Accessibility Programs | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Accessibility Programs
Accessibility Programs
Cooper Hewitt provides regularly scheduled tours and educational opportunities specifically designed for visitors with disabilities, including events, tours, and design workshops.
To sign up for an access program mailing list, email
CHAccess@si.edu
or call 212-849-8384.
To learn more about general accessibility at the museum, visit
at Cooper Hewitt.
Programs
Discover Design
Explore exhibitions in person and online with verbal description, conversation, close looking, and touch objects.
Design Night
Join us for an after-hours happy hour of structured fun with drinks, snacks, and a design activity. Explore a select exhibition with friends and peers in the quiet galleries.
Design and Disability
Through lectures, panels, workshops, and community gatherings, these programs aim to highlight the work of disabled designers, and examines how disability can inform design practices, aesthetics, and systems.
ASL Tour
Explore a Cooper Hewitt exhibition with a Deaf educator, led solely in ASL, exclusive to the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Stay for an ASL interpreted public program related to the exhibition tour for more content.
See Me at Cooper Hewitt
See Me at Cooper Hewitt is a free program that fosters connection and belonging for adults with dementia and their companions through discussions and reflections on museum objects.
Family Access Hour
We welcome families whose members have disabilities to any of our public family programs. Access Hour programs have specific opportunities for various forms of engagement and a quiet space.
Tours
Public Tours
Public tours are offered regularly and are free with museum admission. Most tours involve walking around the museum and standing in galleries for extended periods of time; standard manual wheelchairs and portable stools are available for those who need them. Learn more about tours at Cooper Hewitt.
ASL interpretation is available by request for any Cooper Hewitt tour, free of charge.
To request these services, email CHTours2@si.edu or call 212.849.8351. Please make your request at least one week prior to your visit.
Private Tours
Private tours are offered to organizations that work with disabled communities. Tours are facilitated by Design Guides specially trained in working with groups with a variety of disabilities.
ASL interpretation is available by request for any Cooper Hewitt tour, free of charge.
To request these services, email CHTours2@si.edu or call 212.849.8351. Please make your request at least six weeks prior to your intended visit.
Upcoming Accessibility Programs
To see all upcoming programs,
view our Calendar.
Upcoming Events
05/07
Thursday
Discover Design: Made in America
Thu. May 7, 2026
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET
Explore this month’s featured exhibition at your own pace, with opportunities to discover, connect, and engage with the objects and ideas on display.
View full event details here
Event Address:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
2 E 91st Street New York, NY 10128
Get your tickets today
Free for Visitors with Disabilities and their companions
06/03
Wednesday
Discover Design Online: Made in America
Wed. June 3, 2026
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET
Explore this month’s featured exhibition at your own pace, with opportunities to discover, connect, and engage with the objects and ideas on display.
View full event details here
Event Address:
Zoom
Get your tickets today
Free
Check out our online resources
Explore in-gallery and professional resources to help develop more accessible content.
Accessibility Resources →