Visually impaired children have a special visit at the circus

The daring feats of trapeze artists, the skills of the jugglers, the colorful costumes and the other spectacular sights when the circus comes to town mean little to visually impaired and blind children.
But six such children from Cincinnati Public Schools got a special tour by touch at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus.

Sam Peterson, 7, got to try on a clown's costume, wearing a pink-and-blue striped coat and some extra, extra-large shoes.

"Do you think they'll confuse me with one of the actors?" he asked.

Quentin Thomas, a first-grader, walked around with clown Nathan Holguin and touched such things as a conga drum and Asia the elephant's trunk during an off-hours tour of the show earlier this month at U.S. Bank Arena.

Holguin took the boy's hand and guided it along the elephant's skin.

"She doesn't have fur," Quentin said. "She's not even soft."

The children also felt clowns' noses and ran their fingers along their costumes to feel textures.
Six-year-old Dionna Payne sat with the senior clown and made music on a saw, using the bow of a violin.

Joy Spite, a teacher for visually impaired students, said the experience was a valuable opportunity for the children.

Resident Catherine Johnson accompanied her daughter Caitlynn, 6, as she touched Smiley the clown's soft coat and tried on a clown's jacket.

"They got a lifelong experience," Johnson said.