NASA expert offers unique eclipse experience for visually impaired Springdale students
SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Seven visually impaired students attending Springdale Public Schools experienced the total solar eclipse in Morrilton led by NASA representative Denna Lambert, according to a news release from Springdale Public Schools.
Lambert is blind, and is the lead for NASA’s Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships program.
“She is an innovator and has broke so many glass ceilings,” Educational Services for the Visually Impaired board member Christi Dixon said.
Lambert is a Little Rock native and has been at the forefront of advocating for inclusivity in space exploration, according to the release.
What to do with your eclipse glasses after the eclipse
At the solar eclipse event, Lambert shared her personal experiences with participants, answered students’ questions and experienced the eclipse with them.
“I want them to know they can do science as well,” Lambert said. “There are tools that can help them in the active scientific process.”
About 75 people participated in the event, 18 of whom were students, Dixon said.
Included were fifth through 12th-grade students from Springdale and Har-Ber high schools, Southwest Junior High School, Kelly Middle School and Sonora and Westwood elementary schools, according to Frances Way, teacher of the visually impaired with Springdale Schools.
District teacher of the visually impaired Alyssa Rasnick says there are more than 700 visually impaired students in Arkansas schools, 35 of those being in Springdale Public Schools.
“Their experience is going to be completely different than their classmates,” Rasnick said.
The event was held at Rialto Community Arts Center and offered a variety of tactile tools and hands-on activities for participants to learn from.
The students used tactile graphics to learn about the eclipse, which Lambert says Arkansas hasn’t experienced for 117 years.
Participants experienced the event using safety glasses, auditory apps and a LightSound device that communicated changes in the amount of light during the eclipse. Sounds of varying pitches let participants know when the sun was moving.
“I think it was really cool,” Pacheco said. “When the sun was coming up, it went higher pitch.”
Mario Pacheco is an eighth-grader at Southwest Junior High School. He used one of the sound devices to experience the event.
Lambert said she hopes the event inspired students to explore a potential interest in science.
“Someone who is blind isn’t just someone who stays at home,” Lambert said. “Stay curious. Keep asking questions.”
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