Neurodivergent perspectives in geoscience: Reflections from the development of paleontology museum educational materials

As neurodivergent paleontologists, museum practitioners, and allies, we recognize that the museum world is not always welcoming to neurodivergent needs and perspectives. Science museums have made attempts to change this trend, providing sensory hours and other accommodations for neurodivergent and disabled people to participate more fully in museum spaces. However, museum-based change efforts focused on disabled and neurodivergent people do not always meaningfully include people from these communities. We build on a literature of inclusive practices for neurodivergent geoscientists and within museums, and the perceived barriers for neurodivergent people in geoscience, to embrace neurodivergent perspectives as central to the development of paleontology museum educational materials. We center this work in the social-relational model of disability, reflecting upon our rich intersectional identities as neurodivergent paleontologists, allies, and museum practitioners, and providing a theoretical framework for encouraging neurodivergent perspectives in paleontology museum education in tandem with critical disability studies. We provide preliminary reflections on neurodivergent-centered paleontology museum educational materials from our narratives of two public events which centered disabled/neurodivergent participants as full partners in the creation of a mini-museum at their adult day program center, and as partners in the co-creation of materials on a well-trafficked paleontology museum website. We conclude with recommendations and ways of incorporating neurodivergent perspectives into geoscience and paleontology museums, and geoscience as a whole.