A Touch of Space Weather - Outreach project for visually impaired students

'A Touch of Space Weather' is a project that brings space weather science into the hands of blind and visually impaired (B&VI) high-school students. This project was awarded an EGU Public Engagement Grant in 2021.

The goal of our project is to offer B&VI teachers a new approach to teaching complex STEM topics in a creative way. One of the main activities is the creation of audio booklets, a type of media in high demand by B&VI teachers. These audio booklets address various scientific topics that are taught in science classes in general high schools, such as the Sun, Earth's magnetic field, Moon exploration, and more.

This project wants to highlight the importance of space weather, as it influences nearly every aspect of our modern life ranging from banking, navigation, telecommunications to the power supply. It is an interdisciplinary subject and therefore ideal for explaining complex scientific topics to students while at the same time teaching them space- and geo-sciences. That is why each audio booklet includes a description of a space weather phenomenon or effect relevant to the topic.

3D printed models and a tactile image provide hands-on activities to complement the audio lessons. The EGU Public Engagement Grant is covering the physical costs of creating a minimum of 30 ‘A Touch of Space Weather’ boxes that will be distributed to the schools and organizations that are providing education to B&VI people. Each box will include material for one tactile image, one USB stick with all audio booklets, assignments for students, and 3D printed models to accompany audio booklets.