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Activities

Traveling Exhibits

"What If: options in dd history"
For more information about the Traveling Exhibit, contact Douglas A. Platt, Museum Curator at (716) 817-7477.

Idiocy in America: The Path to the Institution 1850-1920
Features a collection of postcards, books, photos, illustrations and manuals documenting public attitudes and treatment of people with disabilities.

Moving Forward, Looking Back: A Pictorial History of Developmental Centers
A brief look at life in the institutions from the 1900s until 1970. The exhibit features a series of photographs and text documenting institutional life in New York State for persons with disabilities.

The traveling exhibits can come to your school, business or community event.

Plans for Museum Expansion

As long as there have been people, there have been people with differences. To acknowledge and honor these differences, People Inc. is developing a Museum of disABILITY History. The museum is dedicated to the story of the lives, the struggles and the successes of people with disabilities.

The eventual goal of this community outreach project is to create a permanent space for exhibits and artifacts. Currently people can learn more about the history of people with disabilities by visiting this Web site, viewing the traveling exhibit, or scheduling a tour of the Museum.

Able to Help?

If you would like to be part of building the museum, we welcome your help. You don’t have to pick up a hammer or saw, you can help by donating artifacts or expertise! Until we have a permanent home we are focused on collecting materials and noting their significance.

Do you have old adaptive equipment, photographs, letters, or artwork related to people with disabilities? They could become part of an exhibition that helps to educate the public on the history of the disability culture.

For more information, contact Douglas A. Platt, Museum Curator, at (716) 817-7477.

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