[nfbmi-talk] How Blind People Are Gaining Admission Into "The Solar Eclipse Party" of 2017

[Kane Brolin]

Because astronomical events have been there only to be seen--not
touched, tasted, heard, or smelled--the blind largely have been
excluded from knowing about them through first-hand, sensory
experience.  The coming solar eclipse, which has captivated the
attention of North Americans and which will happen in the early
afternoon of Monday, August 21 for those living in the eastern half of
the continent, will be different.

At least three different methods exist for us to experience the great
eclipse.  For anyone with blind or visually impaired children who
aren't already committed to a school day regimen on Monday, this is a
wonderful way to introduce them to the wonders of the cosmos and to
instill in them an excitement at the prospect of future study or work
in science, technology, engineering, or math.

(1) The Eclipse Soundscapes app for iOs devices is perhaps the most
revolutionary, since this offers the user a chance to experience this
event through vibrational touch on the screen as well as through
sound.  A special app, available through iTunes, uses an interactive
rumble map customized to the viewer's location.  The Soundscapes app
will geolocate you and start the narration to align with the planetary
movements as they occur from your local vantage point. The specialized
imaging description techniques making this possible were developed by
the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), a part of television
station WGBH of Boston, Massachusetts. .  Other partners in the
Eclipse Soundscapes project are the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory (H.E.C.) and the National Park Service.  Download the app
from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eclipse-soundscapes/id1262152991?mt=8.
I am not aware that this app is available for Android devices.

(2)  If you have a way to get to Facebook,  tune in Monday beginning
12:00 PM EDT as the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and
solar astrophysicist Henry "Trae" Winter put on a special, pre-eclipse
live event geared with the blind and visually impaired in mind.
Follow this project on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/EclipseSoundSAO/.

(3)  The ACB Radio Interactive Channel will be offering narration of
the solar eclipse.  Go to http://www.acbradio.org/interactive.  The
Audio Description Project, an initiative of the American Council of
the Blind (ACB) along with the Mid-Tennessee Council of the Blind, the
Tennessee School for the Blind, and the Tennessee Performing Arts
Center, will host this audio description of the solar eclipse.
Between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM EDT, Dr. Joel Snyder will host an event
titled, "A Total Eclipse - Audio Described," on ACB Radio Interactive.

Happy listening.

Kind regards,

Kane Brolin, President
Michiana Chapter, National Federation of the Blind