Quiet galleries. Bean bags scattered through the galleries. During Neurodiversity Celebration Week, visitors to Manchester Museum experienced the museum and its collections a little differently.

On Wednesday 18 March, the Museum hosted Calm Night, a sensory-friendly evening designed to make the Museum more accessible and welcoming for neurodivergent visitors, and anyone who prefers a calm and quiet environment.

Across the evening, visitors experienced the Museum, its stories and activities at their own pace. Lighting was softened, audio levels reduced and quiet spaces created across the building. Visitors were invited to handle sensory objects, take part in crafts and listen to short ‘lightning talks’ from the Visitor Team, highlighting objects and stories in galleries across the Museum.

The evening built on a day of activities for Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a global initiative that challenges stereotypes and celebrates the strengths and talents of neurodivergent people. Earlier in the day, students from Pinc College led sensory art workshops where participants created their own sensory boards while hearing directly from students about their creative work and lived experiences. Pinc College is a specialist creative college for neurodivergent young people aged 16-25 based on the Museum’s Top Floor.

Pinc College students also shared reflections on their favourite objects in the Museum’s collections. These ranged from broken pottery, to fossils, to taxidermy including the vivid green kākāpō. One student chose the baby Asian elephant in the Living Worlds gallery, “because it makes me think about there being an actual elephant in the room. It is likely one of my favourite things in Manchester Museum because it has nice textures and details, it is nice and dark, and has a nice, small trunk, and small ears.”

This relaxed evening was really valuable in making sure the Museum is a place where people feel confident to spend time, explore and join in. It also provided a space for thinking about museum futures; whose stories do museums tell, and whose voices are doing the is telling.

• Find out more about Manchester Museum’s accessibility for your next visit.