Tactile Access

Some things just don’t translate to the virtual. (Okay, after nearly two years with Zoom in our lives in a big way, we can say that a lot of things don’t really translate well.) Let’s put our annual shark dissection for blind and low vision students high on that list.

And we’re not talking about the smell of fishy Formaldehyde down in the gym, though that is also true.

We missed a year because of COVID concerns in 2021, and you could feel that surge like we are coming back as nearly 30 students participated in this year’s annual shark dissection with Arapahoe Biology Professor Terry Harrison on Monday.

Join us for the April Fun Activities and Skills Training (FAST) on Saturday, April 13 at the Denver Art Museum. We’ll be exploring “Treasures of British Art” at DAM’s Tactile Tables. It’s art that is accessible to everyone, except that there is room for only fifteen in our group! Admission to the museum is free.

We will take a van from CCB to DAM, or you can meet us there. Please RSVP and let us know if you will need a ride from CCB or meet us at the Hamilton Building. Here’s a quick schedule for the day:

It may be the best yet! This year’s “Shared Visions” tactile art exhibit at the Colorado Gallery of the Arts at Arapahoe Community College (ACC) featured even more tactile painting pieces, a series of “boxes” from another class that were in every instance surprising, as well as an installation of an idyllic natural setting, complete with a trickling spring.

It’s the fifth year that we’ve collaborated with Arapahoe Community College’s Art & Design Center, and the fourth year our students had some of their own work on display.

The best news is that it’s open till Monday, December 3! In fact, this Friday our Senior Program will be making a pilgrimage to see it.

Whirling overhead at all times are stars, planets – whole galaxies. Humans have always wondered at them and about them. Blindness is no impediment to curiosity, including in the area of astronomy, nor is there any reason blind people can’t learn much in this field, often thought to be too visual. Some have even become astronomers themselves.

So, with the help of Arapahoe Community College Astronomy Coordinator and Instructor Jennifer Jones, this month’s FAST (Fun Activities and Skills Training) Friday program for blind youth will teach about the stars with tactile graphics of constellations, 3D printings of telescopes, and, finally, a trip outside to see what is in Friday night’s sky. Members of ACC’s Astronomy Club will be helping out too. We’ll also learn a little about the science of sonification as it applies to studying various astronomical phenomena.

As Trevor explains, he’s been “cubing” for years, figuring out better and faster ways to solve the Rubik’s Cube. Working out how to make the Cube tactile and using all that he’s already learned to solve it nonvisually is just a part of solving the blindness puzzle for Trevor – of taking charge and living the life he wants!