[Travelandtourism] A recent visit to Washington DC

[Jewel]

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to Washington, DC. We visited
the Smithsonian Institute (the Castle),the American History Museum,
the Natural History Museum, and the Air and Space Center. We were
pleased by the way the Smithsonian has made their museums more
blind-friendly, and wanted to share some of the things we discovered
with you all.

We came in on the Amtrak train (as usual, we don't fly...we ride the
train). Getting from the train station to the hotel meant taking the
metro, which we did with little trouble, since there are people
everywhere to ask for directions as needed. We stayed at the Holiday
Inn on C street, which is a good low-cost hotel within a few blocks of
the Mall.

First thing on Saturday morning we were off to the Smithsonian
Institute, also called the Castle. This is a red brick building that
my boyfriend claims "looks like the Taj Mahal." Inside, we did what we
always do in a new place....we visited the customer service desk to
ask about accessibility. There were a number of things they could
offer to us: a Braille guide to the museums (free), another Braille
guide to the traveling exhibits in each museum ($2), and a suggestion
that next time we visit we should call ahead to get a tactile tour at
our favourite museum (it requires 2-3 weeks notice). We also viewed a
tactile map of the mall, from the LIncoln memorial to the Capitol
building. We also had the pleasure to explore a 3-D model of the mall
that really made it easier for me to understand where we were going.

On to the American History museum! There, we found tactile images at
some stations, such as the Philedalphia gunboat (which kinda looks
like a rowboat with a big gun plopped down on it). The transportation
area had a beautifully detailed tactile image of how the ships used
the buoys to get into the harbor, along with some lovely stone figures
of people from history "waiting for the train." Lunch came quickly,
and we headed downstairs to the cafe, where a greeter was more than
willing to explain what was available and make suggestions (I had a
fried eggplant sandwich which was delightful).

After lunch, we went to the Natural History museum. Here, too, they
had tactile images, raised models, and in the mammals exhibit, models
of their skulls to feel.The evolution of man exhibit also had skulls
from Osteolopithicus to homo sapien, and there was no one telling us
we couldn't touch....touching and explorign was encouraged. There was
also a video in this exhibit, which was fully narrated so I could
follow it very easily.

Our final stop was the Air and Space museum, where they haven't quite
gotten as far as the other museums yet. Upon asking about tactile
images, they provided booklets that could be borrowed (one for each
exhibit) full of Braill and raised line images. The Air and Space
center is planning to put tactile images on their stations during the
next renovation, date undetermined as of yet.

We did have one issue at the Air and Space museum, which was when we
went to watch an IMax show. We requested DVS for me (which we had been
told was available). First, they tried to hook up closed captioning.
Then they spent twenty minutes (during the show!) trying to figure out
what I needed, though my boyfriend kept telling them "Descriptive
Video Services for the Blind." We finally recieved the right device
twenty minutes before the end of the show, and gave the staff an
earful about it. My suggestions for anyone needing DVS at the IMAX in
the Smithsonians would be to get there half an hour early, ask for the
descriptive video services for the blind (blind being a key word) and
note that it is the device that looks like the top half of a
stetheoscope. The more detail, the more likely they are to get it
right.

Overall, we were quite proud of how well the Smithsonians have made
their museums accessible. It is a step in the right direction and a
model for museums across the nation. We had a great time in DC, and
hope if you go, you will too!

Yours Amiably,
Jewel