Wistariahurst Museum hosts sensory-sensitive Easter egg hunt (2025)

HOLYOKE — Just the mere mention of “Easter egg hunt” can dredge up thoughts of hundreds of loud kids running to find a limited supply of colorful plastic Easter eggs that may contain candy or a small toy.

Imagine being the parent of a sensory-sensitive child, perhaps one with autism, mobility challenges, or a hearing problem. The frenzy of a classic Easter egg hunt might overwhelm that kid creating extreme anxiety or leave another child completely out of the fun.

An Easter egg hunt at the Wistariahurst Museum on Sunday was designed specifically with those sensory-sensitive kids in mind.

“We decided we could program our house to create a sensory-friendly egg hunt where there is no rush to madness and there is no judgment, where kids can come in and vocalize if that’s what they do or not speak at all if they are non-verbal,” said Rachel Buenaventura, Wistariahurst Museum’s event coordinator. “We have our first and second floors set up where kids can go from room to room to find one egg per room. They bring them to our prize table where they can pick out a prize for completing the hunt.”

Kids with sensory processing issues tend to react to some stimuli in unusual and sometimes unpredictable ways. Things like very loud noises or flashing bright lights may trigger a reaction such as an emotional meltdown when they become overwhelmed. Sensory sensitivity can be associated with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

All 12 rooms of the Wistariahurst Museum on Cabot Street were the playing field of the hunt on Sunday. Brightly colored eggs were hidden in the various rooms of the Gilded Age mansion. Most kids had little trouble finding at least a couple eggs in each room, but some were challenged a little. For instance, 3-year-old Max bypassed several eggs plainly out in the open to stand on his tiptoes to reach into the cubby of a Victorian desk to find his prize.

Each of the children’s visits was timed out so that there were relatively few other families “on the hunt” at the same time. That way sensitive kids would not be rattled by the number of people nearby.

While it may be lost on the younger kids, the older ones also get a healthy dose of history and how people, namely the very rich, lived as they moved from room to room in the ostentatious mansion on Cabot Street.

Eric Castonguay followed his son, Julian, through the second floor of the mansion. Julian is autistic and does not like large crowds of kids. His last attempt to participate in a large-scale Easter egg hunt was not a lot of fun.

“He didn’t really get a chance to enjoy the experience of the Easter egg hunt because there were no eggs left after a minute,” Castonguay said. “This is great because we are leisurely going through the exhibits looking for the eggs. We have never been here before so seeing all the history is great.”

Julian collected eggs from each room he went into and finally got his prize.

The fun extended outside with lawn games and sidewalk chalk. Violet Carrasco played on a bouncing ball on the front lawn of the mansion. Her mom, Hannah Carrasco, said she enjoys having a space where she can relax while Violet has fun.

“It is just nice to go someplace where we know that there are options that she will enjoy without it being too overwhelming,” she said. “It is hard for her to follow a lot of rules, so having people around who understand her behavior is helpful.”

Wistariahurst Museum also opens its doors for Halloween thrills and chills for sensory-sensitive kids and holds its “Sensory Family Sunday Funday” twice a month in the summer and fall. All events are free and open to the public. Details are available at its website at https://wistariahurst.org/.