Peabody Museum Initiates Tactile Tours for the Blind

Peabody Museum has introduced a limited program of short tactile tours of specially chosen artifacts for blind members of the Harvard community.

A small group of probably not more than three blind people will sit around a table and handle various ancient tools, masks and musical instruments as a guide reads a detailed description of each. Along with the artifacts, each blind person may read a Braille description of the piece.

Initiators of the program chose objects unusually interesting to the touch. "Some objects, say painted ones, are not good this way." Barbara Chandler Lutch, Registrar of Peabody Museum, said yesterday.

Artifacts of stone, wood and metal, along with examples of basket weaving, are included in the collection. African, Eskimo and American Indian artwork will be used in the program.

Ordinarily a museum makes very little sense to a blind person," said originator Lutch. "Except for totem poles, it's nothing but a sea of glass cases." Lutch worked with two other employees of the museum, Sally L. Bond '71 and Catherine Rinne, to develop the program. Rinne is the only one who has had experience working with the blind.

The extent of the program, said Lutch, will be determined by the response. With a good response, and more volunteers the program could be expanded to include more than one day of the week, and perhaps to serve the Cambridge community.

The program is open to students, faculty, and employees of the University. Blind people can make appointments to participate in the program with Barbara Lutch at 495-2248.