Although several efforts are being made to support teaching strategies of STEM subjects to the visually impaired in the Philippines, there are still limited astronomy resources for the students as discovered in the interview with Resources for the Blind, Inc. Some of the astronomy resources include tactile solar system with labels engraved on swell paper which cost over 20 dollars each. At this stage, there is also shortage of materials for the visually impaired in museums and planetariums throughout the Philippines.
This project aims to create an alternative resource material for teaching astronomy among students with visual impairment. This resource material is a tactile planetarium that looks like an umbrella: the half dome simulates the night sky by having the constellations embossed on the underside of the dome. The students will then be able to reach and touch the embossed constellations, which will also have labels in braille so that the students can identify the names of the constellations. The half-dome can be adjusted depending on the height of the student. Each 1.5 meter umbrella-planetarium will be composed of different constellations/star patterns depending on their constellation families. Each umbrella-planetarium will have a removable stand so that it can be transported easily.