Just a minor language amendment to my message - the strategies on IEPs and 504s are called "accommodations", not recommendations :) --  Jennie Goldstone, Ed.D. (she/her) EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING SPECIALIST + SOUL PROPRIETOR, LEARNING UNBOUND *From: *Jennie Goldstone <jennie@learningunbound.org> *Date: *Friday, August 7, 2026 at 7:44?AM *To: *talk at museum-ed.org <talk@museum-ed.org> *Subject: *Re: [talk] Classroom management for behavior issues Hi Nicole! I have a couple of tho ...Continue Reading

Hi! I don't work there, but a neighboring museum, the National Museum of Railroad History and Innovation (fka the B&O Railroad Museum) in Baltimore, runs a summer camp specifically for neurodiverse children, and I really admire the policy language they use. https://nationalrailroad.org/events/sensory-inclusive-summer-camp/ More info at the link, but they both request prior disclosure of known aggressive behaviors and any known triggers of those behaviors, and clearly outline the policy and follow up for aggressi ...Continue Reading

Hi Nicole! I have a couple of thoughts: When families are signing their kids up for camp, you might ask if the camper has an IEP (Individualized Education Plan, which students with learning disabilities often get) or a 504 Behavior Plan (which students with challenging social-emotional needs often get), and *if so, if they’d be willing to share the recommendations from those plans with you (not the plan itself, which is confidential, but just the recommended strategies for supporting that child).* Those plans ...Continue Reading

Karen, Here's what ASMH has: https://www.uline.com/BL_2816/Event-Chairs We just got these earlier this year and they are working great! Our old chairs were very heavy and bulky, so the fact that these are significantly lighter are a huge bonus, plus the storage racks are quite easy to move. Jennifer Gray Education & Museum Manager (she/her) Arch Street Meeting House 320 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 From: talk@museum-ed.org talk@museum-ed.org on behalf of Greg Miller gmiller@sciencemuseumok.org [talk a ...Continue Reading

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a bit of advice and guidance here. We just wrapped up eight weeks of summer camp during which we had a couple of issues that we hadn’t experienced before. During one week of camp, we had to send two different campers’ home and ask that they not return for separate behavior issues. One child was essentially a bully who wouldn’t listen to staff when we tried to correct their behavior and then we trying to talk with their parent the child became verbally abusive to us. While we haven’t nee ...Continue Reading

Hi Amanda, We have a set of ratios that we base the number of required free chaperones on 1:6 for K-3rd, 1:8 for 4th-8th, and 1:10 for 9th-12th. So, if a school is bringing 80 5th graders, then they would be required to have 10 chaperones who would be complimentary and any additional chaperones would have to pay. When it comes to support staff such as aides, interpreters, one-on-ones, etc. they are automatically included as a free chaperone without being a part of the required number of chaperones. If a school neede ...Continue Reading

We have used the mityLite mesh chairs: Lightweight Folding Chairs for Commercial Use | MityLite 60 of them fit on the Lifetime rolling chair rack.  We have had them for about 8 years and they are holding up well and still looking good. Thanks, *Greg Miller* Director of Education and Training *Science Museum Oklahoma* 2020 Remington Place Oklahoma City, OK 73111 *405.568.8951 | **_gmiller@sciencemuseumok.org_* *From:* talk@museum-ed.org <talk@museum-ed.org> on behalf of Karen Gillenwat ...Continue Reading

Amanda, We have also been revising our caregiver policy with our day camps in mind. I have a couple of ideas that I have found helpful.  Our official policy is to allow the parent or guardian to decide if and when assistance is provided, after all the wide diversity of needs and abilities will always mean each situation may require different things so we need to deal with it on a case by case basis. Our camps are all day every day for a week, so we have a special requirement of a background check if the caregive ...Continue Reading

Hi everyone,I'm hoping to learn how other museums handle a situation we've recently encountered, particularly as it relates to guided school tours led by volunteer docents.We have a school group of students with autism planning a visit. In addition to their teachers and school chaperones, each student is accompanied by an individual behavior specialist. While the group doesn't meet our standard ratio for additional complimentary chaperones, we're reviewing how best to accommodate these support staff while also con ...Continue Reading

Hi everyone, I need to find some good event chairs to use for programs in our galleries. I'm sure we've all dealt with this at some point - mostly in bad experiences with uncomfortable or heavy chairs. We need about 100 chairs that either fold or stack to put on carts that we can set up for events. We have these Lifetime chairs that we use in our programming space but need something more attractive for events in the galleries. Lifetime Classic Folding Chair (Commercial) Do any of your sites have ones you love?&n ...Continue Reading