JACKSON, Wyo. — The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) is promoting International Color Blindness Awareness Month during the month of September through educational efforts and new technology.
The museum will join EnChroma, the creators of glasses for color blindness, to heighten awareness of the prevalence and effects of color vision deficiency (CVD).
NMWA, along with numerous other organizations around the world, will be undertaking activities to educate the public about CVD, encourage Museum visitors to test their color vision by taking EnChroma’s two-minute color blindness test, invite color-blind people to come to the Museum to try EnChroma glasses and raffle off two pairs of EnChroma glasses to color-blind visitors.
The Museum is the first organization in the state of Wyoming to offer accessibility to the colorblind through the EnChroma Color Accessibility Program.
“This partnership with EnChroma to raise awareness for color blindness will promote inclusion and accessibility for those with color vision deficiencies,” says Museum Director Steve Seamons. “Our staff strives to expand accessibility of the Museum’s permanent collection and color blind glasses are an integral component of that. We’re excited to be able to give away two pairs of glasses!”
Statistics indicate that one in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (.5%) are color vision deficient; an estimated 13 million in the United States and 350 million worldwide. While people with normal color vision see over one million shades of color, those with color vision deficiency are estimated to see only about 10% of hues and shades.
EnChroma glasses expand the range of colors the color blind can see and make colors more vibrant, clear, and distinct. Studies published by vision scientists at the University of California, Davis and France’s INSERM Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, and the University of the Incarnate Word, have verified the effectiveness of the glasses. NMWA offers the use of complimentary EnChroma glasses for anyone visiting the Museum.
Color blind visitors will have the entire month of September to enter the raffle and can inquire in person at the front desk of the Museum. Museum hours for September are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
