Asteroid Belt Tactile Graphic for the Visually Impaired

	Student at Colorado School for Deaf and Blind feeling embossed area on tactile graphic depicting asteroid belt. Credit: McREL

Students with visual impairments can learn about the location of the asteroid belt in our solar system through the use of this tactile graphic and written description. These materials were tested at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind (CSDB) during the Spring of 2009. A special thanks to Donna Bogner who developed the Asteroid Belt Tactile Graphic, Ben Wentworth who presented it, and Jan Megarry, teacher at CSDB.
+ Tactile Graphic (PDF, 28 Kb)
+ Written Description (PDF, 20 Kb)
+ Video of Student testing the Tactile Graphic (QT, 9 Mb)

How to create Braille-embossed or Swell-Form™ tactile graphics
On a toner-style (instead of an ink cartridge-style) copier, copy your Tactile Card image onto Swell-Paper™ and run it through the Swell-Form™ graphics machine.

Using a lower heat setting and running the Swell-Paper™ through twice gives excellent results without changing the blank background of the graphic.

Note: An ink cartridge-style printer will work; however, the background ends up with a slight texture.
In the event that you do not have access to a Swell-Form™ graphics machine and would like to order pre-made copies, please contact Ben Wentworth at Tactile Learning.
+ For more information, visit ACE homepage