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.

Share your activities with others around the world by posting a Member Report for the worldwide astronomy community to see! Your reports help Astronomers Without Borders show sponsors how successful our programs are, too!