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Sherlock Center celebrates 30 years with a night at the zoo

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An aunt and nephew enjoy their ice cream in front of two camels.

The Sherlock Center celebrated its 30th anniversary, awarded five Access for All Abilities Mini Grants and cooled off with an ice cream social at “An Evening at Roger Williams Park Zoo” on Thursday, June 20.

ZooCamp Director Beth Caporelli and Director of Guest Engagement Leigh Picard joined us to speak about the impact of receiving past Sherlock Center mini-grants – in 2019 to install a sensory pathway and in 2012 to adapt materials and provide staff training to support campers with disabilities – and about the importance of accessibility and inclusivity at the zoo. 

Special congratulations to our 2024 grant recipients:

  • The Collaborative in Warren, which will purchase a removable ramp for the main entryway at its new program location and make improvements to its restroom to be ADA-compliant. 
  • Gnome Surf, which will build a four-part disability awareness strengthening program mandatory for all instructors with topics including autism awareness, sensitivity awareness, child safeguarding and more.
  • Newport Art Museum, which will create participatory, inclusive spaces in galleries and quiet areas with resources such as tactile displays, didactics, iPads with artist-featured videos, musical instruments and sensory bins. 
  • Providence Public Library, which will purchase and install sound-dampening panels in program and classroom spaces to improve acoustics for all program participants.
  • Refugee Dream Center, which will purchase two specialized beach chairs tailored for individuals with mobility impairments and establish a program so community members with disabilities can borrow them free of charge.

Gallery from our 30th anniversary celebration

Guests are at the zoo entrance.
Guests are at the zoo entrance.
A group of guests poses inside the zoo.
Three guests pose in front of a unicorn that’s part of a special “Dragons and Mythical Creatures” exhibition at the zoo.
Guests are seated and waiting for the program to start.
Guests are seated and waiting for the program to start.
Guests mingle and visit before the program.
Three guests are seated at a picnic table with others in the background.
Sherlock Center Executive Director Amy Grattan welcomes guests.
ZooCamp Director Beth Caporelli speaks.
and how the grants were used. Leigh Picard, director of guest engagement at the zoo, speaks.
Crystal Cerullo, family engagement specialist at the Sherlock Center, introduces this year’s mini grant recipients.
Cristin Searles Bilodeau, Newport Art Museum’s director of visitor services and community engagement, accepts the museum’s mini grant.
Jen Potter, chief operating officer of Gnome Surf, accepts the organization’s mini grant.
Isabel Kayembe, project specialist from Refugee Dream Center, accepts the organization’s mini grant.
Aaron Peterman, chief operating officer of Providence Public Library, accepts the library’s mini grant.
Sally Turner, executive director of The Collaborative, accepts the organization’s mini grant.
Grant recipients and speakers stand on stage.
Crystal Cerullo, Sally Turner and Amy Grattan.
Aaron Peterman, Crystal Cerullo and Amy Grattan
Beth Caporelli, Crystal Cerullo, Amy Grattan and Leigh Picard
Jen Potter, Crystal Cerullo and Amy Grattan
Cristin Searles Bilodeau, Crystal Cerullo and Amy Grattan
Isabel Kayembe, Crystal Cerullo and Amy Grattan
Sally Turner, Isabel Kayembe, Aaron Peterman, Jen Potter, Cristin Searles Bilodeau, Crystal Cerullo and Amy Grattan
Group photo of all the speakers.
A guest enjoys a strawberry shortcake bar.
A young child eats an ice cream sandwich.
A group of guests poses for a photo.
A man eating an ice cream puts his arm around a woman; both are smiling at the camera.
Parents and their child in a stroller enjoy the zoo after the program.
Parents and their children enjoy the zoo after the program.
Two children pose near an animal exhibit.