Accessibility at Cooper Hewitt

Discounted tickets are available for visitors with disabilities, and free tickets are available for caregivers/personal care attendants accompanying a visitor. No ID or special documentation is required to purchase a ticket for visitors with disabilities. You can purchase tickets online or at the museum. 

Discounted memberships are also available. 

You can read our Know Before You Go guide for step-by-step information about visiting the museum. 

Service animals are welcome at Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. Emotional support, therapy, comfort, companion dogs, and dogs in training to be service dogs are not considered service dogs under the guidelines of the ADA. 

Get additional accessibility resources, including screen-reader compatible exhibition labels, visual descriptions, sensory maps, and more, for current exhibitions on our Accessibility Resources page.  

The museum is located at 2 East 91st Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in New York City. View the Getting Here page for detailed information about the nearest subways, buses, and parking garages.  

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) offers reduced fares on its subways, buses, and commuter railroads to customers with disabilities. Consult The MTA Guide to Accessible Transit for information about reduced fare programs, accessible stations, large print maps, and a variety of other ADA-accessible services MTA agencies provide.

There are three wide, low steps up to the main entrance of Cooper Hewitt, as well as a ramp. The ramp is to the left when standing facing the front of the museum on 91st Street. The main entrance has an automatic door. 

There are no steps up to the museum’s Garden entrance on 90th Street. 

Inside the museum, all areas are accessible via elevator or stairs. There are multi-stall gendered restrooms on the Ground Floor with one accessible stall in each, along with a single-stall, all-gender accessible restroom. 

Standard manual wheelchairs, rollators, and foldable gallery stools are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis at coat check, located on your right when you enter the museum.  

Sensory support materials, including fidgets, sunglasses, and earplugs, are available at the Visitor Experience desk, along with ear defenders in adult and child sizes that you may borrow for the length of your visit, free of charge. 

You can read our Know Before You Go guide for step-by-step information about visiting the museum. 

The museum may be extra loud and busy from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, when school field trips visit the museum. The museum may be quiet and less crowded on weekday afternoons. 

Learn more about the Design Nights program.

Large print labels are available near the introductory section of every exhibition. Exhibition labels can also be accessed online on the Resources page for each current exhibition. 

All in-gallery videos have Audio Description. Access the Audio Description online on the Resources page for each current exhibition. 

Learn more about the Discover Design program.

Courtesy of Hansel Bauman, Gallaudet University

All in-gallery videos have open captions. Many public programs have live CART captioning.

ASL interpretation is available by request for any Cooper Hewitt tour or program, free of charge. 

To request these services or inquire about what services will be provided, email CHAccess@si.edu or call 212.849.2950. Please make your request at least one week prior to your visit. 

Learn more about the ASL Tour program.

Cooper Hewitt Design Guides lead public and private tours of Cooper Hewitt’s exhibitions.

Public tours are offered daily at 1:30 p.m. 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 or program, free of charge. Please make your request at least one week prior to your visit. To request these services, email CHAccess@si.edu or call 212.849.2950.

Cooper Hewitt provides regularly scheduled tours and educational opportunities specifically inviting visitors with disabilities. Find out more about upcoming programs for visitors with disabilities.

Cooper Hewitt has developed a number of resources to support museum staff and other professionals in developing a more inclusive and accessible practice. Visit our Accessibility Resources page for a full list of available resources.

Designing for Disability. Image credit: Rebirth Garments Mask, 2021, Sky Cubacub, Rebirth Garments; Dot Watch, 2017, designed by Cloudandco for Dot Incorporation; Diagram of Design Elements of Accessible Icon, Designed by Tim Ferguson-Sauder, Courtesy of The Accessible Icon Project

Learn how Cooper Hewitt is using our exhibitions, campus, and museum resources to raise awareness of accessible design innovation, inspire dialogue, and leverage Cooper Hewitt’s role as platform for design to promote problem-solving in support of inclusivity. Check out our Design Access page to learn more.

If you are a student or instructor with a disability that requires an alternative format for a Cooper Hewitt publication, please reach out to CHAccess@si.edu to submit a request.

The publication requested must be used for classroom/course use. Please share any additional specifications needed in your request.