[accessibleimage] Tactile museum helps the blind discover birthday of ancient Olympics

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/25/sports0107EDT0042.DTL

Tactile museum helps the blind discover birthday of ancient
Olympics
(08-25) 22:07 PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- 

                  Dimitris Dovas runs his fingers over the
face and
                  body of Venus de Milo. "What incredible
art!" he
                  exclaims. 

                  Dovas might be breaking the cardinal rule
of
                  museums, where visitors can look at but
not touch the
                  prized exhibits guarded behind ropes or in
glass
                  cases. But in an unassuming building on a
quiet side
                  street in central Athens, something is
different. 

                  The original Venus de Milo -- one of the
most
                  celebrated examples of Hellenistic art --
is still in
                  Paris' Louvre museum. But an exact replica
at the
                  Tactual Museum is the only chance for
Dovas, who is
                  blind, to understand what the statue looks
like. 

                  "This museum is very important for us. If
you stand in
                  front of a glass case and someone just
describes
                  what's inside, you don't really get a very
good idea," he
                  said. "Here, I understand much more." 

                  All are here: sculptures from Ancient
Olympia; a
                  Corinthian jewelry box housed in a Boston
museum;
                  4th-century B.C. vases exhibited in
Munich; the famed
                  bronze statue of a charioteer from Delphi. 

                  With the Paralympics just around the
corner, the
                  museum is hoping to attract both athletes
and visitors
                  who would otherwise have little contact
with Greek
                  antiquity. 

                  Athens was never a very friendly city for
the disabled.
                  Its narrow streets were difficult to
negotiate, with no
                  ramps for wheelchairs, sidewalks
frequently taken
                  over as parking spots, chaotic traffic,
and little or no
                  access to many buildings. 

                  But with the city hosting both the
Olympics, which end
                  Sunday, and the Paralympics, which open on
Sept.
                  17, something had to be done. 

                  Laws were passed in an effort to make
public areas
                  and buildings more accessible; ramps were
built on
                  sidewalks. Even the Acropolis, one of the
world's
                  great archaeological sites, was fitted
with a specially
                  constructed open-air elevator to carry
wheelchair
                  visitors over the monument's 82-foot wall. 

                  The Tactual Museum, part of a foundation
known as
                  Lighthouse for the Blind of Greece, hopes
to help the
                  blind gain a greater understanding of the
birthplace of
                  the ancient Olympics. Reopened in March
after being
                  shut down since 1999 because of earthquake
                  damage, it is now in full Paralympics
mode. 

                  The facility will extend its opening hours
and will
                  provide audio guided tours in English,
French and
                  German to supplement the current label
explanations
                  in Braille and in Greek, said Zoe
Geroulanos of the
                  museum's board of directors. A stack of
Braille books
                  include calendars and guides to the
Paralympics. 

                  "We're ready for the games," Geroulanos
said.
                  "During the Paralympics ... we hope the
athletes and
                  their families will come here to discover
the exhibits
                  from ancient Olympia, from Delphi, from
Crete, from
                  the Cycladic museum." 

                  Apart from the replicas of antiquities --
faithful gypsum
                  reproductions of the originals, chipped
noses and all
                  -- several new exhibits are
Olympic-oriented. A relief
                  map of Athens indicating the locations of
sports
                  venues hangs just inside the entrance,
next to
                  depictions of the Paralympics and Olympics
mascots
                  and logos. 

                  "In general, this is the best (museum)
that there is,"
                  said Maria Makiataki, touring the first
floor with a
                  guide. "Here, I can understand whatever
you can see
                  -- the size of the statue, what it
represents, everything.
                  I can see whatever you see." 

                  The museum also hopes to obtain a genuine
ancient
                  artifact to give the blind a better idea
of what the
                  exhibits are made of. 

                  "We want one genuine piece, so they can
understand
                  the feel of marble. Making a replica in
marble wouldn't
                  work, because the feel of ancient,
weathered marble
                  is completely different," Geroulanos said.
"These are
                  small things that are very easy for us to
see and
                  understand, but for a blind person, it's
very hard."

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