Easter may still be a couple of weeks away, but a unique egg hunt was held Saturday in Halifax.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and Halifax Regional Police (HRP) hosted their second annual Accessible Easter Egg Hunt. Children and youth who are blind or visually impaired were able to search for beeping eggs around the playground at the George Dixon Community Centre.
“The kids can kind of run around and listen for the eggs rather than look for them,” said Veronique Gauvin with CNIB.
“We have a variety of ways that the kids can find the eggs, but it makes it a little bit easier to participate in something like an egg hunt that’s fun for most families, but that’s not always super accessible for all families.”
The eggs were hidden at varying heights – with some even placed near helium balloons a few feet off the ground to make them easier to grab.
Gauvin said she experienced vision loss as a child, so putting on events like this for other children is heartwarming.
“I remember always hating that I couldn’t ever find the eggs in the egg hunts and it’s so fun to watch all of the little ones run around and get the experience of actually being able to participate in something like this,” she said. “It’s really special.”
The idea for the egg hunt came from the United States.
“A bomb tech in one of the police departments down there has a daughter who’s visually impaired. They attended an Easter egg hunt at a church, and it didn’t go so well because she wasn’t able to participate like the other children, so he came up with building these eggs and putting beepers in them,” said Sgt. Andre Habib with HRP’s Explosive Disposal Unit.
The eggs are larger than standard eggs, and are 3D printed in different sizes. The Explosive Disposal Unit then transforms them for the hunt.
“Part of our skillset is electronics and circuitry, so we’re able to at least build the simple circuits inside these eggs and it really allows the kids, their friends and families all to be involved in this, and it’s a great community event,” said Habib.
Emily Moslemi attended the event with her child, and said it’s amazing.
“Honestly, there’s not much out there for kids who are blind or visually impaired to do, and to have an event where they can all come together and meet each other, and more importantly for the parents to meet each other, is awesome,” she said.
“They can do an Easter egg hunt just like anyone else, and they find their eggs and they run around, and they get excited and it’s just really nice to see.”
Once the children found all of their eggs, they were able to trade them in for treats.
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