DALLAS — It was loud in the gym in the Anderson Sports-Health Center at Misericordia University, louder than you might expect an Easter egg hunt to be. But the noise wasn’t coming from kids looking for the eggs; it was coming from the eggs themselves.
The cacophony that filled the gym Saturday morning was caused by electronic devices in the plastic eggs that caused them to beep, all to help make finding the eggs easier for kids who have some sort of visual impairment.
According to Sara Peperno, president and CEO for the Association for the Blind, the egg hunt was the first put on by the association, as part of their InSight Kid’s Club.
“We’re expecting about 75 people, including about 40 kids,” Peperno said. “This is one of the biggest programs we’ve had.”
The large turnout can be partially explained by the fact that the egg hunt wasn’t open to just kids with visual impairments, but also their family members. Plastic eggs without the electronic devices were scattered around the gym, mixed in with the beeping eggs, and sighted children were instructed to leave the beeping eggs for those who did have impairments to find.
A press release from the Association for the Blind explained that, besides being fun, the egg hunt helped visually impaired kids with “independence, mobility and location skills.”
Three groups of egg hunters searched around the floor of the gym for the plastic eggs. While all the eggs were empty, save for the noise-making device some contained, kids were able to cash in their eggs for sweet candy prizes. Then, the eggs were redistributed on the floor for the next round of hunters.
The electronic devices that caused the eggs to beep was placed there by local bomb squads from Scranton, Bethlehem and Allentown.
According to Bob Martin, 64, and Steve Carroll, 41, both of Scranton’s bomb squad, the funding to make the beeping eggs comes from the International Assocation of Bomb Technicians and Investigators. Martin said that the IABTI contacted the bomb squads with instructions to construct about 60 of the beeping eggs.
“We’re helping kids with a disability, so they can enjoy what we enjoy,” Carroll said. “And it’s good training for us.”
Juwana Husbands, 44, of Wilkes-Barre, brought her daughter, Toni, 9, to take part in the event. Juwana said it was the first time that they had taken part in an event through the Association of the Blind.
“It’s just really nice,” Juwana said. “It’s good that the kids get a chance to do something like this.”
Toni, for her part, was mostly just excited about the candy she got. She asked Juwana if she could have one of the lollipops she had gotten. Juwana said not yet.
Peperno said that she was excited by the turnout for the event, making sure to emphasize that it was the “inaugural” egg hunt.
“We’re definitely going to be doing this again,” Peperno said.
