Manzanar National Historic Site
Tactile Models of Historic Features
Tactile Models of Historic Features
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National Historic Landmark
1985 National Historic Site 1992 Park Size 814 acres Annual Visitors 105,000 Park Fee none Superintendent Jeremy Scheier Park Partner Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association Location Inyo County, CA |
Manzanar National Historic Site protects and preserves the stories of Japanese-American incarceration during World War II so that Americans will never forget the injustices, nor the strength of the human spirit displayed by the 120,000 people incarcerated from 1942-1945.
The park recently completed an accessibility study to determine opportunities for decreasing barriers for visitors and employees with disabilities. Among its suggestions, the park identified a lack of tactile models for individuals with sight impairments and kinesthetic learners, particularly for us on the grounds of the park and at community outreach events. The Fund for People in Parks, in collaboration with the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association, provided a grant for high school students to utilize CAD software and 3-D printers to design and produce models of the barracks, visitor center, and Cemetery Monument. The tactile models were completed in Summer 2022 and are now able to give visitors of different abilities a new way to "see" and understand the park. Project Cost: $10,260 Project Completed: 2022 The Fund for People in Parks: $5,760 Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association: $4,500 Manzanar's ability to provide interpretive media with a tactile emphasis moves us closer to universal design across our programming. The 3-D reproduction of objects opens new connections with the past, limited only by imagination." |
