About Sam

Sam Bowen is a museum development officer and works for the South East Museum Development Programme based in Kent. Her daily job can be anything from meeting a museum to discuss their needs to setting up training days or running projects. Sam is also a SEND mum and is keen to share her love of museums and heritage settings with her disabled daughter Lucy. This hasn't always been easy however as Lucy is a wheelchair user, has learning disability and is non verbal. Together they have faced issues in physical access to spaces and also lack of understanding or awareness of how to communicate and engage with a child with SEND.

These experiences inspired Sam to run projects linking museums with SEND schools and other groups to create inclusive programmes and practice. In 2019, Sam ran a project in the South East working with 13 museums and over 135 students, this project proved that all venues and all types of collections and topics can be made SEND friendly and positive engagment is possible everywhere. She is also the author of the 'Special Schools and Museums Toolkit' available on the South East Museums Development website and she speaks regularly at museum conferences on the importance of SEND engagement. Sam tweets under the tag @makedoandSEND and uses the hashtag #SENDinMuseums to promote advocacy online.

Sam brings her own experience as a SEND parent and museum professional with over 20 years working in the sector to share her advice on how to welcome and engage with children and young people with SEND, their families and professionals who visit with them.