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The Museum of Science and Industry hosted their own trick or treating event on Saturday
Elizabeth Fry reports
TAMPA, Fla. - It's the Halloween season, and that means a frightening scare is never out of the questions. However, sometimes those special effects, lights and scary noises that bring the spooky season to life can be overwhelming, especially those with special needs.
"Families sometimes don't get the opportunity, or what we like to say, the inclusion, into a lot of the holiday, Halloween, Christmas activities again because you associate some of those with being spooky or flashing lights at Christmas or circumstances that are completely unpredictable," said Rob Lamke, the chief operating officer of Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry.
That's why MOSI opened their doors a little early Saturday morning to let in some extra special princesses and superheroes, inviting them to trick or treat around the museum before the normal weekend crowds arrived.
"It gives a special group of individuals in our community the opportunity to experience a venue, an exhibit path and exhibits in a way they may not want to when we have normal operating hours because of crowds and because of maybe special circumstances," said Lamke.
MOSI calls it their ‘Day of Discovery’. This time around, it was Halloween-themed with the goal of creating an environment that is safe and engaging for ghouls and goblins of all ages.
"Ryan is autistic, so having sensory-friendly events, especially around the holidays, is such a nice way for us to get out and do all the normal activities that everyone else does without all the loud noise," said Heather Spralding, a parent of a trick-or-treater who attended Saturday's event.
From an astronaut to a T-rex, trick-or-treaters met new friends along the way as they made their stops to pick up their candy.
"My favorite part is to see him out and exploring and interacting with the dinosaur and the astronaut, he loves all of these characters that are out," said Spralding. "I think his favorite event is just running around."
Sometimes the smoke machines and lights aren't needed after all to make it a Halloween experience you won't forget.
MOSI will host another Day of Discovery for the Christmas season. In the meantime, everyone is invited to get in the Halloween spirit with MOSI's Monster Mash happening on Oct. 31. For more information, visit https://www.mosi.org/mosi-monster-mash/.