Family Day at the IDGS - a successful event for young and old

3 November 2023, by Pamela Sundhausen

Photo: IDGS

(Video in German Sign Language)

On 28 October 2023, the IDGS opened its doors to parents for the first time. The response was good and many took the opportunity to get to know our institute from the inside. In the on-site childcare centre, the children spun the wheel of fortune, painted, played and did lots of arts and crafts. Parents were able to talk to the research staff in attendance and find out about current projects at the IDGS at the various information booths. For example, they learnt about the neurolinguistic processing of DGS and received a guided tour of our experimental sign lab, where further activities awaited our interested guests. They were able to put on an EEG cap, familiarise themselves with visual stimuli and learn all about how a research study is conducted. Our eye-tracker for recording eye movements could also be tried out and guests were able to peek into the lab's own washroom, where study participants can wash their hair after an EEG measurement. We also used poster presentations to introduce our three current research projects in the EGS laboratory: 1. "I see something you don't see"- Change of perspective for deaf L1 and hearing L2 users of German Sign Language 2. Coactivating the difference in the verbal domain of German Sign Language: A developmental perspective at signers processing signing and reading (CoDiPro) 3. Iconic metaphors and the gesture-sign interface in German Sign Language – corpus data meet experiments (IMaGeS, DFG project) The parents were positively impressed with the comprehensive information they received in DGS about the ongoing projects in the experimental sign lab. They appreciated that signing was used throughout the event. In addition, refreshments were served: a great buffet with drinks, cakes, a fruit salad, and much more. The parents also visited our other areas of work, such as our film studio, which impressed with its size and professional, modern equipment. Finally, a four-legged colleague made a guest appearance: one of our employees had brought her hearing-ear dog to the event and explained to the parents and children how these dogs are trained and how they assist deaf people. In the end, everyone agreed that it was a very worthwhile event for our visitors, both young and old(er), and we will certainly be planning more events of this kind in the future. See you soon at the IDGS!