CRIS Radio Brings Story of Connecticut's Role in Revolution to Residents with Visual Disabilities

CRIS Radio and a team of historians, archivists, museum curators and Central Connecticut State University students are making Connecticut’s Revolutionary War history come to life with an accessible smartphone audio tour at a dozen sites in the state.

Those historic sites include Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold, as well as Coventry, Lebanon, Suffield, Redding, East Granby, and Ridgefield. Graduate students in Central Connecticut State University’s public history program, working with Professor Anthony Martin, conducted research on the state’s most iconic Revolutionary War sites and those sites that are nearly forgotten.

Audio versions of historic documents related to the pivotal role of Connecticut residents 250 years ago in the nation’s fight for independence highlight the roles of prominent military and political leaders as well as those of lesser-known farmers, women, and people of color.

As national studies indicate a small percentage of individuals with disabilities visit museums, the goal of CRISAccess® Tours is to make these Revolutionary War historic sites more accessible to individuals with print challenges to help ensure they can share in America’s 250th celebration of its independence.

The project team included CRIS Radio, Conn. State Library (archivists); CT Museum of Culture and History (researcher/archivist); Central Connecticut State University (History Department);  Lebanon Historical Society; CT Daughters of the American Revolution, CT Sons of the American Revolution; Fort Trumbull State Park; Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park; Putnam Memorial State Park (Redding Revolutionary War Winter Encampment; CT Landmarks; and Ridgefield Historical Society.

Connecticut Radio Information System, Inc. (CRIS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) radio-reading service that has been serving people who are blind or print-challenged for more than four decades.

Programs originate from their broadcast center in Windsor, as well as from regional satellite studios in Danbury, Norwich, Norwalk, Trumbull, and West Haven. The organization, led by Executive Director Diane Weaver Dunne and a local Board of Directors, operates with a small staff and a large number of dedicated volunteers who provide voice talent and serve on fundraising committees and the Board.

CRIS Radio makes its programs available to individuals who are unable to read printed materials due to blindness or other disabilities, including visual, learning, physical, emotional or intellectual disabilities.  CRISAccess Tours and Historical Voices are part of its Adaptive Audio Accessibility services, providing audio versions of signs and historical documents at museums and other public spaces.