Dubuque Now Has “First of its Kind” Comfort Room Thanks to the Mississippi River Museum

Thanks to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Dubuque now has the "first of its kind" Comfort Room!

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium has welcomed more than 3.5 million visitors in the past 20 years, many of whom are families with young children, to enjoy animal and history exhibits that tell the story of the Mississippi River and America’s waterways.

As the River Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023, staff members on the Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) Team acknowledged its multiple inclusive initiatives since opening in 2003, but felt fostering an inclusive space for visitors had a missing piece, according to a press release.

That missing piece was "a dedicated comfort space for nursing parents or visitors needing a sensory break." That is how the Comfort Room came to be.

Located between the Makerspace and Boat Shop in the Mississippi River Center, the process took nearly two years as the museum and aquarium's team cleared some logistical hurdles to create a private room designed for this space. A bathroom that had rarely been utilized provided the space necessary for River Museum's facilities staff to create the Comfort Room:

Kristen Leffler, Staff Resource & Engagement Manager, couldn't be happier with how it came to be:

Get our free mobile app

As a family destination, we want to encourage our visitors to stay as long as they need to experience our campus, and we never want a visit to be cut short because there is no private place to nurse or take a sensory break. A space like this has been a request by staff and guests for quite some time, so we are pleased to have made this a reality.

According to the release, the Comfort Room "has a sink and is equipped with a comfortable recliner for nursing or bottle feeding, outlets for electronic lactation products, granola bars, fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, a sound machine, and most importantly, privacy, that guests and staff can use."

The Comfort Room is one of the first of its kind at a public facility in Dubuque. It’s one of many steps the River Museum has taken to provide a more accessible and inclusive experience for guests. Since the start of the year, the River Museum has also created Spanish-translated campus maps with the help of Gisella Aitken-Shadle, Chief of Equity & Human Rights at the City of Dubuque, and is working on a gluten free and allergy aware menu at the Harbor Grill.

Read more about the Comfort Room on the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium's website.