SK11 Cram Session: Attending to our Attendees!

Hey there, Skepticondlers!

You know who we adore? You! Our attendees! So we do our best to make you all comfortable and as happy as possible. Here are some ways we’re doing that:

Quiet Room — There will be a quiet room available for when you need a moment away from the hustle and bustle of the con. It’s on the 13th floor, so it’s convenient to all the con rooms!

Fidgets — Check the registration table to borrow a fidget if you need one!

Gender Neutral Restrooms — The restrooms in the center of the convention hall will be gender neutral. There are gender segregated restrooms at the far end of the hall past the main stage/workshop rooms.

Child Care — Child care will be available for ages newborn and up! There is a suggested donation of $5 per hour per child. Child care is being provided by TLC Family Care. More information available here https://skepticon.org/childcare-will-be-available-at-sk11/ and at registration.

Nursing & Napping Room — A quiet room will be available for parents and their little ones to take a break for a nosh or a nap. There will be 2 playpens and 10 nap mats available for the little ones, and comfy couches and chairs for the parental ones. More information is available at registration.

Red Lanyard Policy — Not all of our attendees are out in their home communities as the people they are while at Skepticon. Those people will be wearing red lanyards, and pictures of them or use of their names should not be used in any way without their explicit permission.

Reserved for Mobility Devices — We will have several areas in the main stage/workshop spaces reserved for people with mobility devices. If you need help finding these spaces, or moving chairs to be in your preferred area, let us know!

Captioning — White Coat Captioning, and more specifically, our favorite captioner Mirabai, will be returning to provide captioning for all the main stage presentations!

Communication Stickers — We respect that some people are not comfortable conversing with strangers, or want to regulate their interaction with people. Everyone can opt to use the communication stickers or not, but please respect the wishes of those who do use them.

Food Pantry — We found out that some of our attendees were going hungry, or at least not eating very much or very healthy, while attending Skepticon. That was not acceptable, so we introduced our Food Pantry! We will have a microwave and hot water available, as well as plates, bowls, napkins, utensils, etc.

If you can, please bring items to donate to the food pantry! For every item you bring, you will get one raffle ticket (max. 5 tickets.) Suggested items are fresh or canned/packaged fruit; ready-to-eat soups (not condensed); chili; “instant” foods like Cup-a-Noodles, mac & cheese cups, etc; single serving peanut butter & crackers, cheese & crackers, tuna or chicken salad & crackers, etc; single serving packages of snack foods: dried fruit, raisins, cereal, nuts, trail mix, crackers, jerky, etc; granola bars; oatmeal or Cream of Wheat packets. Also needed are paper bowls (not styrofoam, they melt in the microwave), plastic spoons and forks, and napkins or paper towels. If you’re able to accommodate dietary restrictions such as vegetarian or vegan, gluten-free, diabetic, etc, that would be super awesome. If you donate a special item, please notify us when you drop off so we can set it aside for someone who needs such an item.

Clothes Closet — Need clothes? Come visit the Clothes Closet! Have extra clothes? Bring them to the Clothes Closet, and get up to 5 raffle tickets! This started as just clothes for Prom, but this year we’re expanding it to include all clothes! More info is available here https://skepticon.org/skepticon-clothes-closet/

Community Message Board — Leave a message for a friend, request a ride, or just share a fun saying! The message board is available for anything you need, as long as it’s good.

We hope this helps you have an even better time at Skepticon! If you think of something we should be providing, please leave us a comment in the box at the registration table!

Looking forward to an amazing time with all of you this weekend!

Love,
Team Skepticon

PS — Donations are what make these accommodations possible. Please help if you can! skepticon.org/donate