Community Connections: June 2003 Newsletter

The Community Connections Communicator June 2003

In this Issue:

The theme of this month's issue is Day Trips & Amusement Parks.

	Tip Sheet : Family that Plays Together
	This tip sheet provides a general overview of why it is helpful for families to participate in recreational activities together. It also provides tips on planning day trips and fun outings.
	Article: A Day at the Zoo
	Check out this article for information on planning day trips to such locations as aquariums and zoos for families with children with disabilities.
	Spotlights of the Month:
	DAY TRIPS
	Wish-A-Fish Foundation, Inc. Provides a fun-filled day full of fishing, relaxing and eating, for the entire family of children with disabilities.
	National Aquarium in Baltimore Taking a trip to the National Aquarium to see all of the beautiful aquatic life can be an enjoyable learning experience. The National Aquarium provides an array of accessible resources as well as programs that are inviting to many families of children with disabilities.
	Hoof Prints in the Sand - Therapeutic Trail Riding and Camping Center Located on the Eastern Shore in Maryland, Hoof Prints in the Sand provides horse trail riding as well as other outdoor activities for day- trippers and vacationers.
	Capital Children's Museum Provides an array of interactive learning experiences for children of all ages.
	AMUSEMENT PARKS
	Six Flags America Located in Mitchellville, Maryland, Six Flags America is an ideal haven for a day trip to an amusement park.
	Paramount's Kings Dominion This is a great park for children to enjoy various roller-coasters, splash parks and good food.
	Hershey Park Find out how to make chocolate and shop 'till you drop.
	Sesame Place Children will love this Sesame character theme park.
	Recommended Websites:
	People and Places http://www.disabilitytravel.com
	Family Networks http://www.family-networks.org
	Access-Able Travel Source http://www.access-able.com

The Family that Plays Together

Why is it important to have family time together, especially if you have a child with a disability? How can you determine what interests you have and where you would like to go? This tip sheet, provided by the United Way Discovery Program, discusses the importance of sharing family activities. Such positive outcomes from sharing in family recreation/ trips include: helping the child to increase his/her self esteem, creating stronger family relationships, broadening your child's experiences, exploring new places together, and having fun. This tip sheet helps families determine what types of activities they would like to explore as well as what to look for when planning a short trip or excursion. Click on the link below to view the full tip sheet:
Read the full tip sheet.

A Day at the Zoo

Planning a day trip can be fun yet challenging. Based on your child's disability and specific needs, you may need to consider if the location of the trip offers such features as accessible entrances and parking spaces, family/accessible bathrooms, special programs, large print handouts, Braille handouts, and assistive listening devices. Don't fret, this article provides valuable information for parents and caregivers who would like to plan a day trip.

Although the article is specifically written with a trip to the zoo or aquarium in mind, you can apply the suggestions to any day trips that you may be planning. This article provides information on accessibility laws that require zoos and aquariums to meet certain standards that will allow individuals with disabilities to access their facilities. In addition, you will find practical ideas to look for while planning a day trip which include researching the trip on the internet, asking specific questions about the facility, and asking specific questions about how the place can accommodate your child's specific disability. For example, planning a day trip can be a lot easier if you have information prior to arriving to the location, such as a map of the facility as well as the accessible adaptations that they provide.

If your next trip is a day trip, please review this article to gather information that will help you have a more easily accessible and fun excursion. Click the link below to read the full text of the article: http://www.indiana.edu. In the search engine, type in A Day at the Zoo. Scroll to and click the third article.

Spotlights of the Month!

Wish-A-Fish Foundation, Inc.
Rod Rice, President
Corporate Headquarters
4852 Ellicott Woods Lane
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-203-0052
www.wish-a-fish.org

Are you ready to set sail and catch some fish? Well if so, the Wish-A-Fish Foundation provides a fun and relaxing fishing trip for about 25-35 families of children with disabilities. The trip is absolutely free and includes a tee-shirt, hat and fishing rod for the child who has the disability and his/her siblings. There are volunteers who donate their expertise and boats for the day to accommodate the trippers. Each family is assigned a captain and a helper, and spends the day fishing, talking and relaxing on their own boat. Once the day of fishing is complete (you determine if you want to spend a few hours or just a short while at sea), you return to the picnic area for a filling lunch. Following is the calendar for the remainder of the summer:

Saturday, July 19th 2003:
Solomons, MD
Calvert Marine Museum
Organizer: Captain "Walleye" Pete Dahlberg
410-586-8340

Saturday, August 2nd, 2003:
Newport News, VA
Huntington Park
Organizer: Al Bunnell
757-631-9042

Saturday, August 23rd, 2003:
Germantown, MD
Little Seneca Lake
Organizer: Cindy Smelgus
410-203-0052

For further information and to make accommodations for children who require boats that provide wheelchair access, please contact The Wish-A-Fish Foundation at 410-203-0052 or register online at
www.wish-a-fish.org/EventDates.html

National Aquarium in Baltimore
501 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland (at the end of Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
www.aqua.org

Dolphin shows, seal feedings, puffin feedings, and exotic fish galore can all be experienced at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Did you know that the National Aquarium in Baltimore has an exceptional accessibility program, which allows families of children with disabilities to enjoy the fun and excitement the aquarium has to offer without much hassle? Such features of the aquarium include assistive listening devices and captioning on interactive videos. Other features include reserved seating for shows and exhibits. In addition, the National Aquarium provides an Access-Aquarium program, which has free nights for people with physical or mental disabilities. The accessible features also include a Braille tour, Sign Language interpreters and audio tours. In addition, you can visit the aquarium on the first Saturday and Sunday of the month thirty minutes before the aquarium opens for the general visitors, which will help you avoid the rush.

