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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br><a href="https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/09/28/unique-device-brings-solar-eclipse-experience-to-blind-low-vision-community/">https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/09/28/unique-device-brings-solar-eclipse-experience-to-blind-low-vision-community/</a><span style='mso-ligatures:none'><o:p></o:p></span></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:0in;mso-line-height-alt:14.55pt;text-align:start;hyphens: manual;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:25.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>Unique device brings solar eclipse experience to blind, low vision community<o:p></o:p></span></h1><h2 style='margin-top:0in;mso-line-height-alt:15.25pt;text-align:start;hyphens: manual;color:rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65);max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:19.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif;font-weight:normal'>Lightsound Project devices will go to San Antonio area organizations<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0in;line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'><a href="https://www.ksat.com/team/PGCZSQOKCFDS7BOL76QHNYVFRE/"><span style='color:#416ED2'>Tiffany Huertas</span></a>, Reporter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'><a href="https://www.ksat.com/team/ZV4OBK2TRJCG3J35TFN4WTVQ7Y/"><span style='color:#416ED2'>Robert Samarron</span></a>, Photojournalist<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>Published: September 28, 2023 at 12:25 PM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><strong><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>SAN ANTONIO</span></strong><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'> – The University of Texas at San Antonio is collaborating with Harvard University and building devices for the blind and low vision community to experience the solar eclipse with sound.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>“It has a high dynamic range of light sensors, so in bright lights it kind of has a flute sound, and as we go into eclipse, as the moon eclipses the sun, it gets dimer. So we go into a clarinet range. So the sound goes down when the light goes down. So from flute to clarinet, to a low clicking sound when you are in totality,” said Allyson Bieryla, an astronomer at Harvard University.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>The Lightsound Project has done a workshop at several universities including The University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University and the University of Arizona.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>“For blind or visually impaired folks it’s been really wonderful to just be included in an event and thought about beforehand and not after,” Bieryla said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>On Thursday morning, UTSA students and staff participated in a workshop at the MakerSpace in the Science and Engineering building to put together the LightSound devices.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>“Once we realized we we’re going to have these two eclipses in San Antonio, then we wanted to host a workshop here,” Lindsay Fuller, Eclipse Project Manager at UTSA said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>UTSA student Tiffany Jensen has been connecting with the blind and low vision community and introducing the LightSound device.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>“They’ve heard of eclipses before, but that’s not really for me. I can’t see it or I can’t see it clearly enough and when they heard about these boxes and I demoed these boxes for them, they immediately got really excited. They were like, how can I get one,” Jensen said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>The devices made here will go to local organizations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>San Antonio and the Hill Country have the rare luck of seeing two solar eclipses within six months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>The first is an annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023 and the second is a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font",serif'>“This is pretty once in a lifetime opportunity for folks, so the more people we can engage in this and educate about the eclipse, it’s great,” Bieryla said.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Steve Cook<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>You are invited to join us on the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> Friday of each month at 8:00 PM Eastern for audio described movies using the below Zoom platform! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Meeting ID: 803 254 3777<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Passcode: 124578<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>