BarZ Adventures Founder Testifies before Congressional Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands

Expanding Access for People with Disabilities can be achieved through the GPS Ranger™

Release date: 7/24/2008

Austin, Texas (July 24, 2008) — The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the Committee on Natural Resources held an oversight hearing on “Expanding Access to Federal Lands for People with Disabilities” on Thursday, July 24, 2008, to focus on the development and implementation of the U.S. Access Board’s June 20, 2007, proposed rule on Outdoor Developed Areas.  Austin based BarZ Adventures founder and CEO, Wm. Lee Little, gave testimony on a panel in regards to the GPS Ranger’s ability to assist the National Park Service and other Pubic Lands in expanding access for people with disabilities.  

“The GPS Ranger tour guide system was designed with the visitor to the Public Lands in mind. And when we speak of visitors, we mean equal access for all,” stated, Wm. Lee Little before the congressional subcommittee. 

The GPS Ranger is a patent-pending, handheld computer device that delivers compelling video, audio, musical soundtrack and historical photography based on the location of the user through the power of GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.  The device can deliver interpretive and directional information in any language, including American Sign Language (ASL), and captioning.  The flexibility of the system allows it to meet the needs of disabled Public Land visitors by delivering information in captioning or ASL for the deaf or hard of hearing, audio descriptions with automatic triggering for the blind or visually impaired, and accessibility information on GPS activated maps for the physically disabled.  

“In developing the GPS Ranger product offering, the importance of ADA compliance became abundantly clear.  After being asked by the Harpers Ferry Media Center staff about the Ranger’s capabilities to meet ADA, we incorporated ADA compliance into our software and hardware development strategy,” Little continued. “In response to the NPS media center’s request and at our own expense, we developed our first captioning tour at MLK National Historic Site.  Recently we went one step further with the creation of full captioning and American Sign Language tours as part of our installation at Independence Visitor Center part of the Independence National Historical Park. In Philadelphia, we added ASL at our expense to prove that we can support ADA statutes and to set the bar for equal access for interpretive information.” 

The GPS Ranger offers parks, tourist destinations and outdoor venues the opportunity to broaden access to all visitors and meet the interpretive needs of a diverse population.

“The GPS Ranger can be programmed to meet your goals for full access for all visitors. With your leadership, we can raise the bar for all venues which will pave the way for equal access for all,” Little concluded. 

GPS Rangers are currently deployed at 8 different locations within the National Park System and are also in use at zoos and city walking tours across North America. BarZ Adventures will continue to work with both the park service and independent tour operators interested in developing compelling GPS Ranger tours for additional locations. 

ABOUT BARZ ADVENTURES INC — BarZ Adventures Inc, founded in 2005, is an Austin, TX based company combining experts in the fields of computer delivery systems and content development. BarZ Adventures has designed the patent-pending GPS Ranger™ and Zoo Ranger™ systems with large venues and their visitors in mind – its sole mission is to enhance the visitor experience at high visitation tourist locations using modern technology. GPS Ranger tours are currently available at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Vicksburg National Military Park, Death Valley National Park and Shenandoah National Park, while Zoo Ranger tours are available at the San Francisco Zoo, Dallas Zoo, and Oklahoma City Zoo.  A ghost tour is available in St. Augustine, Florida and historic city walking tours are available in Key West, Florida, Bermuda, and Austin, Texas, which is also the first tour to be made available in American Sign Language (ASL).  BarZ is proud to debut Deaf and Hard of Hearing Friendly Tours, in ASL and Captioning, and hopes to bring accessible tours for the deaf and hard of hearing to a growing number of destinations.  Additional tours are coming soon to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in Utah, and the Santa Barbara Zoo in California.  For more information, log on to www.barzadventures.com, www.gpsranger.com or call (512) 732-0135.