In order to find out about these and other accessible features and programs offered by the National Aquarium in Baltimore, please contact them at: (410) 659-4278 or at TTY on 410 625-0720 or on www.aqua.org/specialneeds.htm. Please note that advance notice may need to be made with the aquarium if you require use of some of the special resources that they provide. Enjoy your day at the aquarium!

Hoof Prints in the Sand - Therapeutic Trail Riding and Camping Center
P.O. Box 144
Parsonsburg, Maryland 21849
410-835-8814

Located on the Eastern Shore just 15 minutes from Ocean City, Maryland, Hoof Prints in the Sand provides horse trail riding as well as other outdoor activities for day- trippers and vacationers. They provide therapeutic horseback riding in a natural setting, as well as other activities, which include hiking, cycling, birding and canoeing. If this outdoorsy day trip sounds like one for you, please contact Hoof Prints in the Sand to plan your accessible outing. Please contact Sandy at 410-835-8814 for further information or click on the following website http://hometown.aol.com/sfwinter/myhomepage/business.html

Capital Children's Museum
800 3rd Street, NE
Washington, DC
202-675-4120 or 202-675-4149

The Capital Children's Museum provides both a fun and learning environment for families with children with disabilities. This museum is very interactive and allows for children to use their imagination while exploring the activities. Exhibits allow children to touch them, climb on them and some even give children the chance to taste them. Such fun exhibits include exploring a prehistoric cave, learning how to make cocoa, creating a weather show, researching dinosaurs and learning about our neighbors in Mexico. For further information about accessibility features, please contact the Capital Children's Museum directly at 202-675-4120. You may also visit their website at www.ccm.org

AMUSEMENT PARKS:

Six Flags America
13710 Central Avenue
Mitchellville, Maryland
www.sixflags.com

Located in Mitchellville, Maryland, Six Flags America is an ideal haven for a day trip to an amusement park. Filled with roller coasters, water parks, and lots of food and fun, children will love the numerous amenities this park has to offer. Six Flags offers information at through their Guest Relations office and their website specific to accommodations that they provide for individuals with disabilities. For further information about these accommodations, please visit their website at www.sixflags.com

Paramount's Kings Dominion
16000 Theme Park Way
Doswell, Virginia
804-876-5561

A great park for children to enjoy roller coasters, water splash parks and themes shows provided by some of today's coolest kid's television characters. Paramount's Kings Dominion provides a "New Procedures for Guests with Disabilities Guide" which includes information on receiving specific ride boarding times to allow guests to wait in comfortable seats and board the ride through the exit areas when their boarding time arrives. For these and other accommodations, please contact Paramount's Kings Dominion at 804-876-5561 or visit them at www.kingsdominion.com

Hershey Park
100 W. Hershey Park Drive
Hershey, Pennsylvania
1-800-HERSHEY

Have you ever wondered how chocolate is made? At Hershey Park, you can find out. They provide a tour that teaches you exactly how chocolate is made as well as other attractions such as Zoo America, Outlet Shopping and over 20 kids rides. Hershey Park features a "Guide for Guests with Disabilities and Rider Safety" which provides maps and information that make it possible for guests to have a safer and more enjoyable day at Hershey Park. They also provide information for guests who use wheelchairs, have hearing impairments, and/or require the use of service animals. To find out more about Hershey Park and the accommodation made for families with children with disabilities, please visit their website at www.hersheypa.com/attractions/hersheypark or contact them directly at 1-800-HERSHEY. In addition, please specify if your child requires the use of a wheelchair to find out information about using the wheelchair in some of the natural terrains in the park.

Sesame Place
100 Sesame Road
Longhorne, Pennsylvania
215-752-7070

Does your child love the characters from the Sesame Street television show? Well if so, you may want to plan a day trip to Sesame Place where they can see these loving characters up close and personal. Sesame Place provides such attractions as breakfast and dinner with the Sesame Place characters, Sky Splash, and Nets and Climb. They have water rides and roller-coasters too. Sesame Place provides an accessibility guide for families with children with disabilities, which provides information about their accommodations, such as show scripts, restroom accessibility, sign language interpretations and accessible entrances to rides and activities. If you would like to find out more information about Sesame Place, please contact them at 215-752-7070 or at www.sesameplace.com

We currently offer training and technical consultation to businesses, churches, and other community organizations to help make them more welcoming to families and children with special needs. If you know of a business or other organization that would like to take advantage of these services, please e-mail us at: communityconnections@umd.edu
OR
If you know of a business that is already welcoming to children with special needs and their families and you would like to share this information with other families and professionals, please send us your name as well as the name and contact information for the business with a brief description of why you believe they are welcoming to families. If appropriate, we will post the business on our website and we may even feature it as a 'Spotlight if the Month'. E-mail your submissions to: communityconnections@umd.edu

*Questions or Suggestions about our newsletter? Have an idea you would like to submit? Please feel free to contact us at communityconnections@umd.edu

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Disclaimer
Unless otherwise noted, all referenced articles are available at no charge to you. Community Connections provides this for informational purposes only and cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by linked sites. The opinions and views expressed at these web sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Community Connections. Any personal information requested by any of the web sites will be governed by the privacy policy at the site, and any questions you have related to the sites' use of information should be directed there. The information contained in this newsletter is not intended to make any offer or commitment to purchase, subscribe to, provide or sell any service or product or to provide any recommendations on which readers should rely.

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Helping to Facilitate the Participation of Children with Disabilities in Community Settings

The Community Connections Communicator June 2003

In this Issue:

The Family that Plays Together

A Day at the Zoo

Spotlights of the Month!