9
Diversity Rules Magazine
February 2017
Blindness has its chal-
lenges, but as a group
of students from the
NuVu Studio, a full-
time innovation school
in Cambridge, MA, learned on a field trip to the Per-
kins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, blind-
ness can become more difficult by the accompaniment
of other conditions.
"Some of the blind students we met had other disabili-
ties," said Richie Lourie, 14, "and we got to ask them
a lot of questions."
rough their inquiries, the NuVu students learned
that many of the 200 Perkins pupils faced other bar-
riers such as cerebral palsy, which affects their motor
skills, and that several of the Perkins students had pros-
thetic eyes. e NuVu group also got to meet a little
girl named Eleanor, who made quite the impression.
"When I first met Eleanor, I felt bad for her. She could
not do things like everyone else can. But as I got to
know her better, I realized she did not need my pity.
She is happy just the way she is," said Grace Cassels,
16.
Inspired by the Perkins visit, the NuVu students re-
turned to school with the plan to create tools that
would help blind students with cerebral palsy better
manage their ocular prosthetics. ey instantly began
to prototype and made Eleanor their muse.
Nuvu allows for middle and high school students to
spend a trimester (12 weeks) full time in their innova-
tion labs. e goal is to have these students develop
solutions for open-ended problems through creativity.
"We use the architectural studio model as the basis of
Cipriani - Con't on page 10
Innovation School In Cambridge,
MA Creates Tools For The Blind
By Belo Cipriani
www.belocipriani.com
