Children from the KZN Society for the Blind visit Sea World

One has to be very brave to touch an animal that you cannot see or barely see only if it is held six inches from your face but for these little kids they faced no fear at all. Their enthusiasm, bravery and easy laughter were infectious and soon we were all enjoying the animals through their eyes. For these sight impaired children the up close and personal experience took on a whole new meaning as they fearlessly explored the different textures, smells, temperatures and contours of not only the dolphins and fish but the snakes and reptiles from Dangerous Creatures exhibit as well.

According to their principal, it is imperative that sight impaired children learn from a young age on how to negotiate and understand the world around them and the one way this can be accomplished is by going on educational school tours. uShaka Sea World provides a safe educational platform for exploration, new discoveries and a whole lot fun.

A tour in the Aquarium is great for some visually impaired children who have a degree of vision as there is only a 3mm sheet of acrylic glass between them and the marine animals. Others however, rely totally on the hands-on experience and you will hear the Sea World animal care staff repeating the words “softly, gently” many times throughout the encounter as eager little hands explore.

uShaka Sea World has been hosting visually impaired children from all over KZN for the past 7 years and each visit is unique and planned according to the individual physical abilities. The Sea World staff looks forward to visits from children who have particular challenges and have a passion and desire to learn about reptiles and marine animals.