Accessibility

Museum Accessibility

At the Detroit Historical Society, we strive to make our museums a place for every visitor to learn and engage. 

Please contact us at 313.833.1801 or email education@detroithistorical.org to inquire about accommodations or ways we can make your visit more enjoyable. While you are at the museum, please ask our front desk if you require more information or assistance.

Physical Accessibility

• Adult-sized wheelchairs are available for use by individuals with limited mobility. Please ask at the Visitor Experience Associate at the front desk. There is no cost, users must leave an ID with museum staff. *The William Clay Ford Pilot House is not accessible by wheelchair.
• All bathrooms and water fountains are wheelchair accessible.
• There is accessible parking in the Dossin Great Lakes Museum parking lot, just north of the museum entrance.
• Visitors can be dropped off in front of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in the pull-in drive. 

Visual Accessibility

The museum offers many touchable experiences, both digital and physical, throughout our galleries. Interested in a more customized experience? Call ahead at 313.833.1801 to schedule a docent-led tour (additional fees apply).

Hearing Assistance

Currently, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum does not have hearing assistance devices available to visitors.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Special Sensory Needs

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum has worked with The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a global leader in online training and certification programs, to be designated as a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC). Our staff has completed training and certification in best practices when assisting autistic individuals. By undergoing additional autism-specific training, the goal is for our team to be better equipped to provide better service and experiences to all. Click to  learn more about Certified Autism Center™

Our objective is to provide an inclusive and seamless experience for all guests at every program and event. This means supplying our museum with continuous training and by offering the following resources and accommodations our guests with special sensory needs.

Dossin Great Lakes Museum Sensory Guide

• Sensory Bags: Sensory bags containing sunglasses, fidget tools, noise canceling headphones, and other resources are available for checkout (at no cost by leaving an ID) at our front desk located at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
• Weighted Lap Pads: Weighted lap pads are also available upon request (at no cost by leaving an ID) at our front desk at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
• IBCCES App: Use the app to help you plan your visit to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum: Link to download

Nursing Parents/Caregivers with Infants

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum welcomes nursing and bottle-feeding families. Parents are welcome to nurse or bottle-feed babies anywhere in the public areas of the museum. If you would like a private spot to nurse or feed, please let our front desk staff know and we will work to accommodate your request. 

For parents feeding purees or solid food to older babies, we ask that you use DeRoy Hall. Please note, food is not permitted in the galleries.

Baby changing tables are available in all multiple-toilet restrooms.

The museum is stroller accessible with the exception of the William Clay Ford Pilot House.

Online Accessibility

The Detroit Historical Society (DHS) is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone and applying the relevant accessibility standards.

The Detroit Historical Society (DHS) takes the following measures to ensure that detroithistorical.org and detroit1967.org are accessible:

• Include accessibility throughout our internal policies.
• Integrate accessibility into our procurement practices.
• Provide annual accessibility training for our staff.
• Assign clear accessibility targets and responsibilities.
• Employ formal accessibility quality assurance methods.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. The Detroit Historical Society is partially conformant with WCAG 2.0 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.

Technical specifications

Accessibility of the Detroit Historical Society (DHS) relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.

Please be aware that our efforts are ongoing. If you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of any particular webpage on detroithistorical.org, please contact us at 313.833.1805.