The Dot Experience Welcomes Everyone: Building the World’s Most Accessible Museum

A unique and surprising feature of the Southern Indiana/Louisville area is that we are home to the largest population of people with blindness and other visual disabilities. This is not due to the water or any other environmental calamity, but rather where the most meaningful services for the blind and visually impaired in our country are located and can be accessed by a larger percentage of citizens in the United States. Louisville is home to the Kentucky School for the Blind and the American Printing House for the Blind which are venerable institutions with great histories. The APH is located at 1839 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville.

The American Printing House for the Blind or APH is currently involved with an ambitious project to redo and reimagine their in-house museum which is already the largest and fastest growing center for historical materials in the nation devoted to the history of blindness and the education of people with low or no vision. Their new groundbreaking goal is to make this new space also the world’s most accessible museum. APH is working on what they have coined “The Dot Experience” based on the Braille dot system of reading found throughout the museum. There will be more history to experience and interact with along with a Factory Tour.

Kathy Nichols is the Director of Education and Operations for the Dot Experience at the American Printing House for the Blind and will be giving us this sneak peek at what is planned. Originally from Texas, Nichols is very familiar with the Southern Indiana area and the local history field. Here she describes her experiences which included an early opportunity at the old Carnegie Center for Art and History:

“I am a 1992 graduate of IU Southeast and former resident of New Albany. During my time at IUS, Sally Newkirk offered a research position studying African American Women in New Albany. I was fortunate she hired me, the research I performed here provided the impetus for much of my professional career. My first public speaking engagement was at the Carnegie Center for Art and History and focused on that work. My research had direct connections to Kentucky sites of enslavement where I’ve worked, including Riverside, the Farnsley Moremen Landing and, most recently, Farmington Historic Plantation. I am currently the Director of Education and Operations for The Dot Experience at the American Printing House for the Blind where our primary motivation is access for everyone!”