High Point Museum named first "Senior Friendly" museum in the state

The High Point Museum and Historical Park has earned the status of being the first certified "Senior Friendly" museum in state. The Senior Friendly designation comes out of the North Carolina Division on Aging's Senior Friendly Initiative created to develop senior friendly communities.

The state created three pilot programs in Nashville, Franklinton and High Point to help those communities consider the needs and interests of older adults and, at the same time, help the communities work better for everyone. The Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Roy B. Culler, Jr. Senior Center and the North Carolina Division on Aging collaborated to develop High Point's Senior Friendly certification, which focused on cultural, social, and art venues. Together they created a self-assessment tool that venues could use to rate their facilities and programs. A Senior Friendly Committee, made up of local seniors, scored the tool and awarded the certification.

The High Point Museum and Historical Park scored 202 out of a possible 220 points on the self-assessment. The Senior Friendly certification looked at six areas, such as whether the museum is affordable and accessible for seniors and whether the museum provides at least one regularly scheduled event or program that targets seniors during the year. Calvin Vaughn, director of the Roy B. Culler, Jr. Senior Center, says, "202 points is very impressive. The museum scored high in all six of the assessment areas and I think The High Point Museum is a great example of being Senior Friendly. The museum's friendliness toward our population has been praised by older adults."

The museum earned bonus points for holding programs that grandparents can bring their grandchildren to and for making seniors part of focus groups that are helping the museum redesign its permanent gallery space to better tell the African American story in High Point. Overall, seniors make up about 13% of the museum's annual visitation. High Point Museum President Barbara Taylor says, "We always try to keep every age group in mind when we plan programs and exhibits, and it feels great to be rewarded for our efforts."

The museum's portable, lightweight canvas chairs also brought rave reviews. Edith Brady, Curator of Education, says, "When I came in 2000, those chairs were one of the first thing I wanted to buy. I wanted people to be able to sit and enjoy any part of the museum or the park, and our chairs are easy for people to carry anywhere with them."

Today in Guilford County, adults 65 and older make up 12 percent of the population; in 25 years that figure is estimated to be 18 percent. The North Carolina Division of Aging has touted the Senior Friendly Initiative as a way to remove barriers to services so seniors have an opportunity to remain an integral part of their communities. So far the High Point Museum and two other cultural venues have applied for the Senior Friendly certification but only the museum has earned the title to date.