A most rewarding and moving program whereby individuals with visual impairment are offered a unique opportunity to “see wildlife” through the sense of touch.
By utilizing thousands of donated and borrowed animal mounts, skins, skulls, and horns, tens of thousands of individuals who are visually impaired and disabled have been able to gain a “visual” perspective of what nature’s animals are like.
Sensory Safaris can be held year-round and can be located virtually anywhere. The first Sensory Safari took place in 1991, when Mr. Robert Easterbrook, Sr. provided both visually impaired and sighted children the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of wildlife through the sensation of touch. It has been growing ever since. SCI member volunteers now assist 60,000 to 70,000 participants per year through a network of full mounted displays, table displays, and mobile Sensory Safari trailers, describing the animal’s size, sounds, habitats and behaviors.
Whether touching the inside of an alligator’s long snout, feeling the serpentine neck of a giraffe, stroking the thick fur of a bear, or hearing the game calls of waterfowl and big game, the participants get to experience what even many sighted people have not.
In 2006, SCI members reported 40 Sensory Safaris and, with the help of volunteers, escorted many thousands of students, visually-impaired children, homeless children/adults, senior citizens and disabled individuals through displays owned by 46 of SCI’s North American Chapters, as well as the mobile Sensory Safari™ trailers owned by 20 U.S. chapters.
The program drew the attention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), which asked SCIF to host a Sensory Safari at its annual convention. It was such a success that, in 1997, the NFB signed a memorandum of understanding with SCI to host Sensory Safari at their future conventions.
