IMS Museum renovations include accessibility enhancements
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum reopened last month after a nearly $61 million renovation, but officials were keen to make it about more than just enhanced race car displays.
As leaders were designing the new space, they wanted to ensure all racing fans could start their engines and experience the museum. Keeping wellness and accessibility top of mind at the museum is seen as a way to welcome more fans and even employees.
“ADA accessibility is the law; you have to do it. But we wanted to do more than that,” IMS Museum Collections & Exhibitions Coordinator Jamie-Le Brenneman, said. “We’re seeing a lot of other institutions around like Lucas Oil [Stadium] and Gainbridge [Fieldhouse] offering things like sensory friendly nights or wellness rooms. With this opportunity of redoing everything, we have the opportunity to do more than just the bare minimum.”
The updated museum features a driving simulator that is wheelchair accessible and uses hand paddles instead of foot pedals.
David Andrews, a museum employee, is gearing up for his 59th Indianapolis 500. Andrews uses a wheelchair and often works the front desk.
“You don’t have to worry about…will I have an additional challenge to just doing my job and overcoming something that you know shouldn’t be a problem, but is? Everything works here,” Andrews told Inside INdiana Business. “[You can access] everything from the bathrooms to the displays – being able to just wheel right up and see everything that there is to see, or try everything like the simulator.”
Other features in the Qualifying Zone at the museum, such as the Pit-Stop Challenge, are designed with wheelchairs in mind, something that has drawn praise from visitors, according to Andrews.
“Everybody is just over the moon about, ‘Wow, I was able to do this,'” he said.
The museum also partnered with Kulture City to become sensory inclusive certified. There’s also a wellness room for nursing mothers or anyone who needs a break from the noise. Sensory bags filled with items like headphones and fidget toys are available for free.
Brenneman says they’ve already gotten positive feedback from museum visitors.
“I hope that as we continue to get feedback from our guests, [the wellness room is] something we can continue to expand and grow,” she said.
Now that the museum is open, officials are hearing suggestions from visitors and say they are open to adding even more wellness features they haven’t yet thought of.