Social Story: My Visit to the Eskenazi Museum of Art

The museum address is 1133 East 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405. There aren’t many parking lots close to the museum, so I may have to walk a little bit from my car to the museum entrance. I can enter the museum from the front doors off 7th street. I will see a large red sculpture outside.

There are 3 doors I can use to enter the museum. I can use the revolving door in the center, the door with the handle on the left, or the accessible door on the right. If I am in a wheelchair or use another assistive walking device, using the accessible door will be easier for me because I can push a button to automatically open the door.

Once I am inside the museum, I will see a big staircase in front of me and a tall glass ceiling if I look up. There may be other people inside the museum atrium, I may see people walking up and down the stairs, or I might see other people in the galleries. To the left of the stairs, I will see the Welcome Desk. There will be a person sitting behind the desk. This person is friendly and is there to help museum guests like me! I can ask them questions and they can help me find my way around.

Sometimes I won’t be able to bring everything I brought with me into the museum galleries. Listed below are some of the things I can’t take into the galleries. For a full list of museum guidelines, I can visit the museum’s website here https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/visit/your-visit.html and scroll down toward the bottom of the page to find them!

• Food or drinks of any kind

•  Backpacks, other large items, and large coats. Anything larger than 12"x18” I will need to store in a locker.

•  Wet items or umbrellas

If I have a coat and don't want to put it in a locker, I can hang it up on a hanger on the coat rack across from the lockers.

If I need to use the restroom, I can go to the Mezzanine level in between the first and second floors to find it! There is also a drinking fountain there if I need a drink of water. If I prefer to use an all-gender restroom, I can find one on the first floor near the lockers.

Now I get to explore the museum! There are 7 galleries in the museum with lots of art! To help keep the art safe, I will keep my hands by my side and will not touch any of the works of art. To get to all of the galleries, I will need to use the elevator behind the Welcome Desk, or I can use the stairs.

There are other fun spaces in the museum besides galleries to explore! I can visit the Simpson Center for Education on the 2nd floor. There is an art-making studio inside and an area for gathering. If the doors are unlocked and there is someone inside these rooms, I can go inside and explore those spaces too! If the doors are locked, it means there is no special activity today, but I can come back later to see what is going on in these spaces. If I want to find out when things are happening in these spaces, I can go to the Welcome Desk and ask the person in the bright blue shirt.

The Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs is another space I can explore. It is on the 3rd floor. Sometimes there is art that is not always on view inside a glass room. If the doors are open and someone is inside, I can go inside and look at the art. If the doors are shut, I need to stay outside the room to look at the art. There is also a gallery inside this space that I can visit.

There will be at least one person in each gallery wearing a bright blue shirt. There will also be at least one person at the Welcome Desk wearing a bright blue shirt. These are Guest Services Associates. They are here to keep the artwork safe, but also to answer questions I have or help me find a work of art I came to see. They are friendly!

If I need to take a break, I can use a stool from the carts located right outside the galleries, I can sit on the furniture near the Welcome Desk on the 1st floor, or I can sit at the table on the 3rd floor located inside the Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. If I need a more private space to relax, I can ask someone at the Welcome Desk to unlock the Wellness Room near the bathrooms on the mezzanine level.

If I get hungry, I can stop and eat a snack in the Newkirk Museum Café and Gift Shop. The café is the only room in the museum where food is allowed. Here, I can purchase a snack or I can eat one that I brought with me. If I brought a snack with me, I will need to go down to the locker I put my things in to get it.

Right behind the café is the gift shop. I can purchase something here that will help me remember my visit!

Once I have seen everything I want to see, I can use the stairs or the elevator to get back to the first floor. I need to make sure I don’t forget anything that is in a locker or my coat that I hung up.

If I parked in the Indiana Memorial Union Parking lot on a weekday, I can get my parking ticket validated at the Welcome Desk. This gives me a discount on parking.  I need to hand the person at the Welcome Desk my parking ticket and they will stamp it for me.

I can now leave the museum and think about the fun time I had!