up additional signs around the museum explaining what people are seeing, and more importantly, explaining what sounds they are missing. We also have additional closed captioning and QR codes. Basically, we do what we can to make the museum as complete as possible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

It’s the second year of the event. It coincides with other special events set aside at the museum in the past year for those with sensory disorders and conditions as well as those with vision loss. In addition to enjoying a fuller experience, guests will be invited to submit suggestions on how the ALPLM can improve in the future. Wills says feedback from last year’s event led to some ideas being permanently installed at the museum: “After folks visit the museum, they can tell us what works and what doesn’t, and how we can make it more friendly with people with different challenges. We think it is very valuable. For instance, after last year’s event, we were told that greater use of QR codes so that people could easily pull up text on their cellphones was helpful, so we have added that throughout the museum. We’re much more friendly now for people to use their cellphones to pull up text about the exhibits than we have been in the past.”

For more information on Thursday’s event, visit PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov or find the ALPLM on Facebook.