On this episode of Change Makers, we’re checking in on the Dot Experience. We’ll get an update on the latest in the process, learn about the prototyping groups, and the important feedback they’re providing, and hear the thought process that goes into making everything in the museum touchable. After that, learn about the influencer campaign and learn about the most recent Connect the Dots, powered by PNC foundation event.
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On this episode of Change Makers, we’re checking in on the Dot Experience. We’ll get an update on the latest in the process, learn about the prototyping groups, and the important feedback they’re providing, and hear the thought process that goes into making everything in the museum touchable. After that, learn about the influencer campaign and learn about the most recent Connect the Dots, powered by PNC foundation event.
Participants
Additional Links
<silence> Welcome to Change Makers , a podcast from APH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.
Sara Brown:Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown . And on today's episode, we're checking in on The DOT Experience. We'll get an update on the latest in the process, learn about the prototyping groups and the important feedback they're providing, and hear the thought process that goes into making everything in the museum touchable. After that, learn about the influencer campaign and hear about the most recent Connect the Dots event up. First, I have Jo Haas , Vice President of Advancement in the Dot Experience Museum Fundraising, and Paul Schroeder, APH, Vice President, Impact and Outreach. Hello, Jo and hello Paul, and welcome to Change Makers .
Paul Schroeder:Hey, Sara.
Jo Haas:Good morning.
Sara Brown:So just off the top, can you just share what it is that you do here at APH?
Jo Haas:Well, I am the , uh, Vice President of Advancement and the DOT Experience, so I'm primarily focused on getting this new , uh, front door , uh, to APH up and running.
Paul Schroeder:And this is Paul Schroeder. I'm the Vice President for Impact and Outreach. And , uh, just , uh, for the past three years , uh, I've had the pleasure of being, of having the museum in my group, the, the previous museum as it existed prior to the initiation of the DOT Experience, and now we've moved that over to Jo to take it to the next step. But I've, I've been delighted to be the person that got to , uh, got to manage the people that manage the museum and, and had a , had a lovely time doing that.
Sara Brown:Great. And Jo, where are we with the DOT Experience and what's the latest? We had the groundbreaking last year. There's been some exciting things coming along in the pipeline. What's up?
Jo Haas:Yeah, Sara, we have been , um, working in the last maybe four, six months to finalize the design. Um, and we have just hit a major milestone with that. So we are , um, moving past what is called , um, the design development phase and , um, doing some , uh, midstream budgeting, so all the, the fund numbers part of the, the project to make sure that we're , um, we're staying on budget , um, and on schedule with the project. And , uh, and we have been also , um, starting to dip our toe into some prototyping. And so, you know, prototyping is, is one of those , um, major components of, of pretty much every museum project. But in this particular case , um, uh, we have a, a very extensive prototyping process mapped out, and we have engaged a group of , uh, local blind and low vision individuals who are joining us about every , um, four to six weeks to , uh, spend a couple hours at the Solid Light facility in Solid Light as our exhibit design firm. And they are giving us real time feedback on every step of , uh, of this project.
Sara Brown:Okay. And Jo, you have a really extensive history in working with museums, especially on expansion projects. What are some of the unique challenges in creating an accessible museum? You know, one where visitors can actually touch pretty much everything in the artifacts.
