The Sky in Your Hands
Special planetarium program for the visually impaired.
To make astronomy available to everyone during IYA2009, including those with special needs, the Spanish IYA2009 National Node created the national project called “Astronomical Activities for People with Special Needs”. As part of this project, a planetarium program for the blind, “El Cielo en tus Manos (The Sky in Your Hands)”, was produced to bring the beauty of astronomy to the visually-impaired public.
Now, in association with Astronomers Without Borders, the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia has made resources for this special program available to other theaters, institutions and others involved in outreach activities.
“The Sky in Your Hands” in your planetarium
The planetarium show "The Sky in your Hands", intended for the visually-impaired, uses sounds and tactile elements that can easily be adapted to different types of planetariums.
The project’s goal is to create an “image” of the Universe for the visually-impaired and blind that is as close as possible to that experienced by sighted individuals. The project also seeks to foster skills related to the understanding of science and to pursue equality through a shared knowledge of the world.
The planetarium program is 25 to 30 minutes long, with three components: visual projection, a special soundtrack, and tactile support. The projection is simply a star field that can be static or dynamic, depending on the type of planetarium. The soundtrack includes sound effects and narration explaining astronomy facts about the projected images. In addition, each member of the audience holds a tactile semi-sphere that aids in following the story in a personal and effective way, and reinforces her/his perception of the concepts introduced in the activity.
The available resources include:
- Soundtrack with narration in Spanish (which would need to be re-recorded in the language used by each planetarium), music and special sound effects.
- Annotated script in English.
- Tactile half-spheres (request from Astronomical Observatory, University of Valencia) or the digital 3D model (downloadable for printing from the website).
- Guidelines to make your own homemade tactile half-sphere, or a flat, easier version of it.
We are working on the recording of the show in English and other languages.
Please contact Amelia Ortiz-Gil to inquire for general questions and to obtain the resources for the program. Contact Lina Canas for technical questions.
Online observing
Online Observing sessions bring the fun and excitement of observing to AWB groups and individuals worldwide. Online Observing sessions feature remote observing facilities around the world and specially our collaborator Virtual Observatory, Italy with live commentary by astrophysicist Dr. Gianluca Masi and a live chat box to ask questions and talk with others. Join in and share the fun with others around the world.
Past Events:
Cosmic Treasures - 9 Dec. 2010, 22:00 UT
AWB and the Virtual Telescope Project announce a new online observing event, bringing another unforgettable astronomical experience to participants. Explore the Universe through the Internet, having fun from home while meeting people from around the globe.
Big Dipper to Southern Cross - January 2010
Took place in January 2010, on the 8th in the northern hemisphere and on the 10th in the southern hemisphere. A total of 7500 people from more than 80 countries took part in the two-part event. The sky of each hemisphere was highlighted for the benefit of residents of the other hemisphere. Find links to reports and images from the event on the project page.
First AWB online observing event - 25 Sept, 2009
On Sept. 25, Astronomers Without Borders and the Virtual Telescope held the first AWB online observing session. This event is the first of many to be carried out through this new partnership -- a long-term program of online observing that brings together AWB Affiliates and friends from around the world to look up and share the sky.
Online Observing Project Collaborator:
The Virtual Telescope Project, Italy
Heavenly Ali - Dark Skies in China
Dark Skies preserves are starting to pop up in China now and more is wanted. This video features a great example, "Heavenly Ali, Best Sky". Produced by Starry Sky Project of China, that is part of IDA, shows a beautiful dark sky area in Tibet. This dark sky reserve is located on a high plateau where there are ideal observing conditions and where the Chinese National Observatory is housed. Enjoy this beautiful video and help support dark skies in China.
GAM 2015 Wrap-Up Report
GAM 2015 was a great success! With 28 programs that ran through out the month, 18 posts from around the world at our GAM Blog, and 70,000 viewers took part in the Virtual Telescope online parties.
Our social media was ablaze with 750,000 impressions (the number of times a post was “Liked”, shared, or had a comment) on Facebook over the whole month and an average of 1500 likes per day. Twitter was also very popular with 44,000 impressions during April.
Our most popular events were the Virtual Telescope shows, Asteroid Search Campaign and the AstroPhotography Contest.
View the full report here.
AstroPoetry Contest 2015 Winners Announced
This year's GAM Astropoetry contest attracted a total of 339 poems, more than any other of our contests in the four year history! They were from around the world, from Brazil, India, Indonesia, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and USA. Our younger poets were from mostly from India. So many entries were well crafted and thoughtful that it was very difficult to choose our 18 winners.
Here's the quick list:
Children's Category:
First Place - Isabelle Byren,
Stockholm, Sweden for "The Moon"
Second Place - Emilia Russell Blom
, Stockholm, Sweden for "Stars"
Third Place - Mohd. Ashaz
, New Delhi, India for "Untitled"
Honorable Mention - Grim Immelsjo
, Stockholm, Sweden for "Gravity is a force"
Young Adult Category:
First Place - Julia Theiss,
Woodbury, MN, USA for "Nocturne"
Second Place - Francisco José Pinto Pires
, Vila Real, Portugal for "Untitled"
Third Place - Edgardo X
, Fort Worth, Texas for "Untitled"
Honourable Mention - Noopur Vats
, New Delhi, India for "Moon & Stars"
Adult Category:
First Prize - Cristina Ciurez
Craiova, Romania for "Origins"
Second Prize - Jennie King
, Bailey, CO (USA) for "Home"
Third Prize - Annie Gilliland
, Arlington, VA, USA for "Nomad"
Honourable Mention - Christina Sng,
Singapore for "Life on Titan"
Congratulations to all - and thanks to all who submitted your poetry and please enter next year!
