Access for Everyone
What happens when your wheelchair won't fit in a movie theater or you can't see well enough to cross streets safely? Make a safe, miniature scene that's accessible.
1. Read about people who have disabilities. Interview people you know who face challenges with their mobility, hearing, sight, or other capacities. Discuss what you learn about how they adapt their lives and surroundings to achieve independence. Focus on their abilities and resourcefulness.
2. In the United States, The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 requires federal and government agencies, as well as private businesses, to make reasonable accommodations (changes to their properties) so that their services are accessible to people with disabilities. Most sidewalks, stores, and stadiums have ramps. Guide dogs are allowed in most restaurants. Elevator floor number signs are also written in Braille. Public restrooms have wheelchair access. Traffic lights signal when to cross with bird songs as well as colored lights. Discuss other changes you have noticed.
3. Make a model of a city street or a building that is accessible. These are some suggestions to start your imagination.
4. To make sidewalk, use Crayola® Scissors to cut layers of cardboard. Stack them in the corner of a larger cardboard base. Secure with Crayola School Glue. Build a sidewalk ramp. Glue and air dry.
5. Use Crayola Washable Window or Gel Markers to draw sidewalk seams and color the sidewalk. Cover a thin strip of white paper with Gel marker. Glue to the edge of sidewalk. Air dry.
6. With Crayola Model Magic, sculpt a traffic signal. Use a drinking straw for extra support if it is on a post. Add a tiny bird on top if you like. Air dry overnight.
7. Cover your art area with newspaper. Paint the street, traffic signal, and bird using Crayola Washable Paint and Paint Brushes. Air dry.
8. Make buildings with recycled boxes. Cut construction paper to fit all around them. Create windows and doors by cutting rectangles and squares from colored construction paper. Fold paper to create wide doors that open, store signs, steps, or awnings. Attach with glue. Air dry.
9. Use Washable Window or Gel Markers to create bricks and building details. Add window trim and signs. Create roofs with construction paper or cardboard (peel off a layer of paper from corrugated cardboard for a rippled roof). Add any other accommodations to make your buildings or street more accessible. Glue on and air dry.
10. Cut red, green, and yellow traffic lights from construction paper. Glue onto the traffic signal. Air dry.
11. Use Model Magic to sculpt a person with disabilities who is using the facility. You might make a seeing eye dog and a sight-impaired pedestrian, or someone in a wheelchair or on crutches, for example. Make a collar and leash for the seeing eye dog with chenille sticks.
12. Display your scene with a title and list of all the accommodations you included.
Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project.
Crayola Modeling Materials including Crayola Model Magic®, Model Magic Fusion™, Crayola Air-Dry Clay, and Crayola Dough With Small Parts—
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—
- Keep away from open flames. Do not use to make candleholders, hot plates, trivets, or other similar objects that will be used or placed near fire and other heat sources.
- Do not put in an oven, microwave, or kiln.
- Do not make into vessels/containers that will hold unpackaged food.
- If the arts & crafts project involves making small objects, follow the small parts/choking hazards standards: WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—Small parts. Not for children under 3 years."
- The use of modeling material to make items that look like food is discouraged for children younger than age 5 to avoid their confusion with real food.
- Unless sealed with a water-resistant glaze, do not make projects exposed to or immersed in water, such as boats or outdoor bird feeders. They would disintegrate when exposed to moisture.
- Crayola Dough—contains gluten (wheat flour) as an ingredient. Crayola Air-Dry Clay, Crayola Model Magic, and Model Magic Fusion are gluten-free. However, they are produced on the same machinery as Crayola Dough which does contain gluten. Although the machines are cleaned prior to the start of each production run, there is a slight possibility that trace amounts of gluten from Crayola Dough may be present in the other modeling compound products. For information regarding specific ingredients or allergic concerns, please call our Consumer Affairs department at 1-800-272-9652 weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Sharp Point— CAUTION: Contains a functional sharp point and should not be used by children under 4 years. Close adult supervision is required and adult assistance may be needed.
Small Parts— WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
Crayola Washable Paints—Not for use as body/face paint.
Scissors—ATTENTION: The cutting edges of scissors are sharp and care should be taken whenever cutting or handling. Blunt-tip scissors should be used only by children 4 years and older. Pointed-tip scissors should be used only by children 6 years and older.
- Research more about guide dogs. Find out what breeds are usually trained for the job, and how long it takes to train a dog. See what is required to become a guide dog trainer. Learn about the rules to follow when near a guide dog, such as not touching it or talking to it. Share your report with your class.
- Read about Chuck Close, one of the top names associated with Pop Art and Photo Realism. At the age of 49, at the height of his career, he was suddenly paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Although discouraged at first, he learned to paint again with a paintbrush strapped to his right hand. His unusual way of painting portraits on a grid has earned him praise and fame. Try painting a portrait of your own in his style.
- Partner with a group of children who have special needs. Get together once a week. Keep a journal of the time you spend reading books, playing games, or doing art projects. At the end of the year, have a party or picnic. Take pictures and share journal entries. After the party, discuss what you learned.
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