Jo Haas:Yeah. So that, that is, that is , uh, that is the million dollar question, right? Um, so APH set out to create the world's most accessible museum, and that really makes us reaching for a , a , a pretty high, high bar. Um, I think, you know, as I was thinking about about this, this dimension of the project, one of the things that I was reminded of is that, you know, touching things in museums is not necessarily a new thing, right? Um, there are , uh, children's museums and science centers where touching is what you do. Um, there are history museums and art museums where , uh, touchable objects are available. Um, I worked at the Henry Ford Museum at a time when we , uh, procured Rosa Parks' bus and went through a very long process of determining that we would , uh, restore the bus, not conserve the bus, and that we would allow visitors on and off of the bus to have , uh, a, a a , a deep personal connection to that historical story. Um , I know when blind and low vision in individuals visit art museums, there are occasionally , uh, tours that they can take or special accommodations that can be made for , um, for touching some objects. But when we started really peeling this accessible access to museum experiences challenge apart, what we realized is that , um, in many instances, access is something that happens after the experience is designed, number one , um, that we look at how we can provide people access to something that they cannot hear or cannot see or cannot touch. And by doing that, then we are creating , um, some accessible experiences, often not every experience in a museum or an attraction that is accessible. Um, and, and also this concept of othering, which is something that I have learned , uh, a lot about in the last couple of years of working on this project, that, that if, if Paul and I, for instance, walked into a museum together, and the museum staff said, "Paul, we know that you are blind and, and, and we want you to be able to experience a piece of art , um, here, come over here and look at this piece of art that we have available to you." Um , while, you know, I am , uh, able to take in the whole of the museum that is othering because it's separated our two experiences , um, or if I'm walking around an art museum , perhaps with Paul, and I'm in the position of saying, "Paul, this is a really cool piece of art over here. It looks like this." Then I'm offering my own perspective on what something looks like or feels like or it's meaning. And , uh, and he is, is having to rely on my own , my experience, not his own.
Paul Schroeder:I would definitely interject here that I have had both of those experiences. Um , certainly the , the first one where , uh, museums have set up a special bit of the exhibit , uh, for someone to explore by touch. Um, and, and that's the bit you get to experience and not the rest of it. And so often I'm with my family and they're off doing other stuff and, and sometimes trying to include me and then running into the same problem that Jo experienced, which is , uh, or described , which is that they're interpreting for me. Um, now they know me pretty well, so they're probably interpreting accurately more or less. But , um, Jo, Jo might not know me as well, so she might not interpret it accurately.
Jo Haas:So, so what's really, what's really great about our work at APH and and the dot experience is that we have , um, individuals with lived experience as, as blind and low vision individuals, literally at every , um, involved in every part of the process, in the creative process, in the prototyping process, in the review , um, and feedback processes. Um, and in a moment you'll hear, hear from Paul about how some of those folks are involved, but , um, but we've really set ourselves the bar of touch, everything, so that when you walk in the in, in the dot experience, you have access through all of your senses to everything that is around you. Um, so you are encouraged to , um, touch objects, touch reader panels, touch dimensional , um, signage. Uh, there are braille , uh, affordances. Every in, in every place there is text. You'll find braille in every place there is spoken word, you will find , uh, ASL , um, and, and captioning. Um , in places where we have historical objects , uh, artifacts, we are working to create , um, either one-to-one replicas of those artifacts , uh, or touchable experiences that help convey meaning behind those artifacts. So that , um, you know, which is also another really cool thing, how do you take a boomerang that was given to , uh, Helen Keller , um, and, and which is wood wooden , um, and has some carvings and some coloration and a particular weight , uh, and shape to it. And how do you turn that into , uh, a , uh, a one-to-one replica, that that has as much meaning for , um, for the blind or low vision visitor? Um, and, and that's the task at hand. And we're really taking this, you know, one experience, one object, one engagement at a time and, and problem solving and , um, uh, creating opportunities , um, uh, literally all throughout the experience.
Paul Schroeder:And , and if I, if I might , um, I would just add a couple of points on that. So part of our challenge is not only all of the ability to make the exhibits accessible and usable by somebody who is blind or low vision, but also addressing other disabilities as well. So, and Jo kind of referenced this with ASL and captions, so ensuring that people whose primary access is not audio are able to get that information. Um, seating heights , uh, and wheelchair , uh, affordances often are , uh, left out. And so that's part of our planning. But we have to be careful that if we put something low enough to be used from a seated position, can somebody read that information from a standing position in Braille, for example? And so that's one of our challenges. And then of course, museums can be overwhelming for anybody, and certainly there are some , uh, individuals for whom that kind of experience can get overwhelming, and we need to ensure that we've got a way to address that as well. Uh , so then individuals can , uh, get a break , uh, if they need to from, from the intensity of the museum with all the information coming at them. So there's a lot of , uh, a lot of interesting, wonderful things to do , uh, to try to address , uh, accessibility across the, across the domains. And then back on the boomerang, just for an example , um, it's, it's of course not enough to just create the dimensionality of the object. One also has to figure out how can you convey some of the visual or in, in carved in kinds of textural elements , uh, for somebody in , in a way that makes, you might even need to emphasize those differently so that somebody who is blind can experience it.
