Science Spark Accessibility Statement

Science Spark is committed to providing a fully accessible website experience for all users of all abilities, including those who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers, screen enlargement software, and alternative keyboard input devices to navigate the web.

Ongoing Efforts to Ensure Accessibility

We follow WCAG 2.2 as our guiding principle for determining accessibility. These are internationally agreed-upon standards that cover a wide range of recommendations and best practices for making content usable. As we add new pages and functionality to our website, all designs, code, and content entry practices are checked against these standards.

Website accessibility is an ongoing process. We continually test content and features, and remediate any accessibility issues to ensure we meet or exceed the standards. Testing of our website is performed by our team members using industry-standard tools, color contrast analyzers, keyboard-only navigation techniques, and readability tests.

Accessibility Features On Our Website

The following features have been implemented to improve accessibility and usability for all users:

  • Text alternatives (alt text) for meaningful images
  • Sufficient color contrast between text and background
  • Keyboard-accessible navigation for interactive elements
  • Clear and consistent page structure with proper heading hierarchy
  • Descriptive link text to provide context for screen reader users
  • Responsive design for compatibility with screen magnification and mobile devices
  • Forms with associated labels and clear instructions
  • Error messages and feedback that are easy to understand
  • Readable font sizes and spacing to improve legibility

Where We’re Improving

As part of our ongoing commitment to accessibility, we are actively reviewing and addressing the following items:

  • Color contrast adjustments to ensure optimal readability across all brand colors
  • Calibration of select brand color combinations to meet accessibility contrast guidelines
  • Review and resolution of ARIA attributes for improved screen reader compatibility
  • Accessibility enhancements for linked documents, including PDFs and Microsoft Office files
  • Review of links that open in new tabs to ensure clear user context
  • Refinement of image alternative text to eliminate duplication and improve descriptive accuracy
  • Continued accessibility checks on newly added images and content

Some accessibility improvements depend on platform capabilities or third-party tools. We continue to monitor these items and address them as updates and tools become available.

This is part of our broader effort to make everyone’s experience at Science Spark’s website usasciencefestival.org a welcoming and enjoyable one. Please note that while we make every effort to provide information accessible for all users, we cannot guarantee the accessibility of third-party websites to which we may link.

Accessibility Support Contact

We welcome comments, questions, and feedback on our website. If you are using assistive technologies and are having difficulty using our website, please email info@usasciencefestival.org. We will do our best to assist you and resolve issues.

Formal Complaints

If you have contacted us for accessibility support and did not receive a satisfactory response, you may file a formal complaint under the California Disabled Persons Act (California Government Code § 11135). You can contact the California Department of Rehabilitation at 1-916-324-1313 or via their website https://www.dor.ca.gov/.