ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- An enormous Asian elephant stepped out from behind a big red curtain at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Atlanta , Georgia . Eli Hummer , 3 , gets to try out an oversized motorbike at the circus . An audience of 20 pre-schoolers clapped and squealed as the elephant was handed a tiny harmonica and started playing . But , instead of sitting far away in the stands , the children , all visually impaired , were just a few feet away from the action . Among them was 3-year-old Eli Hummer . `` He does n't see , so to learn about it , he has to touch it and be close to it , '' explained his mother , Martha Hummer . She said being able to use the sense of smell , touch and sound helps her son understand the concept of a circus . Every year as it tours the country , Ringling Brothers sponsors a `` Blind-Touch Tour '' in about a dozen cities . During a stop in Atlanta , Georgia , children from the Center for the Visually Impaired got more than a front row seat . After the show , they were invited into the circus ring to interact with performers and try out some of their props . Watch more on the `` Blind-Touch '' tour » . Eight stations were set up where children could touch and try on circus costumes , play with giant umbrellas and butterfly wings and sit on an oversized motorcycle . Clowns roamed the ring juggling and trying to make the children laugh . One clown dressed in a polka dot shirt and checkered pants took Eli 's little hand and asked the boy if he wanted to touch the red clown nose . Watch some of the sights and sounds of the circus » . Eli responded by trying to pull off the ball-like prop . His teacher , Joyce Burnett , who is also visually impaired , spent two weeks before the circus visit preparing the kids in the classroom for the unique experience . `` We had clown shoes , a nose and a wig and we tried all of those on , '' Burnett said . She said the students also listened to elephant sounds and drew the outline of the animals with chalk . `` Eighty to 90 percent of early learning comes through vision , '' Burnett said . `` Our children are not using vision or ( have ) very little vision , so all of the other senses will make their world real . '' Visit CNNhealth.com , your connection for better living . Michelle Singleton , mother of 4-year-old Miya , said the experience is something the kids ca n't get anywhere else . `` The fact that she 's on the floor now , she is really excited . She wanted to see the elephants so she 's happy now , '' Singleton said . Four-year-old Kristina Masta was fascinated with a trapeze swing that was hanging low to the ground . One of the performers helped the girl climb on while her mother , Michelle Masta , stood nearby . `` Because of her visual impairment anything that is highly tactile and brightly colored helps out a lot , '' Masta said . Her daughter weighed 1 pound , 1 ounce at birth and suffers from retinopathy of prematurity , a disease in which the small blood vessels in the back of the eye grow abnormally . Masta said other people may not realize the limitations and challenges of having a visually impaired child . `` Everything is ten times harder , '' she said . Masta smiled as her daughter handed her a rainbow-colored lollypop to unwrap . `` The kids feel special because they get to actually do something that the other kids do n't do , and it is a real treat , '' Masta said .
Ringling Brothers ' ` ` Blind - Touch Circus '' gives visually impaired kids circus training . Children get close - up performance , chance to try out costumes and equipment . They say it helps the kids learn and enjoy the circus .