Captioning Planetarium Programs for the Hearing Impaired
Bridget M. Shea, Davis Planetarium
Maryland Science Center
601 Light Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Planetariums are unique settings that open the wonders of the universe
to many people. Unfortunately, not everyone can enjoy the star-filled sky
or the astronomy programs that are available in most planetariums. With
heightened awareness of the needs of the handicapped, we at the Davis Planetarium
have made changes to accommodate people with many different disabilities.
The Davis Planetarium in the Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, Maryland,
in conjunction with the Greater Baltimore Parents' Association for Hearing
Impaired Children, a part of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the
Deaf, received a grant from the Association of Science Technology Centers
(ASTC) to develop a captioning system in the Davis Planetarium. This system
was installed in June, 1988.
The hearing impaired group is far-reaching including the deaf, senior citizens
and many people whose hearing has been damaged by loud environments. Many
hearing impaired people are not totally deaf, but rather have difficulty
hearing speech above other background noises.
Choosing a system required meeting certain guidelines. The initial equipment,
evaluation and production of the captions had to be relatively inexpensive.
The equipment had to be easy to use and not easily seen from the theater
seats. It had to be programmable and compatible with the AVL Eagle automation
system in the theater. The captions had to be big enough to read from the
farthest seats and be close to the dome without interfering with visuals.
After reviewing several options including video, LED display boards and
conventional slides, it was decided that a set of two dissolving slide projectors
would be the simplest method for providing the captions. The dissolves could
be programmed right into the show automation controls. Turning the captioning
system on and off is as simple as pressing the on/off switch on the Dove
unit which controls the projectors. It was also the least expensive option.
3 SAV Kodak Projectors (with backup) $1,860
3 Lenses (with backup) $450
Dissolve/Dove unit (used) $400
Hardware & Cable $75
Photographic Supplies $50
Evaluation and opening reception $420
Total $3,255
The projectors are mounted in the back of the theater in the projection
gallery just below the dome. To better fit into the available space, the
projectors face each other and the captions reflect off mirrors. The captions
are then projected onto the front wall just below the dome. There is dark,
low-nap carpet on this wall and the carpet makes an acceptable projection
surface. It seems to hold down some of the light scattering. The captions
can be seen from most seats, even with the Minolta star projector at its
highest point, and they are close enough to the dome to make reading the
captions and looking at the visuals possible. The slides are simple Kodalith
copies of laser printed text with a Helvetica 14 bold font. Each slide contains
no more than four lines with a maximum of 40 characters per line.
We worked with a person experienced in writing captions for scripts. She
was able to help simplify the more complex terms and explanations in the
script, as well as make us aware of vocabulary limitations of those who
have learned the language without being able to hear. Through our experience
in captioning planetarium programs, we have discovered that it is best to
keep one idea per slide and to pace the show in such a way as to allow time
for reading the captions and looking at visuals. As a result, our program
scripts have become shorter with simpler language.
The first program we captioned, "Destination Universe: Our Future in
Space," was a longer program, and we were not able to fully caption
all the ideas due to the limited number of available slides. Through the
evaluation of the captions, we learned that those who could hear something
but were not able to understand the words were frustrated. They could hear
someone talking but there were no captions to read. Some hearing impaired
people wanted the captions projected on the dome with the visuals. However,
once they understood the equipment involved and the format of the presentation,
they felt having the captions on the front wall was the best compromise.
We were concerned about the reaction from hearing visitors and knowing if
they found the captions distracting. Evaluation of the captions involved
a survey conducted at the opening reception for members of the hearing impaired
community and after public shows. The overall response from the hearing
impaired group was positive but pointed out the limitations discussed earlier.
The positive feedback we received from the hearing visitors indicated that
the system is also beneficial to them. The hearing visitors can read information
they have missed and most of those surveyed felt that it was a good program.
Currently, three out of eight daily weekend and summer shows are regularly
captioned. If someone requests another showtime with captions, it is easy
to do. We market the captioned programs in the Maryland Science Center's
Visitor Guide, Member News and press releases. When the system was first
installed, there was media interest. The response has not been overwhelming,
although it has been much appreciated by those who have needed the captions.
We need to provide more marketing to inform key groups about the captioned
shows.
The time and expense to caption each new production is minimal compared
to the benefit provided to our visitors. It has been challenging and worthwhile
updating our theater to include captioning for the hearing impaired so they
too may explore the Universe.
Reproduced from the Planetarian, Vol. 23, #3, September 1993.
Copyright 1993 International Planetarium Society. For permission to reproduce
please contact Executive Editor, Sharon Shanks.
