Sensory Friendly Mornings

Join Shelburne Museum for Sensory Friendly Mornings!

Every month, May through October, we invite the community into the Museum before regular opening hours to view special exhibitions at the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education in a light and sound adjusted environment. Created in consultation with Inclusive Arts Vermont, this program for children, teens, and adults alike is designed to offer a positive museum-going experience for visitors with varying sensory processing differences.

Know Before You Go resources are available to help prepare for your visit.

These materials include a social narrative guide, sensory conditions guide, physical accessibility guide, and communication aid. Additionally, a limited number of noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, and a private sitting room will be available for participant use. Click here to access these materials. (Materials will be updated by May 11 to reflect 2024 exhibits)

Pre-registration is required.

Please register through Eventbrite, phone 802-985-0924, or events@shelburnemuseum.org. Registration will be capped at 75 participants to help maintain a sensory-friendly environment for visitors.

For questions, please contact education@shelburnemuseum.org

Exhibitions on View

For all Sensory-Friendly Mornings except June 22:

New England Now: Strange States

May 11 - October 20

From Nathaniel Hawthorne to Stephen King, the depths of the psyche and the surreal have long fascinated New England artists. Twelve multidisciplinary artists from the region tap into a rich tapestry of mediums and techniques to create their perceptions of the ethereal grounded in topics of mythology, environmentalism, the ideals of beauty, transformation, and gender and cultural identity.

Strange States will feature recent and new artwork by: Bianca Beck, Sarah Meyers Brent, Nicole Duennebier, Lauren Fensterstock, Arghavan Khosravi, Laura Kramer, Jennifer McCandless, Allison Maria Rodriguez, Farzaneh Safarani and Bahareh Safarani, Emilie Stark-Menneg, and Tara Sellios. The exhibition continues outdoors with additional sculptures by Bianca Beck.

All Aboard: the Railroad in American Art, 1840-1955

June 22 - October 20

Embark on a journey through American history and explore the captivating world of trains in American visual culture during the transformative period of industrialization from 1840 to 1955. Organized by Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Joslyn Art Museum, and Shelburne Museum.

For the June 22 Sensory-Friendly Morning

A Grand Spectacle in the Great Outdoors - Elliot Fernander's Circus Photography

May 11 - October 20

Black and white photography captures a rare “Blue Sky” outdoor performance by the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus in 1972, when wet grounds prevented the Big Top tent from going up at the Bousquet ski area near Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Circus Building and Carousel

Permanent Collection

The Circus Building and carousel are favorite attractions for families visiting Shelburne Museum. The fanciful, horseshoe-shaped Circus Building was specifically designed to showcase the hand-carved miniature Arnold Circus Parade, which stretches nearly the full length of the building’s 518 feet. The Circus Building is also where you will find enchanting, hand-painted carousel figures—horses, tigers, giraffes, and more—made by the renowned Gustav Dentzel Carousel Company.