Elmer's Art Parade Review - BlindMumVsTheWorld

The kids had lots of fun, but I did too! I am registered severely sight impaired and often don’t get to enjoy activities in the same way other parents might. Now imagine my joy when I found out each sculpture had an audio feature which meant any information on the base of the sculptures was available to me, easy and quickly! A small NFC tag was placed on the base, they were tactile too I’d like to add. I could scan these with the SpeechLabel app, and it would read aloud to me. I loved this so much. What I loved more was that there were two different audios to listen to for each sculpture, one aimed at adults and read out by an adult, and one aimed for children, read out by a child. This was such a lovely addition and really made it feel like a feature was put into place because they wanted as many people as possible to enjoy the trail rather than it feel like a tick box and they had to add something to say it was on offer.

The beauty of these tags is that they can actually make the trail more accessible / enjoyable to other groups of people, not just specifically the visually impaired. People who do not use English as their first language might prefer the audio to reading. Anyone who might have dyslexia or learning difficulties in general. Neurodiverse people who might not be as engaged with reading. So many other groups of people that can really enjoy the addition to this on the trail.

For those that are happier reading there is plenty of info on the base of the sculptures and in the activity booklet. The booklets are available to pick up from MK Gallery, centre:mk Guest Services and the Moxy Hotel in The Hub. They contain information of course but very importantly - the map! My Children loved using this to find the next sculpture. The other lovely thing about this is that it takes you right through the middle of centre:mk and the surrounding area. You can choose to do the full trail and see all 12 sculptures, you can do the first part and see the 7 closest to the shopping centre, or you might just happen to see a couple of them when you're out shopping. We chose to do the first 7 and then stopped and had lunch out to make more of a day out of it. You can do it as quickly or slowly as you'd like.

Our Top Highlight

For me, my highlight was the sculpture inside the Xscape. My daughter who is 8, let me know that there were small tactile elements to the sculptures. She guided my hand to feel the trunk, eyes, ears and tail of the elephant. It was so nice to have that added extra and so glad my daughter thinks about these things and what might be nice for me to experience when really it was a treat for them to go and see the trail! This isn’t an ‘accessible feature’ of the trail but something that as a visually impaired person, really added to how much I was able to enjoy the trail. Although I would encourage you to be very careful around these wonderful pieces of art (no climbing etc.)

Do take note of the little tactile elements.

Know Before You Go

• Wear comfy trainers for the walk around, it isn't super long but little legs might be happier in trainers.
• Visit any time of day really. Be mindful that lots of the sculptures are outside and we have had some very hot weather recently. An extra excuse to stop for an iced coffee on the way round if you ask me mums and dads
• You don't need to bring anything specific at all but don't forget to pick up your activity pack and be safe in the sun with hats, suncream and water.

How refreshing is it to find an activity that is FREE, suitable for LOTS of different ages AND that has accessibility at the forefront? I feel so blessed to have a local community that holds events like this.

To feel like I can confidently enjoy something that caters for my access needs and to not feel like a burden. To just have fun in the summer holidays and see the kids smiling and running off to find the next elephant. Add this to your list of summer holiday activities, you won't regret it.