講演情報
[PO2-06]Touch the Universe: A Touring Tactile Exhibition Across Japan
*Yasuhito Suzuki1, Kumiko Usuda-Sato2, Sanae Kawashima3, Yuki Goko4, Takeshi Inoue1, Daisuke Adachi5, Rin Nodera6, Akira Watanabe3, Yusuke Tampo7 (1. Akashi Municipal Planetarium (Japan), 2. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Japan), 3. Japan Braille Library (Japan), 4. Sendai Astronomical Observatory (Japan), 5. Miyazaki Science Center (Japan), 6. Kurobe Yoshida Science Museum (Japan), 7. South African Astronomical Observatory / University of Cape Town (South Africa))
キーワード：
inclusive astronomy、touring exhibition、tactile exhibition、touch the universe
We have developed a touring exhibition set titled “Touch the Universe”, designed to be enjoyed by both visually impaired and sighted visitors at science museums throughout Japan. Inspired by the 2018 special exhibition “Touch the Universe” held at Tactus Museo, the tactile museum of Japan Braille Library in collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), a subsequent exhibition titled “Universal Design Exhibition: Accessible Astronomy” was held at Akashi Municipal Planetarium in 2019. Building upon these two exhibitions, the traveling set was produced in 2020 with support from Japanese Science Museum Association (JSMA).
The exhibition features 3D tactile models, including the Subaru Telescope, Earth, the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. Additionally, it includes a handmade solar system scale model that represents distances between the Sun and eight planets using knotted ropes. The Subaru Telescope model was created by NAOJ, while Tactus Museo provided the tactile globe. The Moon and Mars models were based on data from the international project “A Touch of the Universe”, and asteroid models were produced at NAOJ using data from Japanese space missions. The exhibition also features tactile astronomical images developed in collaboration with the Tsukuba University of Technology and Kyoto University. This exhibition set brings together the know-how of various institutions.
The Touch the Universe exhibition set removes barriers for science communicators to communicate with the visually impaired and enables many science museums to host a tactile exhibition. Since its debut at Miyazaki Science Center in February 2022 and Sendai Astronomical Observatory in March 2022, the exhibition has been used in 26 science museums nationwide. It is expected that as more science museums utilize this set, awareness of inclusive astronomy will increase, further expanding the network and efforts in this field.
The exhibition features 3D tactile models, including the Subaru Telescope, Earth, the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. Additionally, it includes a handmade solar system scale model that represents distances between the Sun and eight planets using knotted ropes. The Subaru Telescope model was created by NAOJ, while Tactus Museo provided the tactile globe. The Moon and Mars models were based on data from the international project “A Touch of the Universe”, and asteroid models were produced at NAOJ using data from Japanese space missions. The exhibition also features tactile astronomical images developed in collaboration with the Tsukuba University of Technology and Kyoto University. This exhibition set brings together the know-how of various institutions.
The Touch the Universe exhibition set removes barriers for science communicators to communicate with the visually impaired and enables many science museums to host a tactile exhibition. Since its debut at Miyazaki Science Center in February 2022 and Sendai Astronomical Observatory in March 2022, the exhibition has been used in 26 science museums nationwide. It is expected that as more science museums utilize this set, awareness of inclusive astronomy will increase, further expanding the network and efforts in this field.