Knoch Knolls Nature Center offers mobile tours
Naperville Park District's Knoch Knolls Nature Center has developed two mobile tour experiences to help children and visitors discover the surrounding park.
The first is a scavenger hunt that is designed for families with young children, Scout troops or other youth groups and can be accessed through a smartphone.
Participants will be led to explore areas of Knoch Knolls Park that are within a half-mile of the Nature Center at 320 Knoch Knolls Road.
The scavenger hunt will be one of the featured activities during a free community event titled "Building Healthy Minds-Healthy Bodies-Healthy Land," taking place through Saturday, May 7, and coordinated by KidsMatter and the Collaborative Youth Team.
On May 7, participants will be encouraged to visit Knoch Knolls Nature Center to complete the new scavenger hunt, learning about nature, spending time with family or friends and being physically active outdoors.
The second mobile tour is designed for those who are blind or who have low vision. This audio-described tour can be accessed via any phone at (630) 315-9156 as an audio narrative, and it also can be accessed on a smartphone or other mobile device through www.napervilleparks.org.
The mobile website includes both the audio narrative and the accompanying text and pictures for a sighted companion or other visitors.
The audio-described tour leads visitors along a three-quarters-mile loop trail at Knoch Knolls Park near the Nature Center, including stops at McDonald Creek, the mill sculpture, a planted prairie and the West Branch of the DuPage River.
The narrative makes the visual features of the park and the educational signs along the trail accessible to those who are blind or who have low vision.
Written by a professional audio describer, the script includes vivid details about the signs, the immediate surroundings, the overall park setting, and the walking route so that those with low or no vision can picture more clearly the features of the park and confidently navigate the trail.
Several community volunteers who are blind or have low vision provided ideas and feedback as the tour was developed.
The narrative was read and recorded by North Central College student Blane Erwin, who also serves as a DJ for the college's award-winning radio station, WONC. The tour's script and educational signs were funded, in part, by a donation from the Naperville Noon Lions Club and Foundation.
Visitors can experience the audio-described tour any time the park is open (from sunrise to one hour after sunset) even when the Nature Center is closed. Phone minutes and data charges may apply while accessing the tour.