Observing White Cane Day with The Dot Experience

The white cane helps people who are blind or low vision navigate to work, school, and around their community safely and independently. From detecting steps, curbs, and even cracks in the sidewalk, this mobility aid gives users tactile feedback of their surroundings so they can travel with ease. Every year on October 15, we celebrate National White Cane Safety Day, and when The Dot Experience opens its doors in 2026, visitors will have a chance to see this tool in action in one of our exhibits.

Origin of White Cane Day

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the White Cane Safety Day proclamation, making it a national holiday to be observed every October 15th. On this day, we honor the achievements, successes, and triumphs of people who are blind and low vision who use a white cane. In 2011, President Barack Obama also coined this holiday Blind Americans Equality Day.

White Cane Law

In all 50 states, drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians with white canes, even when they’re not on a crosswalk. The Kentucky law states that the white cane must be clearly visible, so drivers know to yield, and the right-of-way also extends to individuals who have an assistance dog (or guide dog). Failure to follow the law could result in a fine with a maximum of $250.

Canes at The Dot Experience

White canes will be prominently featured on their own wall in the center of the “Who We Are” gallery at The Dot Experience. Visitors will be able to use and explore canes of varying sizes and test them out with different cane tips on multiple surfaces. The inclusive prototyping team helped select the cane tips and ground types for the exhibit. The tips include metal glide, rolling ball, ceramic, Dakota disk, and marshmallow. The surface areas will be truncated dome, broken sidewalk, tile floor, carpet, wood floor, cobblestone, and faux grass.

“The simple and quick engagement goal with this moment in The Dot Experience is to highlight the cane as both an essential tool, but also an everyday tool,” said Ben Jett, Creative Team Director at Solid Light. “This hopefully gives visitors a new or better sense of what a cane’s ‘job’ is for cane users and to feature different tips as an indicator of the different preferences of folks as well as the varied conditions that some cane tips might handle better than others.”

Jessica Minneci, Inclusive Content and Programs Specialist for The Dot Experience and a member of the prototyping team, added, “Once a cane is in your hand, it is an extension of your body, feeling every surface beneath you. I suggested adding the cracked sidewalk to the exhibit to show visitors what it’s like when your cane punches you in the stomach as it bumps along a broken sidewalk.” Durable and made to last, a cane isn’t just a mobility tool. It becomes part of a person’s identity. Every day at The Dot Experience, we celebrate the importance of the cane and the independence it gives users of all ages.

To learn more about the white cane, check out this article from the Perkins School for the Blind, and follow The Dot Experience on Facebook for updates on the upcoming attraction.