[MN-at-Large] Press Coverage of Rochester Chapter visit to the "Child in a strange country" exhibit at the Civic Center

[David Andrews]

>
>                 Here is some nice press 
> coverage of a visit made by our Rochester 
> chapter to the “Child in a Strange Country” 
> exhibit described in this article.  Thanks to 
> Edward Cohen for pulling some of this 
> information together and to Dale Heltzer for forwarding.
>
>
>
>For those who can access the Post 
>Bulletin   website for the pictures, here’s a link:
>
><https://www.postbulletin.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/traveling-exhibit-offers-blind-community-a-chance-to-be-seen>https://www.postbulletin.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/traveling-exhibit-offers-blind-community-a-chance-to-be-seen
>
>
>
>Traveling exhibit offers blind community a chance to be seen
>
>By John Molseed of the Rochester / Post Bulletin
>
>April 27, 2023
>
>
>
>Visually impaired leaders explore an exhibit on 
>display as part of Rochester Civic Theatre's run of “The Miracle Worker.”
>
>Child in Strange Country
>
>
>
>Pat Harlan explores a model of an eyeball with 
>Angela Christle, a vision loss specialist with 
>the Minnesota State Services for the Blind on 
>Wednesday, April 26, 2023. The display was part 
>of a traveling exhibit, “A Child in a Strange 
>Country,” on display at the Rochester Civic 
>Theatre. The exhibit is on loan from the Museum 
>of American Printing House for the Blind in Kentucky.
>
>
>
>ROCHESTER ­ It had been a few years since Dale 
>Heltzer felt an animal skull in his 
>hand.  Heltzer brushed his hands Wednesday 
>afternoon over the skull as well as relief 
>shapes of leaves, a starfish, a sea shell and polished stones.
>
>“Agate, I think?” he said.  The pieces were part 
>of a traveling exhibit A Child in a Strange 
>Country on display at the Rochester Civic Theatre.
>
>
>
>Heltzer was among about a dozen people living in 
>Southeast Minnesota with visual impairments 
>visiting the exhibit in Rochester that speaks to 
>them ­ literally.  Members of the Rochester 
>low-vision support group and the National 
>Federation of the Blind of Minnesota visited the 
>Rochester Civic Theatre on Wednesday afternoon 
>to explore the traveling exhibit.
>
>
>
>The Rochester Civic Theatre brought the exhibit 
>to display in the lobby as part of its run of 
>“The Miracle Worker,” the Civic is displaying 
>the exhibit on loan from the Museum of American 
>Printing House for the Blind in Kentucky. It 
>shows how blind students have historically 
>learned how to read, write, and study subjects such as geography and anatomy.
>
>
>
>Edward Cohen explores a relief globe that's part 
>of a traveling exhibit “A Child in a Strange 
>Country” on display at the Rochester Civic 
>Theatre. Cohen and his wife, Karen Cohen, left, 
>helped organize a visit to the exhibit 
>Wednesday, April 26, 2023.  Each display has 
>descriptions and writing in braille and other tactile interactive aspects.
>
>
>
>Members of the groups visited the display in 
>part because it was something specifically for 
>and about people with visual impairments. It was 
>also an opportunity to show people that the 
>visually impaired and blind are and continue to be involved in the community.
>
>“We’re becoming more known as a community who 
>wants to be seen,” said Angela Christle, a 
>vision loss specialist with the Minnesota State 
>Services for the Blind. “There were a lot of 
>people who wanted to explore this.”
>
>By interacting with the exhibit, people will 
>understand that visually impaired people want to 
>and are able to participate in events and 
>day-to-day activities in the community. Christle 
>said the group’s presence was itself a form of 
>self advocacy for people with visual impairments.
>
>
>
>Edward Cohen, who helped found the Rochester 
>low-vision support group, said he was glad the 
>display was available for the group.
>
>The Civic’s production of “The Miracle Worker” 
>included American Sign Language signers on stage 
>and captioning at select performances. Cohen 
>said a long-term goal of his would be to see 
>similar accommodations at public events for the 
>blind.  He added that he was glad the show 
>accommodated deaf patrons and that similar 
>accommodations might be possible as long as someone asks.
>
>“We need to be our own advocates sometimes,” he said.
>
>Christle said most mainstream movies have an 
>additional audio track of visual descriptions 
>and people who want that can contact the screening theater ahead of a showing.
>
>
>
>Photo caption: Jody Albert, top, touches an 
>animal skull while Dale Heltzer touches relief 
>replicas of leaves that are part of a traveling 
>exhibit “A Child in a Strange Country” on 
>display at the Rochester Civic Theatre Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
>
>
>
>Rochester Civic Theatre brought the exhibit to 
>display in the lobby as part of its run of “The Miracle Worker.”
>
>
>
>On Wednesday, the outing was a chance to enjoy 
>something specifically for the visually 
>impaired. For Heltzer, it was a chance to 
>explore some interesting history and the 
>evolution of communication devices and languages 
>that evolved into braille and devices visually 
>impaired people use today. “We like our gadgets,” Cohen said.
>
>
>
>Heltzer carried a portable computer that 
>displays writing with movable braille. He 
>recalled buying an Apple II decades ago with early speech synthesizer.
>
>“All of it was so expensive and quickly 
>outdated,” he said. “I would have been better 
>off investing that money in Apple.”
>
>
>
>If you go
>
>What: “A Child in a Strange Country” traveling exhibit.
>
>When: Tuesdays to Saturdays, through April 29 from noon to 4 p.m.
>
>Where: 30 Civic Center Drive SE, Rochester.
>
>How much: Free.
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