Dr Nicolas Bonne (University of Portsmouth)

Astronomy is a topic that engages and inspires a wide range of audiences around the world, but blind and vision impaired people can often find it difficult to engage with the subject due to its very visual nature. The Tactile Universe is an award winning public engagement project based at the University of Portsmouth which is opening up current topics in astrophysics research to blind and vision impaired people through accessible resources. We will discuss and (and give you a chance to get hands on with) the project’s main resource (3D printable tactile images of galaxies), show you what the project is doing to inspire young people with vision impairments to engage with topics in STEM, as well as outlining how the project has expanded across the UK and internationally through resource sharing and presenter training workshops. We’ll share how involving the vision impaired community in the development and delivery of the project has shaped the project and its resources in unique ways, and share the lessons the project team have learnt along the way.