Philly Touch Tours

05/24/2026

Always a great pleasure to spend time with the Philly Touch Tours team: Katherine L Allen Simon Bonenfant Denice F. Brown We had an enjoyable evening with colleague and educator, Laura Prewitt at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. We were hosting a table during the American Alliance of Museum's Conference to highlight the new touch and descriptive tour there! https://www.sciencehistory.org/.../from-nature-to-nylons.../
In this image there are 4 people seated and one person standing behind a table. Everyone is smiling towards the camera. On the table are an assortment of items that highlight the touch tour: An old bakelite dial telephone; a turquoise nylon dress from the 1950s, stiff cardboard cuffs and a collar worn by well dressed gentlemen, pieces of velvet to remind people that their sense of touch has memory and a set of low vision goggles in case anyone wanted to understand more about the various eye conditions.

05/22/2026

Check out all of the newest tours and programs in and around the Philly area for Blind and Low vision community members:
Science History Institute: Touch and Descriptive Tour;
National Constitution Center; Touch and Descriptive Tour:
Washington Crossing Historic Park: Touch and Descriptive Tour:
Museum of the American Revolution: Audio Descriptive Tour;
Winterthur's Decorative Arts: An Online Accessible and Described Exhibit:

These tours take place regularly. The next one is schedule for Tuesday, June 9 from 10:30am - 12:30pm. Titled: From Nature to Nylons: This is a touch-based history of textiles and it will be held again next month. These expert-led tours are really interesting and fun!  The tour has a capacity of 10...

05/22/2026

National Constitution Center: Touch and Descriptive Tour:

Staff will guide visitors through a really fascinating story telling experience and interaction with the full size statues of those who added their names to the Constitution as well as those who dissented. The cost is $10 per person unless you have an Access Card in which case it is $2 per person.

This tour takes place from 8:45am - 10:00am on Sundays: * June 7, 2026* July 26, 2026* August 23, 2026* September 27, 2026* October 25, 2026* November 22, 2026* December 20, 2026

Contact: [email protected] and [email protected] to reserve a spot.

Watch a video of the inaugural tour here:

A new Philly Touch tour in Signers’ Hall lets visitors pick up on the founders’ age, status, and demeanor through touch.While Philly Touch Tours has been des...

05/14/2026

Fun night of Karaoke with our social MeetUp group at , Philadelphia last night!

05/09/2026

Reminder to blind and low vision friends and colleagues about the new tours and programs you can explore:

Science History Institute Touch and Descriptive Tour:
These tours take place regularly. The next one is schedule for Tuesday, June 9 from 10:30am - 12:30pm. It is called: From Nature to Nylons: A Touch-Based History of Textiles and it will be held again next month. These expert-led tours are really interesting and fun!
Please sign up or call the Institute ahead. The tour has a capacity of 10 people each month. The cost is $3 per person. Please contact the Institute directly to make a plan to visit.
https://www.sciencehistory.org/.../from-nature-to-nylons.../

National Constitution Center: Touch and Descriptive Tour:
Staff will guide visitors through a really fascinating story telling experience and interaction with the full size statues of those who added their names to the Constitution as well as those who dissented. The cost is $10 per person unless you have an Access Card in which case it is $2 per person.
This tour takes place from 8:45am - 10:00am on Sundays: * May 31, 2026* June 7, 2026* July 26, 2026* August 23, 2026* September 27, 2026* October 25, 2026* November 22, 2026* December 20, 2026
https://constitutioncenter.org/.../national-constitution...
Contact: [email protected] and [email protected] to reserve a spot.

Washington Crossing Historic Park: Touch and Descriptive Tour:
This is the perfect location to learn about history, touch art and objects and have a picnic! Contact the Crossing directly to arrange a visit. Unfortunately, Para Transit does not go out there so visits should be arranged with drivers either individually or in groups: We highly recommend this wonderful program!
This program is free of charge but a donation is always welcome!
https://www.washingtoncrossingpark.org/interpretive.../

Museum of the American Revolution: There is an Audio Descriptive Tour of the Galleries: Navigation info for blind/low vision visitors is intergrated with information about the exhibit and with a heads up the Museum will provide a guide and tactile objects related to the exhibits:
https://www.amrevmuseum.org/audio-descriptive-tour-core...
Contact the Museum to book a tour.

Friends of Washington Crossing Park (FWCP), in collaboration with Philly Touch Tours is proud to introduce a multi-sensory interpretive experience at Washington Crossing Historic Park, designed especially for visitors who are blind or visually impaired. This innovative program transforms our fully A...

05/04/2026

We are thrilled to announce this new and exciting touch and described experience of Signer's Hall at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. This program will run on the following dates:
May 31, 2026
June 7, 2026
July 26, 2026
August 23, 2026
September 27, 2026
October 25, 2026
November 22, 2026
December 20, 2026
Please contact Kristina Marinello to reserve a spot. The cost is $10 per person unless you have an Access Card in which case it is $2 per person.
[email protected]
Tel: (215) 409-6678

New "Feel the Founders Faces" partnership with Philly Touch Tours deepens the institution's commitment to accessible civic experience.

04/22/2026

For accessible programs with audio description and touch tours and events visit Philadelphia's ACCESSIBILITY COHORT website where listing are updated every month:

We are a group of professionals from the arts and culture sector who meet monthly to promote accessibility in our field. We are committed to building relationships with and learning from the disability communities we serve. We regularly invite feedback fr

04/22/2026

From Nature to Nylons: A Touch-Based History of Textiles
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 | 10:30am-12pm EDT
Science History Institute
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19106

This touch-based tour offers guests a private learning experience that combines a personally guided exploration of select gallery exhibits and a hands-on study of objects from our collections.

04/12/2026

Coming up on Tuesday! Well worth the visit!!

This touch-based tour offers guests a private learning experience that combines a personally guided exploration of select gallery exhibits and a hands-on study of objects from our collections.

03/17/2026

Blind and Low Vision friends and colleagues: Don't miss the next fascinating touch and visually described tour at the Science History Institute in April: From Nature to Nylons:
A Touch-Based History of Textiles
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 | 10:30am-12pm EDT
Science History Institute
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19106

Review by recent tour participant: "I had a great time on the "From Nature to Nylons Touch Tour," and am glad I made the time to participate in it. First, I would like to give kudos to you (the Institute) for being so professional and accommodating in your presentation style. You seemed very prepared and knowledgeable of the history of textiles. Thank you for answering questions through out the presentation to provide clarity and more in depth explanations on the topic. I really enjoyed the hands on aspect of the tour where we were able to touch the different fabrics/ items to go along with your descriptions. In, particular I enjoyed your explanations of the history of wool, cotton, silk and nylon. I also found the station featuring the Bakelite machine very interesting. Overall, I learned a great deal throughout this touch tour and look forward to future tours/presentations."

This touch-based tour offers guests a private learning experience that combines a personally guided exploration of select gallery exhibits and a hands-on study of objects from our collections.