You Can Do Astronomy

Imagine the thrill of experiencing the universe coming to life under your fingertips!

My name is Noreen Grice and I am an astronomy educator who believes that science should be accessible to people regardless of their visual ability.

Twenty-five years ago, a group of students from the Perkins School for the Blind came to a planetarium show I presented at the Boston Museum of Science. The program was pre-recorded and after the show, I asked the students what they thought of the show. They responded both bluntly and honestly that “the planetarium stunk” and then walked away. I will never forget that empty feeling that these students were denied the opportunity to experience astronomy in the same way sighted visitors could. I did not know how to make astronomy accessible but I was determined to try.

Twenty-five years later, I have written and designed a series of astronomy and space science books with text in print and Braille and pictures that you can see with your eyes or with the fingertips of your mind’s eye. The book titles include Touch the Stars, Touch the Universe, Touch the Sun, The Little Moon Phase Book and Touch the Invisible Sky. Most recently I designed the tactile images for the NASA Book, Touch the Earth and the textures for the Tactile Carina Nebula image, unveiled last week at the American Astronomical Society.

Over the years, I developed a personal goal to not only make astronomy accessible to people who are blind or have low vision, but also to develop materials that can be used simultaneously with sighted people who have differing learning styles, such as dyslexia. Rather than have a separate series of materials for blind and low vision students, I believe that materials can and should be available to bring people together…with students and adults seeing each other as equal peers and colleagues. One of the problems, however, has been the cost of manufacturing books with Braille text and tactile images which makes universally-designed books more expensive than their print-only counterparts. I am hoping you can help me in bring accessible books to the mainstream population so that they are more available to the general public and anyone can walk into a bookstore and find one.

I have been working with a noted solar system expert, Dr. Heidi Hammel, on developing a new book called Touch the Solar System, for kids in grades 3-6. The text and tactile image design is complete, but we have no funding to produce the book. I also have ideas for other books ands science kits with hands-on activities to learn about space science; all the activities are accessible to blind and sighted students to explore together. If they were manufactured in large quantity then they could be more easily accessible without consideration of high price and limited supply.

One of the students I have worked with, through the Colorado School for the Blind, is engineering major who recently interned at NASA. He is determined to be the first blind astronaut in space. Another student who will graduate high school this year is certain she will be the first blind astronaut on Mars. I believe that both of these students will achieve their goal and become great role models for others.

I know that with your help, we can make a huge difference in how students learn about the cosmos and help bring the universe to more fingertips of space enthusiasts.

If interested in donating so Noreen can publish her newest book or to help her on the journey of making the universe accessible to the blind please contact Simply Consistent.