[Travelandtourism] A recent visit to Washington DC

[cheryl echevarria]

Thank you Jewel, we really appreciate you sharing your story with us. I myself haven't been to D.C. since my 6th Grade Class, I had sight then.
I am hoping others with be as descriptive about there trips, Julie Johnson, we you do go to Alaska, please share you experiences with us as well.
Jewel, would you mind if we added this story to the Travel and Tourism website.  We would love it for our members to come and read stories like these and others as well.
Again, thank you for the beautiful well written story.
Cheryl Echevarria, President

Leading the Way in Independent Travel!

Cheryl Echevarria
http://www.echevarriatravel.com
631-456-5394
reservations at echevarriatravel.com

For daily updates read our blog at
http://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com

> Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 11:26:12 -0500
> From: herekittykat2 at gmail.com
> To: travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Travelandtourism] A recent visit to Washington DC
> 
> 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
> 
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