Visually impaired girl joins Easter egg hunts thanks to dad's beeping creation

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Friday, April 3, 2015
(David Hyche/ABC News)
creativeContent-David Hyche/ABC News

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- When Rachel Hyche was 19 months old, her dad, David, volunteered at an Easter egg hunt and brought her along. Rachel, who is blind, couldn't participate. Her dad decided to do something about it.

David Hyche/ABC News

Hyche researched what was out there and found that the Blind Children's Center in Los Angeles was already hosting an Easter egg hunt with beeping Easter eggs. He contacted them to find out how it was done.

Then Hyche, who is a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms decided to use his expertise to bring the creation to life in Alabama. The dad told ABC News that his version is cheaper. All you need is a switch, a piezo beeper, a 9-volt battery and battery clip inside a plastic egg. It took him about 20 minutes per egg, he said.

David Hyche/ABC News

Wanting to spread the idea, Hyche called up his bomb squad buddies and asked them to help make more. The International Association of Bomb Technicians in Virginia offered to help send the eggs around the country at no cost.

There are now Easter egg hunts for visually impaired children all over the country, including three in Birmingham alone, according to Hyche. The Blind Children's Center, his source of inspiration, also holds one every year.

Hyche eventually uploaded instructions onto the website for the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators so others could recreate it, too.

Read Hyde's instructions on how to create your own beeping Easter eggs.

As for Rachel, she's now 10 and quite the Easter egg hunting enthusiast. Hyche said she'll drop her cane and sprint across a field at the sound of beeping eggs.

Images used with permission.