DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Cubs partnered with the Autism Society of Iowa and ChildServe to hold the 2nd annual Sensory Day at Principal Park.

For Sensory Day, the Iowa Cubs converted suites seating into calming rooms to allow children with sensory sensitivities the space they need to calm down.

Leslie Rogers, the Vice President of Outpatient Services at ChildServe, said that sensory day is tailored to the needs of children with sensory issues.

“Individuals with sensory needs may be overstimulated by an environment, so they may be stimulated by the lights or the sounds or also might be understimulated and need a little bit of stimulation to be able to participate in the day.”

“Our common rooms here offer a variety of opportunities for them to engage in activities that might meet those needs, and then they can reengage with the baseball game or come back and relax and kind of regroup to be able to enjoy the whole day,” Rogers said.

Randy Wehofer, the Vice President and Assistant General Manager of the Iowa Cubs, said that ChildServe and the Autism Society of Iowa were great partners for Sensory Day.

“We’re really thankful that Child Serve and the Autism Society of Iowa came to us with the idea and gave us the tools to figure out how we make the ballpark more accessible to people with sensory issues. And it was a great success,” Wehofer said.

Megan Hopper, a parent of a child with sensory sensitivities, said that Sensory Day makes going to a ball game possible.

“It makes it possible for us to be able to come to something like this and just have more resources available. So we really appreciate it, especially just being able to come in and cool off, do those things and know that we can have some like safe spaces to go. If everything becomes too much for him,” Hopper said.

The Iowa Cubs plan to hold another Sensory Day next year.