Accessible astronomy

I have collaborated in the development of different kits to bring astronomy to people with disabilities:

  • Cielo táctil Touchable hemisphere with the main constellations. This hemisphere is integrated into the planetarium show “The sky in your hands“, designed especially for the blind or visually impaired. The program uses a seven-channel soundtrack to indicate where in the dome the constellations are being projected. At the same time, one of the two narrators will guide the user through the touchable hemisphere where the constellations are in relief. The hemisphere has been elected to be part of the International Year of Astronomy legacy, preserved in the Science Museum of London.
  • Luna táctil3D touchable Moon. In the project “Touch the Moon” a touchable Moon was designed and produced from the lunar altitude data obtained by NASA’s Clementine probe. The aim is to use it in outreach exhibitions, museum and planetarium shows, aimed especially at blind public. We developed a 3D computer model for 3D printers, a sphere of 20 cm in diameter, representing a simplified lunar surface, with the main seas and craters marked with an identifying letter in Braille. The touchable Moon is accompanied by a document in braille with the names of the accidents corresponding to each letter. The prototype has been tested by blind people worldwide, from Puerto Rico, Argentina and Brazil, to India. A copy can be found on-line in the Digital Museum of Planetary Mapping
  • DSC_0318_smallKit of activities. After developing and testing different educative materials along these years, we have done a sellection of touchable educative materials, creating the Astrokit. We have produced 30 astrokits in the framework of the project “A Touch of The Universe”, distributing them among teachers and educators of America, Asia and Africa developing countries.
  • Marte táctil3D touchable Mars. in the same vein of the touchable Moon, we created a 3D prototype of Mars from the altitude data obtained by ESA’s Mars Express probe. This prototype participated in ESA’s contest “Space Apps Challenge 2013“, winning the Spanish phase of the contest.

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