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Beeping Easter eggs thrill blind children

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Credit: LAUREN CARROLL/JOURNAL

W0403_EASTER_EGG_HUNT_CAR2_16019061.JPG

Jamie Southern of Winston-Salem smiles as her daughter Lindy, 3, holds up a beeping egg she found at Reynolda Gardens.

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• 

W0403_EASTER_EGG_HUNT_CAR2_16019061.JPG

W0403_EASTER_EGG_HUNT_CAR2_16019061.JPG

Jamie Southern of Winston-Salem smiles as her daughter Lindy, 3, holds up a beeping egg she found at Reynolda Gardens. Credit: LAUREN CARROLL/JOURNAL

• Beeping Easter eggs thrill blind children

Beeping Easter eggs thrill blind children

Seven-year-old Caleb Hooker (left) laughs with his sister Madison, 12, as a clown named Jots entertains them at an Easter egg hunt for visually impaired

children Saturday, April 2, 2011. Credit: Lauren Carroll/Journal

• Beeping Easter eggs thrill blind children

Beeping Easter eggs thrill blind children

Angie Swaim of the Winston-Salem Police Department Bomb Squad displays the innerworkings of the beeping eggs used in the Easter egg hunt for visually impaired

children Saturday, April 2, 2011. Credit: Lauren Carroll/Journal

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Easter Egg Hunt for visually impaired children. Video by Annette Fuller

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By Annette Fuller

Published: April 03, 2011

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Easter

egg hunts are fun to watch.

A special egg hunt Saturday morning at Reynolda Gardens in Winston-Salem was also cool to listen to.

About 25 visually-impaired children — many of them experiencing their first springtime

Easter

egg hunt — used their ears to find several "beeping" eggs spread out in part of the gardens.

"Blind kids always miss out on the

Easter

egg hunts,"

Angie Swaim,

a corporal

with the

Winston-Salem Police Department

bomb squad, which sponsored the event. "Today is their day."

Families with blind children came from throughout the

Triad,

and central

North Carolina

to attend the event, dubbed Spring Eggsplosion.

Andrew Dellinger

of

Denver,

in

Lincoln County,

brought his 4-year-old, Madison. It was her first

Easter

egg hunt.

"She has never gotten any eggs,"

Dellinger

said. "She woke up this morning, all excited about coming."

The "follow-the-beep" egg hunt was a first for Winston-Salem and for all of

North Carolina,

Swaim

said. The

department

plans to make it an annual event. The idea for the hunt was hatched last September when several members of the city's bomb squad, who are experts in circuitry

and

electronics,

attended a meeting of the

International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators.

One presenter,

David Hyche,

who is an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent from

Alabama,

has a blind daughter, and he showed convention attendees how to make beeping

Easter

eggs.

In the past months, the bomb squad prepared 88 beeping

Easter

eggs. They took large plastic

Easter

eggs, drilled holes into them to allow for the sound to escape, and put inside each one a 9-volt battery attached to a buzzer. They even attached an on-and-off

switch at one of each egg.

"If we can't handle a circuit, we're in trouble," joked

Swaim.

Each egg costs about

$8

to make. The

association

provided the materials for about 70 of them, and the Winston-Salem bomb technicians covered the rest of the costs.

An area inside Reynolda Gardens was roped off as the

Easter

egg hunt area. After the eggs were put on the ground, two to three visually impaired children at a time were allowed in, so that they could listen for the

beeps and go to the egg. They picked them up, put them in their baskets and then exchanged the eggs for small toy prizes and candy.

Jamie and Drew Southern of

Winston-Salem

brought their 3-year-old twins,

Will

and

Lindy,

to the event. Will is not visually impaired, but organizers encouraged families to bring all of their children.

"It's an amazing program, to do this for the kids," said Jamie Southern.

Amy Hooker

of

Lewisville

brought her 7-year-old son,

Caleb,

to his first

Easter

egg hunt, as well. Caleb, who has some sight, carefully looked over and touched the tray of prizes when he turned in his

Easter

eggs, choosing

rubber balls,

whistles and candy.

"He was born premature at 1 pound, 11 ounces,"

Hooker

said. "He's done amazingly well." She added that he is being mainstreamed into

Sherwood Forest Elementary School.

At the police booth, children were treated to toy police badges, lollipops, and wind-up

police officer

toys. The children and their families were also fascinated with the bomb-fetching robots on display.

"It can go out for a mile, at 10 miles per hour. It weighs 410 pounds and is operated by remote control,"

Billy Williams,

senior bomb technician,

told the children.

The children also enjoyed booths for face painting and bubbles, and were entertained by a clown from Circus Daze in

Kernersville.

afuller at wsjournal.com

(336) 727-7389

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/apr/03/wsmet01-beeping-easter-eggs-thrill-blind-children-ar-914827/