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Tactile Astronomy for the Blind

Im trying to raise money to develop an astronomy experience for the sight impaired.  Many of us today take the night sky for granted and that is our choice. Those members of our communities that are sight impaired either partially or those who are completely blind, loose the ability to choose and even if their love for astronomy exists they have limited resources available to them besides braille books.

Imagine never being able to see the big dipper or the great constellation of Orion.  Those of our communities with no sight or limited sight are unable to attend planetarium shows or experience the night sky as sight is presently the only way to experience this.

The purpose of my goal is to design and 3d print tactile representations of the night sky that those with sight impairment can explore the night sky in their hands. 

Using 3d printed tactile star maps printed on a half sphere and using a scripted verbal guidance to navigate the constellations of the night sky and learn the stories associated with these constellations.

I need funding to purchase 3d printer that are large enough print bed to print 12 inch half spheres to  make batches of these so schools or planetariums will be able to leverage these to do planetarium shows either in a classroom or in a planetarium, dedicated to those that have vision impairment.


As an amateur astronomer I enjoy the beauty of the night sky and as a planetarium presenter I love to bring the awe and wonder to the members of the public.  The gap in being able to bring the same wonder to those with vision impairment and it is my goal to fill that gap and help everyone enjoy the night sky.

Organizer

William Finn
Organizer
Wixom, MI

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