Holistic accessibility consulting for travel and tourism
Yesterday I attended an art exhibit done by the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired that was so special to me. The exhibit is called Tactile Revolution, where people are invited to touch different tactile designs, braille and 3D models.
The reason why I was there is because many of the objects, about more than two dozens which are exhibited were done by my company.
Over the last couple of years, Even Grounds has been working on a very rewarding project with the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We are creating 3D printed tactile objects for schools for the blind around to world to help the teaching of biology.
The way this program works is that they build relationships with schools for the blind from around the world, ship 3D printers and printing materials to them, together with 3D design files. This way, at a much lower cost than sending each piece individually, schools can print and distribute their materials locally.
Leave a CommentAfter my visit, I couldn’t tell you what was more fascinating: the historic building, the eclectic exhibit, or the owner himself. Each is worth a visit on its own, but the three-in-one package is the real deal.
I hadn’t heard of the Darl Center until I met the owner, Darl Schaaff, at the Ohio Museums Association conference. We happened to be in the same meeting and struck up a conversation. I was immediately intrigued by his background and asked Darl if we could arrange a private tour for me to experience the space firsthand.
Leave a CommentLast week when I attended the National Braille Association conference, I was able to find some time to visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati. I admit, last time when I was in Cincinnati, I didn’t know about it, otherwise I would have put it on my list, though maybe it was at the time when they were doing the renovations. But in anyway, everything has a reason, and this time there was one more reason to visit, they have a few building replicas we made for them in collaboration with Clovernook, but more about this later.
By the time I figured out my final schedule and matched it with the opening hours, there were exactly two hours left for me to visit. I can’t thank her enough, the executive director, Christina Hartlieb immediately responded to my email and at a one week notice she generously made her time available to personally give me a tour of the house.
This house is famous about Harriet Beecher Stowe, at the time, Harriet Beecher living there from 1832 until her marriage in 1836. After that she still lived in Cincinnati, and her experience in town contributed to her most famous novel, Uncle Tom’s cabin. The book was translated to at least 75 languages, and my personal connection to it was that when I was a kid, my mom read it to me in Hungarian.
Leave a CommentI am always searching for innovative solutions to enhance the independence of visually impaired individuals. One such solution that has captured my attention many years ago was Touch Mapper, a service that allows the printing of local maps based on addresses. These tactile maps, designed for blind and visually impaired people, show roads, buildings, and bodies of water, with data sourced from OpenStreetMap. With my new 3D printer, it was finally time to put it to a test.
2 CommentsLast weekend I got myself a 3D printer. How does this relate to accessible travel? Because if I would like to understand what something looks like and I don’t have the opportunity to touch it, I can hopefully print out a model. I wrote about the 3d printed building project before, but that’s a different concept, where we are creating almost replica quality buildings. But sometimes, a good enough model that I can download from the net can give more information than nothing at all. My other motive was to work on more ideas and concepts for other blind people. I have many in mind, stay tuned.
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