UniDescription
Impact

Featured Audio Descriptions
Accolades
Photo Albums
Google Map of Places We Have Helped to Make More Accessible
Collaborations with the U.S. National Park Service

Making a Difference

Where we've been. What we've done.

Featured Audio Description

Yosemite National Park

DESCRIPTION: Looking up through the silhouettes of the pines, one can spot the bright white rush of Bridalveil Fall pouring over the soaring Yosemite Valley cliffs. The water cascades over a glacially carved, U-shaped trough at the cliff top. The prominent rock formation, Leaning Tower, leans away and juts outward over the cliffline to the right of the waterfall, tempting visiting rock climbers. The rocks' varied minerals make a colorful patchwork of grays, oranges, creams and browns along the cliff face. RELATED TEXT: The massive cliffs of Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy valleys challenge the body and mind, especially the inquisitive nature of human beings. When an 1868 Yosemite guidebook declared, “the summit of Half Dome will never be trodden by human foot,” it was taken as a challenge. George Anderson reached the top in 1875. Countless others followed. One by one, adventurous men and women made other first ascents on sheer granite walls in Yosemite, changing the sport of climbing forever. The challenge of these cliffs continues to beckon climbers from around the world. The very existence of great cliffs like Half Dome and El Capitan has inspired questions about how they came to be. American Indians tell of a woman and her husband who argued and fought. The displeased spirits changed them into stone, Half Dome and North Dome, forever to face each other across the Valley. How these cliffs were formed has challenged geologists for over 100 years. They think the granite of Yosemite’s walls solidified over five miles underground. As the overlying rock eroded away, the granites rose to their current exposed level. Nature’s dynamic forces continue sculpting this exposed rock.

Statue of Liberty National Monument

DESCRIBING: A sepia-toned, horizontal illustration. DESCRIPTION: Immigrants stand on a crowded deck of a steamship entering New York Harbor. The ship is in the foreground and is about to pass the Statue of Liberty on its port side. The statue is in the right background of the illustration. It is just a silhouette of the iconic landmark. Many of the immigrants look toward the Statue. Some point toward her. Trying to get a better look, others climb the ship's rigging. CAPTION: Immigrants and statue, from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1887. CREDIT: Library of Congress. RELATED TEXT: Above and below this illustration is the text of the 1883 Emma Lazarus poem "The New Colossus." It reads: "Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Hamilton Grange National Memorial

IMAGE 1 of 2: Duel re-creation DESCRIBING: A sepia-toned, horizontal drawing. DESCRIPTION: This image shows five men standing in a clearing near some trees. The two men in the foreground stand stiffly with their feet together, about 10 feet apart, pointing pistols at each other. They are both wearing light-colored period clothing of the 18th century, including vests and long coats, as well as the triangular hats popular in this era, called tricorn or "cocked" hats. The man closest to the viewer wears a white knee-length jacket, worn open. Two of the men in the background wear white britches, dark jackets with long tails, and top hats. They are watching the scene impassively. A third man in the background wears dark clothing and blends in with the surrounding foliage. He appears to be making a comment to one of the onlookers. CREDIT: The Granger Collection, New York IMAGE 2 of 2: Two pistols DESCRIPTION: A pair of pistols, laid on their side together, overlapping at the tips of their muzzles. Each pistol has a curved wooden handle, a delicate metal finger guard over the trigger and an ornate metal firing mechanism. The body of one pistol is deep lacquered red, while the muzzle is polished and brass-toned. The other pistol is largely identical, except its body is a lighter brown CREDIT: JP Morgan Chase Archives RELATED TEXT: After years of differences, Aaron Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804. Burr, now the country’s vice president, felt he had to defend his honor. Friends tried to soothe both men, but failed. Facing possible death, Hamilton wrote letters to his friends and family. After he died from Burr’s bullet, Elizabeth read his letter and these final words: "Adieu, best of wives and best of women. Embrace all my darling children for me."

Accolades

July 01, 2020
American Alliance of Museums

Brett Oppegaard, Muse Award Winner (2020)

Research & Innovation (Gold): The UniDescription Project: Increasing Empirical Understanding of Audio Description with People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired, University of Hawaii at Manoa. “This proof-of-concept project shows the possibilities for museums to make their stories accessible. By including free and open source tools for audio description, it has the potential to be a game changer for accessibility of heritage content.”

July 03, 2020
American Council of the Blind

Michele Hartley, Achievement in Audio Description – Visual Art/Museums/Visitor Centers (2020)

"Since 2010, Michele has served as Media Accessibility Coordinator for the Harpers Ferry Center (HFC), an interpretive media design center for the National Park Service (NPS) system. Michele provides technical assistance, training and resources to promote media, exhibits, videos and publications that are accessible and universally designed. ... Over the past 6 years, she has been the NPS liaison to the UniD project, an initiative that produces audio-described park brochures. She is an important advocate for inclusion of user-experts to ensure effective and inclusive communication."

July 04, 2020
American Council of the Blind

Sajja Koirala, ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows (2020)

"Sajja Koirala of Honolulu, Hawaii holds a bachelor’s in psychology, a master’s in social work, a certificate in women’s studies, and a graduate certificate in disability studies. She is currently pursuing a PhD in communication and information sciences at the University of Hawaii. Her research interest includes media accessibility and audio description. Sajja has been working as a research assistant on the UniDescription Project since 2017, and has played an instrumental role in audio-describing the brochures of around 100 US national parks. ..."

July 26, 2019
American Council of the Blind

Brett Oppegaard, Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl Memorial Achievement Award in Audio Description (2019)

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2019 - The American Council of the Blind (ACB) proudly announces the 2019 Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl Memorial Achievement Award in Audio Description, an initiative of the Council’s Audio Description Project (ADP). In conjunction with ACB’s 58th annual conference and convention in Rochester, N.Y., the award was presented at a plenary session of the conference before over 1,000 people who are blind. The Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl Memorial Achievement Award in Audio Description – Research and Development was awarded to Dr. Brett Oppegaard.

Photos Albums

Field Research

These photos show some of the research activities we have done in the field around the world.

Last Updated: August 03, 2020

Behind-the-Scenes

How do we do what we do? These photos will give you a behind-the-scenes look at our work.

Last Updated: May 04, 2021

Google Map of Places We Have Helped to Make More Accessible

Audio Description Created Around the U.S. (and World). For help making this map audible, read this Perkins School for the Blind article.

Collaborations with U.S. National Park Service Sites

Thank you, NPS partners!

The U.S. National Park Service has long been committed to improving media accessibility throughout the country and even initiated this UniDescription research project with the University of Hawaii. Without its involvement, none of this work would have been (or would be) possible. To date, more than 100 U.S. NPS sites are more accessible today than they were before the UniDescription Project, through this partnership, including the creation of new Audio Description at:

About Us - NPS Centennial System Map and Guide

About Us - NPS Unigrid Guide

About Us - The UniDescription Project

African Burial Ground National Monument - New York

Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge - Minnesota

Antietam National Battlefield - Maryland

Appomattox Court House Audio Tour

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park - Virginia

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Badlands National Park - South Dakota

Belmont Paul Women's Equality National Monument - District of Columbia

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area - Tennessee