Inclusive Astronomy
Since 2015 I have joined or led efforts to produce multisensorial outreach experiences designed (to the best of my abilities) according to Universal Design Principles.
In particular, in 2020, during my time as director of NPF, and with the financial support of the Milenium Scientific Initiative, I put together and led a wonderful team of engineers, educators, astronomers, product designers, and specialists in inclusion that together developed a highly interactive and multisensorial kit to "experience" star and planet formation. All the material is freely available here. The original development was in Spanish, but, through the years and thanks to even more volunteers, many pieces of the kit have been translated to different languages
The files to 3D print your own model
This 3D printed model (available in two versions, single pieces, or segmented, depending of the printing size of your printer), freely available, allows us to explore the different main stages involved in the formation of planets in a simple and interactive way.
At each stage, it will be possible to lift one of the outer pieces (and by doing so advance the "cosmic clock" by millions of years), progressing through the process of planetary formation briefly described in the texts (and in more details in the acompanying material).
Three stages
Amelia Bayo
A star forms by feeding on gas and dust from its cloud of origin...
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Astrophysical Concepts
We created a small brochure explaining the basic physical concepts involved in the process
Full Manual
Enjoy a very complete manual that do not only describe in more details the processes involved in planet formation and guide your hands through the 3D model; but ALSO covers important aspects of astronomy in Chile and tips on how to communicate and interact within the framework of different disabilities
Audio-video format
(Spanish only)
In its original version, members of NPF read through every page of the manual. Enjoy our diversity in ethnicity and gender through our very different voices and accents. The video also includes Chilean sign language interpretation.
It takes a village....
During the original development of the material and through the years we have been lucky to collaborate with different institutions that have either incorporated the kit in their activities or adapted it to new formats. We really hope for this trend to continue!
