NASA Helps Visually Impaired to "Touch the Universe"

Student hands "Touch the Universe" by examining pictures in the NASA Braille Book of Astronomy

On Nov. 21, NASA and Joseph Henry Press, trade imprint of the National Academies Press (publisher for the National Academy of Sciences) publicly released the new 64-page book titled, "Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy." The event took place at the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore. School children from across the country were brought in to participate in the unveiling of this wonderful book.

The new book brings the beautiful images from the Hubble Space Telescope to the visually impaired. NASA helped fund the book through the NASA Office of Space Science. NASA speakers at the event included Courtney Stadd, NASA Chief of Staff and White House Liasion, and Dr. Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Science.

Photos by Chris Gunn/293

Author Noreen Grice observes students (lft) Mikeala and Makenzie Stevens delightfully "getting a feel" of the universe.

The author, Noreen Grice, who is the operations coordinator for the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Boston Museum of Science, wrote the book in hope of bringing the beauty of astronomy to the blind. The book presents color images of planets, nebulae, stars and galaxies. Each image is embossed with lines, bumps and other textures. The raised patterns translate colors, shapes and other intricate details of the cosmic objects, allowing visually impaired people to feel what they cannot see. The book incorporates Braille and large-print descriptions for each of the book's 14 photographs, so it is accessible to readers of most visual abilities.

For more on "Touch the Universe" visit the web at: http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/28
For the complete article, go to: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2002/1118ttu.html