Tactile Explorations of Extrasolar Objects: Science Central
About Educational Resource
This tabletop activity by Science Central uses 3D printed representations of objects beyond the Solar System to give participants a sense of the scale of extrasolar objects and allow participants with low vision or tactile learning styles to have the opportunity to learn more about astronomy. The activity also includes discussion about how people on Earth study distant objects in space. Printed objects include black holes, nebulae, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Webb Space Telescope.
This program model was developed by Science Central in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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Goals and Recommendations
Goals
This program was intended to give participants an opportunity to interact with astronomy in a new way. Astronomy has long been a highly visual field of study and with this tabletop activity participants can experience the universe through touch. Another goal of this program was to illustrate the scale of various extrasolar objects, which is often new information for people of all ages.
Recommendations
Emphasize the scale of the objects that are being discussed. Many members of the public do not have a full understanding of the different sizes of stars and black holes, for example. Being able to touch and hold scale representations of these objects can provoke interest and wonder among people of all ages and encourage further learning.