Beyond Access: Expanding Opportunity Across Informal STEM Learning Spaces

ASTC is excited to announce the launch of Beyond Access, a new project aimed at making informal STEM learning organizations more welcoming and supportive for people who are neurodivergent and people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). 

Informal STEM learning organizations, like science centers, children’s museums, public gardens, zoos, and aquariums, offer powerful opportunities for their visitors to explore science in open, self‑directed, and engaging ways. Yet many of these environments were not originally designed for visitors who are neurodivergent and people with IDD. Beyond Access aims to change that.

What the Project Will Do

People who are neurodivergent and people with IDD bring a wide range of strengths, perspectives, and ways of thinking that enrich organizations and contribute to inclusive, creative, and innovative spaces. Building on earlier work with zoos and aquariums, Beyond Access will: 

• Study how practices and tools originally developed to support neurodivergent visitors and visitors with IDD in zoos and aquariums can be adapted for other informal STEM learning spaces such as museums and science centers 
• Explore how these existing materials and practices can more effectively support neurodivergent visitors and visitors with IDD across the informal STEM learning field 
• Identify opportunities to expand employment pathways within informal STEM learning organizations for neurodivergent people and people with IDD 

By applying existing resources in broader STEM settings, and thinking carefully about meaningful engagement and belonging, Beyond Access aims to strengthen learning environments for all visitors and staff through engagement with neurodivergent people and people with IDD. 

A Partnership Across the Field

Funded by the National Science Foundation (Award No. 2517287), this effort is a collaboration among: 

• Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) 

• Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) 

• American Public Gardens Association (APGA) 

• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) 

• Zoos and Aquariums for a Neurodiverse Ecosystem (ZANE) 

• STEM Research Center at Oregon State University 

Together, these organizations bring deep expertise in research, visitor experience, accessibility, and fieldwide learning networks to create a community of practice and share inclusive practices across many types of institutions. 

Stay in the Loop

As Beyond Access moves forward, ASTC and partners will share updates, resources, and opportunities for institutions interested in testing, learning, or contributing to this work.