It is a tiny park project that will go a long way in bringing joy to blind children. A sensory playground has been designed at the Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind (SRMAB) in Bengaluru that is accessible and empowers children in play and learning. Built with elevated and ground-level equipment such as ramps and transfer systems, the playground is installed with sensory stimulus activities and tactile clues. For example, the playground has tyre sound chimes and swings that allow swinging, balancing, running, and broadcast musical rhythms. There are also drumming sets that facilitate activities related to sound localisation and allow children to listen to nursery rhymes.
The textured pathways make for safe playing and the see-saw is shock proof. It has tunnels made up of tyres that promote the development of gross motor skills and help in crawling and interacting with peers.
The park is the brainchild of open source technology company Liferay India and part of its employee volunteer project. They obviously chose SRMAB due to the work the organisation has been doing over the past four decades. Along with the academy, it works in community based rehabilitation in semi-urban and rural areas of Karnataka covering seven districts and 1,800 villages.