RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and The Strong National Museum of Play Partner for Deaf Day of Play on March 21. 

Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and The Strong have partnered to offer Deaf Day of Play at the museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 21. Students from NTID’s Department of American Sign Language and Interpreter Education Program will provide ASL assistance at the museum throughout the day. (General museum admission fees apply.) 

All activities are interpreted.  

• Learn about butterflies from a museum biologist in the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden.   

Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden, 11 a.m., 2 p.m. (additional fees may apply)  

• Join the Rochester School for the Deaf for an ASL story time.   

Adams Atrium, 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m.   

• Visit the Play Lab to explore the ASL alphabet and incorporate it into your artwork!  

Play Lab  

• View artifacts highlighting sign language and the D/deaf community’s impact on play!  

Adams Atrium   

• Explore NTID’s Perception, Language and Attention in Youth (PLAY) Lab and their aim to understand how early sensory experiences shape visual, cognitive, and language abilities later in life.   

Adams Atrium, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.  

• Visit the ROC HCI research group to learn about their Tabletop Interactive Play System which supports joint play between a hearing parent and their D/deaf or Hard-of-Hearing children, with the goal of learning ASL together.  

Adams Atrium