Over the month of May 2021 the Arizona School for Deaf and Blind, the Anza Society, and the National Parks Service collaborated on a 3 week long participatory storytelling workshop that amplify the voices of seven ASDB students while connecting them to the Accessible Cultural History Park in their own backyard. These stories will be integrated into the interactive audio boxes found through out the park, as a means of enhancing the park experience in relevant means that pertain to the experiences of the ASDB student community.
“Since our students have recently returned to in person learning, I would say that we have brought out about 20 students to the LEA site.We have primarily brought students out there as part of their orientation and mobility training. It is a motivating destination for our kids who are blind or visually impaired to utilize because it is near school and has plenty of shade.The smooth asphalt allows our students to practice their cane technique without having it get jammed in the sidewalk cracks.”
Annie Rempe, Teacher at Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. May 2021
“We just completed a 3 week story project with 7 ASDB high school students. We went out to the site, learned about the Anza Expedition, the intention for the park, and began exploring the animals and plants at the site. Students broke up into two groups on the semi circular seating to listen or look at sights or sounds of the Santa Cruz River 100 years ago. The future classroom area was definitely the most comfortable area of all in the park with its ample shade and quiet surroundings. The American Sign Language and audio stories that are created during this workshop will be available to all LEA visitors via the solar posts that have been installed at the site.”
Annie Rempe, Teacher at Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. May 2021
Please stay tuned – the multimedia stories shared by ASDB high school students will be available for viewing and listening by mid-fall 2021! We are excited to share footage of the LEA, 1775 Accessible Cultural History Park in action. Thank you for your continued support.
La Expedición de Anza, 1775 