Sensory Friendly Activities In and Around Atlanta

Sensory Friendly Activities in and around Atlanta

April is Autism Awareness Month. Here is a list of kid-friendly spaces around Atlanta with sensory-friendly days and times for kids needing less stimulation.

Sensory-Friendly Activities In and Around Atlanta

Museums

Georgia Aquarium

Sensory hours: The first hour of operation every day.

Georgia Aquarium has partnered with KultureCity to improve our ability to assist and accommodate guests with sensory needs. They offer sensory bags, sensory rooms, and sensory hours. Georgia Aquarium has become the first aquarium to be designated a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards.


Tellus Science Museum

Sensory hours: One Sunday a month 9-10 am. Check the website.

Sensory Friendly Mornings is an exclusive event for individuals with different sensory processing skills and their families to have a fun, enjoyable, and interactive learning experience in a comfortable and accepting environment. This sensory-friendly event offers a conscious effort to eliminate extra stimuli.


Sloomoo Institute Museum of Slime 

Sensory hours: Third Thursday of the month 12-1 pm

Sloomoo’s Sensory-Friendly Hour is a warm welcome to our sensory-sensitive guests who may have sensory processing differences. It is a time when we are dedicated to turning down the excitable volume that typically runs through our spaces. We limit the guest count to provide a quiet experience that is less crowded and easier to enjoy.
We have headsets on hand should one need them, along with cute swimmer-style nose plugs if the scent is a trigger. These accommodations are also available upon request outside of dedicated Sensory-Friendly Hour sessions.


Children’s Museum of Atlanta 

Sensory hours: First Sunday of every month 9-11 am

On the first Sunday of every month, the museum dedicates its early session (Session A) to families with children on the autism spectrum or children with sensory processing disorders. Sensory Friendly Sundays include a sensory-modified setting, limited admission, and adjustments of sound and lighting.


The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History

Sensory hours: The Last Tuesday of the month 2 pm-4 pm

We welcome visitors with Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing issues, or special needs to explore the Museum at their own pace. All ages are welcome. It is included in Museum admission and free for Museum members.


Center for Puppetry Arts

Sensory hours: Sundays

The Center for Puppetry Arts offers sensory-friendly experiences to guests with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Guests are welcomed by staff members who have been trained in interactions with patrons with ASD. Performance alterations include theater lights dimmed down but not out, consistent sound levels and lower volume of show soundtrack, freedom for children to talk and to leave their seats if necessary, a quiet zone in the lobby, and permission to bring quiet, contained snacks and beverages. Create-A-Puppet Workshop classrooms will be brighter, and quieter, and feature less messy puppet building materials and slightly simplified puppet designs. This modified programming also extends to include their expanded Museum, where lighting will be adjusted and specialized educational activities (such as touch tables and guided storytelling) will be integrated. Fidget toys and sound-reducing headphones will also be available.


Fernbank Museum

Sensory hours: Select mornings, check website.

Join us for a series of sensory events, designed for guests with sensory sensitivities or special needs who might benefit from a less-crowded environment. These experiences will provide a quieter and calmer environment for guests to explore the museum, experience the nature trails of WildWoods, and enjoy a sensory-friendly film screening in the Giant Screen Theater.


High Museum of Art

Sensory hours: Select Sunday mornings, and check the website.

Sensory-Friendly Morning is a free, sensory-modified program for visitors of all ages who have sensory sensitivities or are neurodivergent and their families. The event takes place before regular museum hours. Visitors can participate in activities and special performances or explore the museum at their own pace. Space is limited to reduce crowds, and preregistration is highly encouraged.


Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta partnered with KultureCity to become an officially certified Atlanta experience equipped to support guests with sensory needs.  Sensory bags, equipped with noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards, and other resources, are now available to all guests at the Member Services Office just outside the Zoo entrance. Weighted lap pads will also be available to visitors at the Zoo train station in KIDZone and at the World of Wild Theater presented by Georgia Natural Gas. Both the sensory bags and the lap pads are available to borrow, free of charge, with the presentation of an ID.  Also, Zoo grounds now include three Quiet Areas and six Headphone Zones, marked with signage and identifiable on the Zoo Atlanta map. Before their visit, guests may download a social story via the KultureCity All Inclusive App. Check out Zoo Atlanta’s website for more details.

Other Play Spaces

Catch Air: First Wednesday 4:30-7 pm

SkyZone: Select locations, see website.

Chuck E Cheese: First Sunday, 9-11 am

Wiggle Giggle ATL: 2nd Sunday 9 am-11 am

We Rock the Spectrum: All day, every day


AMC Theaters

AMC has partnered with the Autism Society to offer sensory-friendly movie showings. The lights are turned up, and the sound is turned down. Guests are free to get up, dance, walk, shout or sing. The Sensory Friendly Film program is available on the second and fourth Saturdays (family-friendly) and Wednesday evenings (mature audiences) of every month. Please check AMC Theater’s home on the web for local listings for specific showtimes.


The best way to expand opportunities for sensory-friendly hours is to ask. Check-in with your favorite businesses or activities. They may be in the planning stages already or this might be a great idea for them to pursue!

What other places have we missed? Leave it in the comments below.

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