Sara Brown:And Paul, you, you, there's the National Advisory Committee, which is to get more feedback in addition to the prototyping group. Paul, can you just share what that group is and what role they're having with this, with this experience?
Paul Schroeder:Yeah, early on, of course, we recognize that we need to have broad input. This, this really is intended to be an experience that is available to, to the whole community, certainly to the whole community of blindness and low vision , but really to the disability community. And so we wanted to make sure that we involved the organizations and the experts , uh, from those organizations. And so we reached out to, you know, the key organizations, the consumer organizations, the American Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, the professional organization, the Association for Education, rehabilitation of the Blind, visually Impaired , um, and other interested groups, Helen Keller National Center, the American Foundation for the Blind, the Schools for the Blind , uh, and the veterans to try to make sure that we had input from, from not only those organizations, but the experts within those organizations who know a lot about accessibility and can help guide us through some of the challenges around where should we put emphasis , uh, how might we best deal with navigation , uh, in a, in a museum context, right? So what , what kinds of surface flooring textures should be used or not used? Uh , what should we do about lighting , um, and glare and those kinds of issues? And so things that are specific to the blindness and , and low vision population, we wanted to make sure that we collected input from organizations. And then lastly, there's a lot of storytelling in this, in this , uh, experience as there should be. And those organizations and the individuals who are part of those organizations are , are going to be part of those stories in many instances, but they also need to be helping us , uh, guiding us to what those stories should convey about the experience of blindness or low vision in , uh, in the United States and in the world.
Sara Brown:Wonderful. Well, thank you for that. And talk about why it's so important that we seek feedback from our consumers on this project? Explain that to those who might not understand.
Paul Schroeder:Yeah, absolutely. Um, we don't possess and, and shouldn't hold ourselves out at the American Printing House for the blind, is possessing all knowledge. Um, there, there, there is a , a lot of knowledge to be had , uh, across organizations. And so while we do have some very expert and excellent , uh, staff, some of who are blind or low vision and some of whom are not, but still have great expertise to offer , uh, in the context of designing an experience like this, there, there is , uh, there is a great deal of expertise that may not be available to us on staff. And so that's why we created this advisory committee of national organizations. That's why we set up a prototyping group , uh, that Jo talked about a little bit earlier, to have sort of hands-on experience with , uh, objects and prototyping as it's being developed so they could provide input kind of in a direct way on that. Um, and that's, it's really all about trying to gather the , the maximum feedback we can . And then, you know, we need to make some decisions as the , uh, designers and , and curators and , uh, people who are essentially mounting this experience. We, we, we'll have to make some decisions about feedback, especially where there might be competing feedback.
Jo Haas:I , I'd also offer that , um, you know, another angle on that question is that we are trying to do something truly that no one else has ever done , um, in, in the sort of comprehensive nature of, of our inclusive design intent. So, you know, we are starting something from the ground up. Um, we are not overlaying , uh, accessibility and accommodations on top of something that we've already designed. So, you know, starting from the ground level , um, and we are trying as, as Paul said, to um, incorporate , uh, um, optimum access for, for everyone. We're, you know, we're embracing that, that welcome everyone's spirit , um, in, in our, our work to change perspectives about blindness. And so , um, you know, if there was ever a project where getting external feedback and continual feedback loop having continual feedback loops, it would, it would be this one, you know, where we really are trying to do something , uh, break new ground and, and do something new.
Sara Brown:You're almost pretty much creating the blueprint for future museums that have a goal of, you know, either a hundred percent accessibility for everyone. So that's pretty inspiring to feel that way, <laugh> , and just realize that. Um, my last question, I always like to ask, is there anything else you would like to share, whether it be about the Dot Experience, the prototyping group , solid light , which we're gonna speak to later on this podcast, but is there anything else either one of you all would like to share?
