A Sensory-Friendly Guide to Philadelphia
Museums, performances, and experiences across the city offering quieter hours, relaxed shows, and thoughtful accommodations.
The Eagles created a sensory-friendly room at Lincoln Financial Field. / Photograph courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles
When you or your child has sensory sensitives or other special needs, it can be difficult to enjoy all the resources our city has to offer. In addition to some experiences possibly being too overwhelming, there is the element of unpredictability that comes with these concerns — sometimes it is unclear when reading about an attraction or performance what stimuli will be present, which ones will prove challenging, and where you can take a “time out” to recharge.
With increasing awareness of these issues has come the increased commitment of institutions and attractions to provide a welcoming space for individuals with special needs. From relaxed performances to social stories to the addition of quiet spaces, organizations have made adjustments to help make experiences more sensory-friendly and accessible for all.
This guide brings together some of those efforts: Places where the lights are softer, the rules are looser, and the expectation isn’t to sit still and stay silent, but to engage in whatever way feels right.
Sensory-Friendly Resources at Museums
The Liberty Tree at the Museum of the American Revolution / Photograph courtesy of Museum of the American Revolution
Museum of the American Revolution
In 2019, the Museum of the American Revolution earned designation as a Certified Autism Center (CAC) from the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). To gain this certification, the staff went through training in autism sensitivity and awareness to help them better communicate with guests that have sensory needs; the IBCCES also conducted an onsite review and helped the museum develop a sensory guide to the museum that provides detailed descriptions of each gallery of the museum and gives a stimulation rating for how each of the five senses will be affected in the different spaces. Guests can borrow noise-reducing headphones at check-in. The museum also has a quiet room on the first floor, where visitors can recharge, or opt to play the museum’s signature films in a more private setting.
In addition to those resources, the museum hosts quarterly Relaxed Experience Mornings, during which there are reduced crowds, lower sound effects, and higher light levels. These mornings also offer more hands-on learning opportunities with replica historical objects, guided by accessibility-trained staff. contact education@amrevmuseum.org to learn more and for future dates. 101 South 3rd Street
Academy of Natural Sciences
Once a month, ANSP hosts Sensory Friendly Mornings for guests with sensory sensitivities and their families to experience the museum for two hours before the crowds. The mornings include lowered sounds (for example, roaring dinosaurs are softened!), designated quiet areas, and noise-canceling headphones and fidgets for those who want them. Pre-registration is required to ensure limited crowds and lines. 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Franklin Institute
To help you plan your visit, the Franklin Institute’s website has a social story, as well as a sensory guide for their exhibits that explain how someone with sensory processing issues may be affected by each sense and how crowded each area typically gets. In addition, the museum has sensory backpacks you can borrow at ticketing that contain noise-reducing headphones, sunglasses, and fidgets. Also note that the museum has a policy that, if within 30 minutes of purchasing your ticket you find the museum too overwhelming that day, you can request a return-visit voucher at the Box Office to try your visit again at a different date. 222 North 20th Street
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Held the first Sunday of the month, Sensory Friendly Mornings allow guests with sensory sensitivities to experience select galleries before they open to the public hours, and engage in art-making and other activities. Space is limited — to ensure reduced crowds — so pre-registration is required; email AccessProg@philamuseum.org for more information and to reserve your spot. In addition to these events, the museum also offers free-to-borrow sensory kits at coat check, which include noise-reducing headphones, sunglasses, and fidgets. 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Please Touch Museum
PTM’s Play Without Boundaries mornings are designed for kids with autism, learning differences, or other sensory and communication needs — along with their families — to provide two hours of limited crowds, lower lighting and sound, and designated quiet areas. The museum has also created a sensory guide that explain how each exhibit may affect each of the senses on a low-medium-high color-coded scale. (There’s also a “Know Before You Go” guide that describes each of the permanent exhibits, to help families plan ahead and avoid surprises.) The next Play Without Boundaries event will be held on Sunday, April 19th, and will include a special performance of the play Light Years Away by Philly Sensory Theatre (more on them below), as well as a quiet art zone in the museum’s Creative Art Studio. 4231 Avenue of the Republic
National Constitution Center
Once a month, the NCC provides visitors the opportunity to experience the museum in a calmer environment during Sensory-Friendly Days, which include modified programming, specially trained staff, adapted spaces, and designated quiet rooms. They also have sensory tools, including noise-canceling headphones and calm-down items available to borrow at all times (email kmarinello@constitutioncenter.org to reserve), and sensory-friendly rooms can be requested for non-scheduled Sensory-Friendly Days upon availability. They’ve also created a social story to help guests know what to expect before their visit. 525 Arch Street
Penn Museum
The museum has sensory bags available to borrow at the welcome desk containing disposable earplugs, noise-canceling headphones, fidgets, a wobble-cushion seat, and communication cards. 3620 South Street
More Philly Attractions With Sensory-Friendly Resources
Photograph via Visit Philly
Adventure Aquarium
In 2022, Adventure Aquarium partnered with KultureCity to improve the experience for guests with sensory needs and obtain certification. (Staff is retrained annually to retain this certification.) They also created a social story to help guests know what to expect on their visit. The aquarium offers resources you can borrow at the information desk: sensory bags (fidgets, Puro Sound Labs noise-canceling headphones, and verbal cue cards) and weighted lap pads. In addition, throughout the aquarium you can find designated quiet areas; and louder areas have signage reminding guests to use their noise-canceling headphones if they need them. In addition to these resources, the aquarium hosts Sensory Sundays on the second Sunday of every month during the first hour of operation (9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.) with reduced crowds, music, and lights. 1 Riverside Drive, Camden
