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Dear Sara,
In The Netherlands there is sundial for blind
children in Zeist. (1991)
It is based on an equatorial disk that is rotated
by hand until an electronic device finds the sun and gives a beep.
Braille marks are used to read the
sundial.
On our WEB site (address below) follow the
links:
Sundial of the month
Archives 2003
03-08, Zeist.
Fer J. de Vries
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 3:52
PM
Subject: sundial for the blind
Hi there,
My community, Newton, Massachusetts, has a number
of prominent schools for the blind and a strong public commitment to inclusion
of people of all needs. I have just received an interesting commission
to create a sundial for the vision impaired. It is part of a new outdoor
community classroom and playground designed to be accessible to kids and
adults with special physical needs that will anchor an older, major athletic
complex of active playing fields. I will briefly describe the playground
and community classroom below (with excerpts from the projects' websites and
flyers).
When the sundial was announced, I went to City
Hall to make sure that it would be a properly working sundial.
After all, the project is on a field that used to be the farmland that
belonged to my old house! When the budget for the sundial was going to
cut, I returned to the City commissioners and gave such an impassioned plea
for the cultural and educational benefits of sundials (in the name of NASS and
sundial societies everywhere) that the dial project was restored with great
enthusiasm. I was selected as designer and the project evolved from a
routine sundial into a sundial for the blind.
Do members of the
Sundial List have any ideas on how to accomplish this goal? One idea I
had is to use a glass sphere that will focus sunlight on an equatorial band
with raised numerals that would get hotter than the surrounding numerals when
heated by the sunlight.
Thanks for your advice and
support!
Sara Schechner
Gnomon Research
West Newton, MA
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The Playground
The
Albemarle Playground Project is Newton's fully accessible playground for
children and their adult caregivers. The playground and tot lot are
accessible by wheelchair and walkers. It has special playground
equipment for use by kids with limited body strength and the equipment is of
high contrast colors and diverse textures to aid the vision impaired.
The fabulous thing about the playground is that it also appeals to kids
without these needs, and permits all the children to play together. No
one feels singled out or isolated.
The Outdoor
Community Classroom
The Classroom, which will feature a gazebo,
benches, tables, a drinking fountain and a sundial, will provide a fully
accessible, multi-generational passive recreation space. It will
provide a permanent yet flexible space for a variety of activities enjoyed by
persons of all ages. The Community Classroom will facilitate the enjoyment of
the out-of-doors, both for those for whom the outdoors location is central to
their activity (or example, a bird watching group or nature photography club)
as well as for those for whom the natural setting is an enhancement of their
activity (for example, a senior citizens' crocheting club or a book discussion
group.) Third graders might meet there as they begin their study of the
tadpoles in Cheesecake Brook, while a seventh grade English class might use
the space for poetry reading. Two friends might break from their early morning
power walk and sit and talk for a while, or two pre-schoolers might "take the
stage" and put on an impromptu performance. Benches located close to the tot
lot enclosure will allow our seniors a chance to do some toddler watching,
without finding themselves in the middle of the toddler action!
The
Community Classroom will provide passive recreation space within what is
otherwise a large recreational complex devoted to active recreation. This
accessible passive area will provide a sense of balance lacking in the present
complex configuration. It will also facilitate enjoyment of surrounding open
space, including Cheesecake Brook, the Charles River and adjacent conservation
land. The Community Classroom will also provide the complex with "street
presence", anchoring the playground and playing fields. Carefully planned and
constructed, the organizers believe that the Community Classroom will serve
Newton well for generations to come. The following quote from Rachel Carson
expresses the spirit behind this effort:
Wherever you are and whatever
your resources, you can still look up at the sky its dawn and twilight
beauties, its moving clouds, its stars by night. You can listen to the wind,
whether it blows with majestic voice through a forest or sings a many-voiced
chorus around the eaves of your house or the corners of your apartment
building, and in the listening, you can gain magical release for your
thoughts. You can still feel the rain on your face and think of its long
journey, its many transmutations, from sea to air to earth. Even if you are a
city dweller, you can find some place, perhaps a park or a golf course, where
you can observe the mysterious migrations of the birds and the changing
seasons.
What is the value of preserving and strengthening this sense of awe
and wonder, this recognition of something beyond the boundaries of human
existence? Is the exploration of the natural world just a pleasant way to pass
the golden hours of childhood or is there something deeper? I am sure there is
something much deeper, something lasting and significant. Those who dwell, as
scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never
alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal
lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to
renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth
find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. - Rachel
Carson, The Sense of Wonder
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