Paul Schroeder:No . Well, I just would say, and then I want Jo to have the last word on this, but, but I would say that , um, your , your point, Sara, about , uh, us kind of creating a blueprint is, is true. Uh, and we , we are getting guidance from, from people who know a lot about and , and people who have done work in museums. It's not as though no one has tried to address accessibility organizations and museums have, and we are benefiting from their expertise and the decisions and , uh, structures that they designed and , and , and the approaches that they designed , uh, in, in crafting what we're doing. And of course, we've, we are taking a , a , a different approach , uh, in that we are very much doing a lot of storytelling, especially around the work of Helen Keller and, and the work of notable people in our community and what that means. And so we're kind of doing that mix of, you know, artifacts, of course, our important parts of the typical museum experience, but so is storytelling increasingly now the important part of museum experiences , uh, in, in many cases. And so we're, we're kind of doing that mix and, and I think in a way that's , uh, that's gonna be unique. Uh, and I believe we will foster yet another couple of steps forward in how to do accessibility in the museum context. Then , you know, I think we'll also have to give ourselves some grace. We may miss on a few points. Um, we may not, we may not hit a hundred percent, I hope we will, but I think we need to be honest with ourselves and say, we may not, because there are a number of factors that go into whether someone with a disability can appreciate the breadth of what we're trying to convey , uh, in a museum like this. And I, and I think we, we need to recognize, we may not hit every one of those , uh, for every individual, but I, I suspect will , uh, we're on a path to creating something that will be uniquely wonderful for virtually anybody who comes through that door.
Jo Haas:Uh , and I think that, that, that building on that sentiment , um, we are striving to, to take some important steps forward , um, in this process. There was a, a recent study done by the Institute of Museum and Library Services that , um, indicates that , uh, disabled individuals are one of the , uh, least served , uh, populations in museums across the US and, and I would guess maybe across the world. Um, but, but their purview is, is the United States. And so, you know, as a , uh, as a lifelong museum person, I feel very strongly about the opportunity that this project provides , um, for, you know, adding , uh, um, some tools to that toolbox for, for all museums and attractions moving forward. And, and I think APH as a, as an organization that for over 165 years has been, has had education at its heart. You know, how great , uh, is it for, for APH with an education ethos, you know, to step into this world of helping to educate , uh, other museums and support the work , um, of, of broadening , uh, the accessibility in, in museums and attractions. Um , so I'm, I'm very excited about that. And of course, this, this notion of , um, changing perspectives about blindness, you know, probably our, our number one objective with the Dot Experience, but , uh, but maybe as important is the idea that we're, we're using those storytelling techniques and, and, you know, the history , um, and the, the glimpse of the future to also inspire people to make change in, in their worlds, you know, whatever their sphere of influence may be, whether it's a school student, you know, impacting some , uh, experience of a classmate or a parent child , uh, someone who's, you know, in the, in the workplace and, and may have a different point of view on employing , um, someone with a disability , uh, in, in , um, um, a more open-minded way, you know, so that that whole idea of taking action is also another really important piece of the dot experience. So it's exciting on, on so many levels. We could probably talk for hours about it, <laugh>,
Sara Brown:We can, we can. And, and , um, I'm looking forward to the updates throughout the year. So Jo and Paul, thank you both so much for coming on and talking to me about the DOT Experience.
Paul Schroeder:Thank you, Sara.
Jo Haas:Thank you, Sara.
Sara Brown:I've put a link in the show notes to the Dot Experience website. There you can find out all the latest news information and upcoming events. Up next, I'm talking to Solid Lights. Jackson King, Solid Light is a Louisville based design firm that APH has partnered with to create the exhibits that will be in the Dot Experience. Hello Jackson, and welcome to Change Makers .
Jackson King:Thank you for having me.
Sara Brown:Okay. So would you like to introduce yourself and just share what it is that you do at Solid Light ?
Jackson King:Yeah, absolutely. I'm , uh, I'm a project manager here at Solid Light . My name's Jackson King, and , uh, I manage , uh, the schedule and , uh, kind of day-to-Day functionality of our projects , uh, for the specific client that , uh, whoever it's for , uh, and that has been , uh, for museums and other public spaces all over the country. And, and right now it's for APH here in Louisville.
Sara Brown:So can you just share what Solid Light is and the role it's playing in the creation of the Dot Experience?
Jackson King:Sure. Uh, Solid Light is a museum services , uh, design firm , uh, but we're a little bit unique , uh, in our industry in that we have , um, design , fabrication and media services all in the same building. Um, so we build all of our exhibits , uh, here in our shop in Louisville , uh, as well as designed them. And we also have , uh, have media capability here , um, a small studio both for audio and , uh, video capability and in-house video editing. So we kind of do it all , uh, under one roof. And so , um, we get to be pretty nimble , uh, for every project and answer a lot of questions that otherwise might have to be passed on to other firms.
Sara Brown:Now, we're almost a year in , in the Dot Experience. Can you talk about where we are in the creation of the exhibits that will be actually in the museum?
Jackson King:Sure. We've , uh, we've actually just , um, concluded our , uh, design phase , uh, where we've , uh, been working for , um, well over a year really , uh, in making the exhibits , uh, accessible and also , uh, finding where the stories lie and , uh, what the stories are that we really wanna tell. Um, and we've , uh, begun building because that's kind of part of our capability as this , uh, one stop shop . And , uh, so we've got exhibits being built in the , uh, in our fabrication shop, as well as , um, some of our media being , um, made. And we're also , um, doing prototyping both on , uh, the physical level and also on the , uh, accessibility front , uh, just to make sure that , uh, our museum is gonna be the most accessible museum in the world
Sara Brown:And creating the most accessible museum is no easy feat. So in this prototyping process, what is the thought process for making everything touchable?
Jackson King:Um , well, touchables a a an interesting , um, phrase that we've kind of come to as a , a shorthand for , uh, accessible in a lot of ways. Um, so the museum is , uh, meant to be accessible for people of all abilities , uh, no matter what as they come in. But , um, touchable is a shorthand , uh, because if I , uh, if I'm low vision or I'm blind and I go to a , you know, a quote unquote normal museum, a lot of things, there are artifacts or , uh, pieces of art , these kind of things that , uh, that are kind of categorically not meant to be touched. Uh, and so if I can't touch them , uh, and if I can't see them , um, then they , um, then they can only be described to me. Um , and in , in many ways, they, if they're behind glass, they might as well not be there. And so , um, we've really decided to make , uh, this museum accessible on that front first. And , uh, and by way of doing so, we find out a whole lot about , um, how accessible things are in other places, and how we would want that to be different here
Sara Brown:To make everything touchable. Are certain materials preferred over others?
Jackson King:Yes, we've been , uh, we've experimented a lot with , uh, materials and the durability thereof, and also with , uh, with color and sheen too, because , uh, of course, we're trying to make things, things , uh, accessible to people across all , uh, all vision spectrums and, and every ability spectrum. And so , uh, a lot of people with low vision , uh, need higher amounts of contrast. Uh, and so that's why we've been paying special attention to , uh, having high contrast in colors between where things meet. Uh, but also when it comes down to the actual touchable materials, we've experimented a lot with , uh, with finishes , uh, in their cleanability. Um, because we know that there's , uh, and since we're in a, in a post covid world, there's gonna be a lot of , um, cleaning of everything frequent , uh, and probably deep cleaning. And so we wanna make sure that whatever materials or finishes we use can withstand that. Um, and we've been , uh, pretty successful on that front because , uh, since we're in museums to start with , uh, everything does have a pretty high level of durability , uh, to begin with.
Sara Brown:Now I know there's a prototyping group. Can you talk a little bit about that group and share, you know, you don't have to share specifics, but maybe some of the demographics about the individuals in that group?
Jackson King:Absolutely. So we , uh, we recognized pretty early on that as we were making , um, our design decisions for the , uh, for the experience, most of those are based on assumptions that we have , uh, either being as primarily sighted people , uh, we have a , a certain bias , uh, towards things that are visual. And so we wanted to make sure that if this is gonna truly be the most accessible museum in the world , uh, that it is accessible and compelling to everybody across all ability spectrums. And so , uh, with APH's help, we assembled a, a group of prototypers from across a wide, as wide range of abilities and backgrounds as we possibly could, because of course, it's not only , uh, abilities that matter, it's also the diverse life experiences that we wanna make sure , uh, that the museum is compelling for , um, and make sure it isn't , um, slanted one way or the other. Uh , and so at the same time, we wanna make sure that not only is it accessible to as wide a range of abilities as possible, that it's compelling as well. And so , um, of course, my assumptions are only my own, and , uh, they're only true as far as , uh, as they're tested. And so , um, we've been bringing this prototyping group in, it's comprised of about , uh, about a dozen members of our community. And , uh, we build something and we put it our own. Uh , we to build it with our own assumptions in mind. And then they come in and a lot of times they blow 'em out of the water. They tell us that , uh, you got it wrong, you got it right, you got it somewhere in between. And all of that is the most valuable information that we receive in the entire project. So they're , uh, truly members of the, of the project team. And , um, as integral as they come
Sara Brown:Now, having people and participants on this prototyping group from all walks of life, you know, age ranges and demographics, talk about why it's important to have that type of variety in the group.
Jackson King:We should want everybody to have a compelling experience as a , as I said, and , um, but also we are working within , um, it's, it's a difficult question because , uh, <laugh> these, as you can guess, there's, there are some rules and guidelines for public spaces and , uh, and museums exist, you know, ADA , uh, is is part of that guideline, but ADA hasn't been updated for a long time, and , uh, it doesn't necessarily , uh, it doesn't address demographics. And so we want to make sure that everybody's voice is heard, and representation matters so much in this kind of , uh, experience because we wanna make sure that , um, everybody feels like their story is included, you know, in this lived human experience that we all share. And so , uh, making sure that we ha uh , we bring people into , uh, to bring, to bear their experience , uh, re really tests our , um, uh, any assumptions or biases we might have , uh, going into the project. And , uh, and like I said, we've, you know, we, we make a lot of assumptions and then bring these people in and, and then they say, "well, no, you didn't get that quite right," or "Did you think about this?" And , uh, and as often as not, no, we didn't. Uh, and I'm glad that you , uh, that you brought it up. Um, so it's really just about making sure that , uh, that everybody's voices is, is heard, and that we're , um, making the museum , uh, with all the members of our community , um, and, and not just us here at a professional design firm.
Sara Brown:Okay. What is the next step for this project?
Jackson King:Well, our next step is , uh, is production of the museum itself. We'll build the whole thing here in , uh, in our shop. Uh, we're working with APH , uh, to , uh, also include braille and tactile graphics , uh, and, and other things. And their capability is, you know, really the only , um, the only way that this can get accomplished to the level, it's , it is being accomplished. And so , uh, we really couldn't have asked for a better partner and client and bring this kind of thing to bear. Um, but we'll also be doing , um, interviews , uh, to a, a , a cast of characters that will be represented inside of the museum. And , um, them, like our prototyping group are from a a as wide a range of , uh, demographics as we , um, as we can muster people who have like very differing and compelling life experiences. And , um, and they've been , uh, painstakingly , uh, selected and vetted over , uh, over the course of the design phase. And, and that work will , uh, will begin soon of actually getting to talk to those people and, and hear about their story.
Sara Brown:Well, that's exciting. The cast, the cast of characters that we have. It's a pretty amazing cast. I've, I know and have met some of them, and it's pretty exciting to hear their stories now. How has working on the Dot Experience changed Solid Light's approach to creating exhibits with other clients? You know, it's one of those things where, you know, you take what you've learned with this on the other projects. So how has that impacted Solid Light?
Jackson King:Absolutely. Well , um, accessibility has always been something that , uh, that we've cared about and , uh, and tried to include holistically and thoughtfully in all of our designs. Uh, but of course, nothing compares to , uh, the level of, of effort we've put into APH. And I think it really is a , is going to be kind of a sea of change , uh, not just for us, but , uh, but hopefully for other people who are , uh, designing and considering public spaces and, and who they're for and, and what kind of experience they can offer to people of all ability ranges. And so , um, I know for sure that , uh, that our work at APH is affecting other projects that , uh, that we've, we've got in , uh, on the horizon and , uh, and other ones that , uh, that we're currently working on. You know, accessibility is a , um, is ubiquitous, right? And it must be , uh, if you're talking about making a public space , uh, because otherwise you're talking about making a public space for a , a subset of the population, which is definitely not what we're here to do. <laugh> .
Sara Brown:And then my last and final question, I always like to ask, is there anything else you'd like to share, whether it be anything with Solid Light or with the Dot Experience?
Jackson King:Oh, I'm just , uh, I'm very thankful that , uh, I've got the opportunity to , uh, to work on a project like this. And , um, it has , uh, it has really opened , uh, opened my eyes as it were to , uh, to a , a greater portion of the world. You know, I , um, one of our , um, one of our cast members had a quote that's really stuck with me since , uh, my involvement with the project , uh, saying that you should , even if you are , uh, normally cited , uh, and, and you can hear and uh, you have great mobility and all of that stuff, you should consider yourself temporarily abled. And as I've , uh, as I've progressed in this project , uh, and professionally here, I think back to people in my own life and know that that's true. How many, how many of us have , uh, grandparents, aunts, uncles, coworkers , friends , uh, that , uh, that their vision fails in late , uh, later in life or , uh, and they go or they go through , um, different changes , uh, in their ability and uh, and then they have to experience the world in a slightly different way. And , um, you know, that's really been , uh, that's really been an epiphany for me. Uh, and I hope to carry it on with me after this project.
Sara Brown:Wow, that's a really good one. And that now that's gonna be ringing in my mind too, <laugh> . That is so true, though. That's really true. Alright , Jackson, thank you so much for coming on and talking to me on Change Makers.
Jackson King:Well , thank you for having me.
Sara Brown:And I've put a link in our show notes to Solid Lights website so you can learn more about this company and all the important work that they do. And to continue this conversation about the Dot Experience, I'm talking to Dr. Marje Kaiser about a special influencer campaign underway. Hello Marje and welcome to Change Makers.
Dr. Marje Kaiser:Hi there.
Sara Brown:Would you like to just introduce yourself and let our listeners know who you are and your connection to the Dot Experience and APH?
Dr. Marje Kaiser:My name is Marje Kaiser and I am currently a board member at APH and I've been lucky enough to be on the museum committee as we've been working to create a brand new museum experience at APH. Prior to that, I was the superintendent at the School for the Blind in South Dakota for more than 30 years.
Sara Brown:And talk about this influencer campaign. This is something new that we're doing.
Dr. Marje Kaiser:It is, and it's a chance for a lot of us in the field to get involved in this project , um, on a basis that's probably affordable for an individual or for a small group like an AER chapter. Um, it's a chance to honor somebody that had a real influence on our life or career. And so it's a great opportunity to say thank you in a very visible way.
Sara Brown:And who is your influencer?
Dr. Marje Kaiser:Well, the influencer that I wanted to start with, he may not be the only one , um, is Bert Boyer. And an awful lot of people know Bert . Bert was in this field, his, his whole life as a student, as a teacher, as an administrator. Um, he was my mentor for eight years , uh, of the time that I was at the School for the Blind. And he was the one that convinced me , uh, that I should apply to be the superintendent. I would never have done it without him. Bur definitely , um, had a tremendous influence on my life and I think he, like good mentors , um, saw more in me than I saw in myself. And so he really made a big difference. Um, I couldn't have had a better career and I really do owe it to him.
Sara Brown:Great . And is there anything else you would like to share, whether it be about the DOT Experience and how it's coming along or with this influencer campaign?
Dr. Marje Kaiser:Well, the influencer campaign is just starting , um, and there's lots of information that, that APH has. There are , uh, links directly , um, to museum activity on, on APH'S website. Um, it has been so exciting to be in on this process because it's a really different concept , um, uh, behind the Dot Experience. Then , um, I think that even we thought when we started, we wanted to tell a good story. Uh, we wanted APH to tell a , a story of blindness, a story of how APH products and services have helped kids over the years. And then we started shifting gears in a way just as we talked through the process and worked with our, our key partner Solid Light , um, to realize that it really wasn't our story to tell. And so now we have a number of people who are blind or visually impaired who are telling their story. And we think that's a much more powerful way for the general public to learn about blindness, to understand APH's role , um, and hopefully to move things forward a bit in understanding that will , um, help us all be a whole lot better , uh, in , not only in our work, but also in our lives. We hope that it will influence future employers when they understand what people , uh, are actually doing and get rid of old stereotypes. Plus the whole idea of making a , a museum accessible from day one is also a pretty radical concept. Most museums , uh, try to do things to make their museums more accessible, but very few have taken this as a primary from the very first design kind of issue.
Sara Brown:All right , Dr. Marje Kaiser , thank you so much for joining me on Change Makers.
Dr. Marje Kaiser:Thank you for asking me
Sara Brown:More information about this campaign that honors impactful individuals in our lives can be found in our show notes. Up next, I have APH's Community Relations and Policy Advisor, Erin Sigmund here to talk about the recent Connect the Dots, powered by PNC Foundation event. These monthly events are done all throughout the city of Louisville and highlight programs of the Dot Experience. Hello Erin and welcome to Change Makers .
Erin Sigmund:Hi Sara. Thanks for having me.
Sara Brown:Talk to us about the most recent event that was held at the Louisville Main Library.
Erin Sigmund:Absolutely. So this past Saturday we hosted over 1,000 folks, primarily preschoolers to teach them all about light and shadow . So there's this common misconception that when we talk about blindness, we think of people who have total sight or who are totally blind, but really people exist along a whole spectrum of vision. And so we were using cool activities like light boxes and magnifiers and talking about color contrast, all those things that would be excitable to preschool students to kind of highlight that reality and bring in conversations about access at a level that a preschooler can understand.
Sara Brown:That's so true. You have to do it at a level, a preschooler can understand it. Now tell us what's next with Connect the Dots. When will the next one be held? Where will it be held? What's the theme? What can you share?
Erin Sigmund:Yes. Our next Connect the Dots event is on March 30. It's at the Highlands Library branch, which if you know where Mid-City Mall is, it's inside Mid-City Mall. So come in either entrance and you'll find the branch right in the middle. It's from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and it is for all ages. And we're talking about how do people who are blind read . So at the beginning of March, it's "Read Across America Day" and we wanna jump in and celebrate all the different ways that folks are reading across America, whether they're using a print book, a large print book, a braille book, a talking book, or some combination. We're gonna have lots of different activity booths where kids can get their hands on all of those resources, listen to those resources. And we're also gonna have some story times with blind or low vision folks themselves sharing how they read a story. So we'll have some picture books and fun things there.
Sara Brown:Okay. And is there anything else you would like to share?
Erin Sigmund:It's gonna be a lot of fun, and I love going to these events because at every moment we connect with folks who have some connection to APH and they're connecting the dots in their own story. So if you know someone who was a talking book volunteer narrator, way back in the day, a narrator, now they work in production, this will be a great opportunity to see the fruits of their labor and check out all the wonderful resources that they produce.
Sara Brown:Okay, Erin , thank you so much for coming on Change Makers and giving us this wonderful update.
Erin Sigmund:Absolutely. Thanks
Sara Brown:For those wanting additional information about Connect the Dots. I've put a link in the Show Notes. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change Makers. Be sure to check the show notes for additional information and links about all the topics discussed in this podcast. If you have any suggestions for podcast topics, please email cmakers @aph.org . As always, be sure to look for ways you can be a change maker this week.