Barnum Festival Organizes A Special Day for Special Needs

For the first time ever, the Barnum Festival has organized an event uniquely focused on community members with special needs. A Special Day for Special Needs will take place at the Discovery Museum on Saturday, March 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This activity is free of charge for people who are differently abled along with their para support.

“We are excited to offer the community this new program that perfectly aligns with this year’s Barnum Festival theme: Everyone Counts,” said Marty Schwartz of Fairfield, this year’s Ringmaster of the Barnum Festival. He is the retired President and CEO of The Kennedy Center and a long-time community leader and advocate.

“In addition, we are very grateful to The Discovery Museum for opening up their wonderful educational resource to the public and promoting activities that are inclusive.”

Bill Finch, Executive Director of the Discovery Museum, added, ““Every child deserves an opportunity to learn, grow, and discover future success. At the Discovery Museum, we are honored to take part in this special day -- offering children with special needs and their caregivers free admission -- while providing a fun and interactive learning environment that includes planetarium shows, live science demonstrations, and more.”

“The Barnum Festival, one of the region’s best-loved annual traditions, depends on the generous support of many donors as well as in-kind community partners such as The Discovery Museum,” noted Schwartz. “ In fact, part of the proceeds of this year’s Barnum Festival will be donated to support special needs children.”

The special activities planned for this special day include:

• Full volume planetarium shows
• No volume visually spectacular shows
• Visually stimulating live science demos with sensory interaction
• Opportunity to meet and greet a talented artist with disabilities at around 1 p.m. and view their exhibit

Specifically, the following is a schedule for shows and demos:

10:30 a.m.Tour of the Solar System on Science on a Sphere- led by educator

11:00 a.m. Planetarium Show with no sound just visual images

12:00 p.m. Science Demo- fun experiments but no loud sounds or bright flashes

12:30 p.m. Planetarium Show-Space Travel with sound on high

1:00 p.m. Tour of the Solar System on Science on a Sphere- led by educator

1:30 p.m. Planetarium Show with no sound just visual images

2:00 p.m. Science Demo- fun experiments but no loud sounds or bright flashes

3:00 p.m. Planetarium Show-Space Travel with sound on high

4:00 p.m. Laser Show – Very Bright Lights, Flashing with a hazy “smoke” (we will put up many warnings about this show)

For more information, contact The Discovery Museum located at 4450 Park Avenue in Bridgeport at 203-372-3521 or visit www.discoverymuseum.org.

About the Barnum Festival

The Barnum Festival is a celebration of the City of Bridgeport and the surrounding area that was organized in 1948 to help support local businesses and honor P.T. Barnum—a world-renowned showman and city leader. The first Festival was held in 1949. The Barnum Festival events focus on building community spirit, fostering philanthropy, and celebrating the diverse cultures represented by residents. The festival culminates in a weekend-long Barnum Palooza that hosts parades, concerts, fireworks, and other family-friendly festivities. Visit http://barnumfestival.com for more information.

About the Discovery Museum

Our mission is to engage, excite, and educate young learners through experiences and programs that inspire wonder and ignite creativity as the foundation for a lifetime love of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning.