letter to please touch muuem

I recently visited your museum with my six year old daughter. She is disabled and uses a wheelchair. We were very much looking forward to an experience where she could do what everyone else was doing. She was looking forward to a museum where no one would tell her "don't touch." No one said the words, but there were many ways she was excluded. While we did have fun, we were disappointed at the accessibility of all the exhibits. Some were too high for someone in a chair, some were too low. Some things did not allow her to get close enough to participate. Some exhibits were not deep enough to allow a child in a chair to reach the exhibit. We found the little town area in the lower level to be lots of fun, but the ambulance does not allow a wheelchair, even a really small one, to fit into the driving area. The seat installed there excludes anyone who can not walk up and sit on it. This means kids with disabilities must "ride" in the back of the ambulance area. Kids with disabilities dream of driving ambulances just like able bodied kids. It was very disappointing to see her rush to try something new only to find that it was not accessible to her. In speaking to other families with disabled kids, I found I was not the only one disappointed in the accessibility of your exhibits. I travel to the area often from my home in Minnesota, with my disabled and nondisabled kids. Sadly we will not be visiting your museum again. It isn't fair to my daughter to have to watch all the other kids play while she has to sit on the sidelines because of her disability. We appreciated the handicapped entrance, but the rest of your musuem needs to consider the needs of EVERY child, not just the ones without disability.