Learning from kids at Space Camp - SCIVIS Year Two

Little Star made his way back to Space Camp this year again this year  for the Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS).  We were with high school kids this year, so he mostly hung out in my bag, but he made a few apperences.  Even the high school age kids thought he was a great idea and useful (high praise indeed!).

Little Star wants to climb the Pamper Pole just like the fearless vonBraun Advanced Space Academy team before him... too bad he doesn't quite fit in the safety harness...

The kids helped me a lot this year though by teaching me how to give better description of objects, how to give better directions (i.e. when directing someone around a star chart verbally) and they helped me figure out how to create better tactiles.  The young adults I worked with were patient with me in helping me to figure out how to best get the ideas of our live planetarium shows across to them when using a tactile star chart.

Furthermore, I got some incredibly helpful pointers from some very kind TVIs and O&Ms this year as well for how to create more effective star charts.  Once again, simpler is better.  It was suggested that I make several charts showing just a few constellations at a time, and then one overall chart that shows how they all fit together.  All of a sudden, every problem I'd had was solved and what I was trying to explain made more sense to those experiencing my explanations   Hopefully with the knowledge I gained, I can make some leaps ahead with adapting our next show - our Live Sky Tonight show!