Yesterday Tom took us to Winchester Science Centre. Tom and I had been to the science centre before for their Christmas live show, and to be completely transparent with you we did not have a great time. We were able to appreciate how other children would have enjoyed themselves, but for a child with additional needs, we felt it was not at all suitable.
This blog seems its taking a bit of a negative turn but Winchester Science Centre have completely outshone every other company out there! After our visit at Christmas time I wrote them an email, specifically not a complaint, but instead I told them how it made us feel and also some of the things they could do to improve their experience for children like Tom, to ensure they can get the most out of their experience.
They responded to my email very quickly and they took it very seriously, they couldn't have been more apologetic and they wanted to find out how they could improve even further. I actually had a phone call from a lady, who for the purpose of this post I will call E, who works at the science centre, she was unbelievable and I only wish there were more people like her in this world. She took on board all of our advice and promise to make a change.
E actually invited us back for a visit to see their 'the science of magic' show. So yesterday the 3 of us went down to see what it was all about. Instantly I could see they had taken our advice on board. One of the things I had mentioned was the staff awareness of Tom. When we approached the lady on the tickets she immediately got down to Tom's level and addressed him, this tiny little act made a huge difference.
She then showed us to our seats. At the Christmas show they had benches for the children to sit on, the issue with benches is they can't be moved to make way to a wheelchair and so inevitably the wheelchair has to be put in the corner, therefore excluding Tom from the rest of the children. This time not only had they put out chairs, so Tom could be a part of the show, they had also drawn out on the floor specific spaces for wheelchairs. This was such a lovely thing to see.
The show was amazing, Tom had a great view and was able to sit with all of the other children. Meg, the actress on stage was fabulous and very captivating, she also came up to Tom after the show to show him a little mini experiment.
We also saw a live planetarium show, this was really great for Tom also. It was very sensory and the staff were attentive.
We were so impressed and touched by how the planetarium took our advice and have bettered the experience for those with complex medical needs. Tom will definitely be back for more science fun as he was able to get so much out of it.
A huge thank you to all the the Winchester Science Centre for all of your hard work in creating a space that is accessible to all. We look forward to coming back again. If you are near Winchester, be sure to give it a visit, it is well worth it.