Philadelphia Zoo
Last year, the Philadelphia Zoo also received training and sensory-inclusive certification from KultureCity. Like the aquarium, they’ve installed signage identifying quiet zones and “headphone zones” throughout the zoo to help visitors with sensitivities; and they created a social story to help guests know what to expect on their visit. The zoo also has sensory bags available to borrow at the membership booth and at mobility rentals. They include fidgets, sunglasses, Puro Sound Labs noise-canceling headphones, and verbal cue cards. They’re free to borrow, but you need to sign them out and give your ID as a deposit. In addition to these resources, the zoo hosts Sensory Friendly Mornings throughout the year. 3400 West Girard Avenue
Lincoln Financial Field
In 2019, the Philadelphia Eagles became one of the first sports franchises to build a sensory room in its home stadium. The 500-square-foot space — located on the west lower suite level — was created in collaboration with doctors from CHOP (who is also a founding partner of the Eagles Autism Challenge). The room’s walls have tactile artwork (created by an autistic artist) and activity panels; seating includes soft beanbag chairs as well as furniture embedded with lights that respond to motion. The room also has sensory bags with fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, and weighted lap pads. (You can also borrow a sensory bag at guest services.) The room was updated in 2023, with help from KultureCity. Eagles employees and Linc staff also underwent training by medical professionals on how to recognize guests with sensory needs and how to handle a sensory overload situation. The sensory room is open during Eagles games, as well as during all ticketed events at Lincoln Financial Field. Note: To visit the sensory room, you need credential, which you can obtain from guest services or the concierge desk. 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way
The sensory-friendly room downstairs at the Comcast Center / Photograph courtesy of Comcast
Comcast Center Campus
The Comcast Center Campus is a Certified Autism Center (CAC), as designated by IBCCES. This extends to campus attractions like the Universal Sphere in the Comcast Technology Center and the Comcast Experience in the lobby of the Comcast Center. The Sphere — you know, that EPCOT-looking orb across from the cafe, containing an immersive theater/ride — has daily sensory-friendly shows, and has sensory kits available at all times. They also created a sensory guide to the Sphere, detailing how each sense will be affected by the experience. At the Comcast Experience — the giant LED-screen lobby show you’re most likely visiting during their holiday activation — guests can borrow noise-reducing headphones, light-sensitivity glasses, and sensory kits at the reception desk. During the holidays, they also run a sensory-friendly show daily at 2:30 p.m.
But wait, there’s more: In 2024, the Comcast Center partnered with with the Arc of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that advocates for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to design a sensory-friendly room in the downstairs Concourse, and made it free and open to the public during business hours (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). The sensory room has both calming and stimulating activities — so it’s helpful whether guests happen to be feeling sensory-sensitive or sensory-seeking. Custom sensory devices by Southpaw Enterprises include bubble tubes, squishy color-changing liquid floor tiles, fiber-optic waterfalls, interactive wall panels, and sensory rocking chairs. They also have sensory kits available upon request. 1701 JFK Boulevard and 1800 Arch Street
Sensory-Friendly Performances
Sensory-friendly performances at Ensemble Arts Philly / Photograph by Jessica Griffin for the Philadelphia Orchestra
Ensemble Arts Philly
In 2016, the Philadelphia Ballet was the first resident company of Ensemble Arts Philly to offer sensory-friendly performances — beginning with the crowd-pleasing Nutcracker. To craft the experience, the ballet reached out to Roger Ideishi, then the program director and associate professor of occupational therapy at Temple University, and the organization Art-Reach, which works to create, advocate for, and expand accessible opportunities in the arts for all audiences. Since then, Ensemble Arts Philly as a whole has included sensory-friendly performances for select shows throughout the year, employing the same accommodations: lower sound levels, house lights kept on, and relaxed rules that allow guests to talk, verbalize, and leave seats to move around freely. Noise-reducing headphones and fidgets are also available to borrow for the performances. And there’s a designated quiet area (located on the lower level, for performances at the Academy of Music). For performances that aren’t designated sensory-friendly, they have sensory bags available to borrow at all venues at all performances that include noise-canceling headphones, two fidget toys, and a weighted bean bag.
Philly Sensory Theatre
This local touring company was created especially with the goal to make theater more inclusive for people of all abilities. They create original sensory-friendly immersive performances and bring them to neighborhoods and organizations throughout Philadelphia — places like Smith Memorial Playground, the Please Touch Museum, and local libraries. All performances are offered at a pay-what-you-can, and they share social stories for each performance location, helping audiences know what to expect. Right now, they’re performing a space-themed children’s play called Light Years Away, and you can follow their schedule on their Instagram.
Walnut Street Theatre
Walnut Street Theatre offers sensory-friendly productions throughout the year, mostly for their kids’ shows. They’ve also created a video to help those on the autism spectrum prepare for their visit to the theater. 825 Walnut Street
Arden Theatre Company
The Arden partnered with KultureCity to help accommodate guests with sensory sensitivities and to create a social story to explain what to expect at a performance. They offer sensory bags that contain fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, and strobe-canceling glasses — you can borrow it for free, but you have to leave your ID as deposit. (They also have one weighted lap pad at the moment, so it’s fair to say that’s first come, first served.) During the show, they have a designated quiet area behind the box office — talk to a staff member to access it. The Arden does not currently have sensory-friendly performances on their schedule. 40 North 2nd Street
