Session 9 – POSTERS

Sonification is the use of non-speech audio to convey information, and can be employed to support inclusive astronomy, in particular on how to develop initiatives to approach the wonders of the universe and create accesible contents for visually impaired audiences. In this work we present the design and implementation of a device to soundly reproduce the brightness of the stars, by converting light into audible sounds. The device consists of a light sensor, a 16-bit digital analog converter and arduino. The sensor can be installed in the telescope eyepiece to acquire the light data, therefore obtaining a sound as the output, with different frequencies depending on the apparent magnitud of the star the instrument looking at.

The Planetarium of the city of Rosario has an analogic Carl Zeiss Model IV projector and 3 regular size (non-full dome) video projectors functioning as a digital complement. For an adequate analogic projection, the dome requires absolute darkness.
In this context, the deaf and the hearing-impaired from the different educational institutions visiting the Planetarium could only understand, with the assistance of a sign language interpreter, the welcome and introductory speech which are delivered with the lights on. Once the show started, the darkness eliminated the possibility of interpretation, and the deaf inevitably missed the explanations, concepts and metaphors from the voice-over. They could only perceive the visual elements of the show, such as the starry sky and the video images, which are meaningless without the narration.
This barrier, which limited the possibilities of the deaf and the hearing-impaired to learn and interact in the same conditions as the hearing people, was detected and comprehended. Therefore, the Planetarium staff set the objective of making the shows accessible to that group. With this in mind, a multidisciplinary team composed of interpreters from the Argentinian Sign Language association (Lengua de Señas Argentina), a deaf person, and technicians developed an adaptation of the show which the educational institutions demanded the most: “A Tour Through The Solar System”.
The interpretation of the script was the first – and the most extensive – step. The second one was to mount a film set to record the interpreter on a chroma background to allow for a better insertion on the screen. Finally, the materials and the technical support to visualize the interpretation were generated.
In addition to the insertion of the interpreter in the video displayed by the three projectors, an auxiliary screen targeted at a 27-seats-sector was mounted. Its goal is to show the sign language interpretation whenever there’s a voice-over accompanying the sky projection with the analogic planetarium in total darkness.
From the technical point of view, the result was concrete. With a quick configuration change, the show can be adapted to a deaf audience in a few minutes. Also, the show is just 30 seconds longer than the original one. The script was interpreted almost entirely.
The impact on the audience was extremely positive. The deaf and the hearing-impaired community showed excitement and gratitude. Likewise, the involvement of a deaf person in the production process was appreciated.
An important aspect is that the show is not exclusive to the deaf and the hearing-impaired. Both the hearing and the deaf enjoy the show equally at the same time, which makes the show truly inclusive.
A secondary outcome was the possibility of conceiving new productions including an interpreted version from the very beginning. Also, interpreters observed that many words of the astronomical glossary do not have a translation. At present time, there are groups of people working in this task in our country.

As an example, but not «exactly» the same: https://youtu.be/y80ue5ehq-A
More: photos in https://www.facebook.com/pastrounaweuy/
Updated version of strategies for teaching astronomy in diverse socioeconomic environments

Both ‘STEM for GIRLS in Ethiopia’ and ‘African Network of Women in Astronomy and Space Science (ANWASS)’ initiatives have been born with the aim to strengthen the participation of girls and women in science and astronomy. The main idea behind is that we will not be able to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals without full participation of women and girls in all aspects of our society, and without giving the same opportunities to all children. In this talk both initiatives will be represented and described, raising their achievements, lessons taken, and difficulties.

We have been working at the Planetarium of Buenos Aires “GALILEO GALILEI” for a long time to achieve an ASTRONOMY for EVERYONE. Among the astronomical knowledge dissemination activities, we offer shows that are adapted to the needs and preferences of children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) since 2018. An innovative proposal that adds up to the traditional ones concerning inclusion, that range from adaptations and on-premise equipment, communication, accessible web and shows for people with hearing or visual disabilities. From the Planetarium we encourage full participation to achieve an ASTRONOMY WITHOUT BORDERS.

ASTRONOMY FOR THE ELDERS: Astronomy activities usually are designed for either children or adults, but it is uncommon to develop science engagement activities specially designed for senior citizens. Along with the entire 2018 in a coastal city of the north of Chile, usually known for their closeness to large ground-based telescopes, different groups of elders were exposed to a series of astrophysical concepts that were transformed into mental and physical activities. The experience was traversal in socio-geographic-economic backgrounds and was designed by a multidisciplinary team of occupational therapists, kinesiologists, and astronomers. We would present the experience, a selection of the developed activities, and the main takeaways from our activity.

Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University has been conducting astronomy outreach programs in Kyoto University Hospital since 2006. In this presentation, we report our activities in the hospital, survey results from graduate students, and discuss future directions.
This program is carried out by the graduated students, under the supervision of Prof. Mineshige and Mr. Jun Arimoto, as one of the activities of the“Nico-Nico Tomato”, volunteer group acting in the pediatrics department, Kyoto University Hospital, and collaborating with the“Ohka-do”, astronomical volunteer team based in Kyoto. Our activities include storytelling and quizzes related to astronomy and space, performing carry-in planetarium exhibitions, and MITAKA which is a universe-visualizing software developed by NAOJ. The contents cover a wide range of subjects, such as our Solar system, constellations, mythologies, and even black holes or cosmology, reflecting the subject of graduate students.
The purpose of us and the Nico-Nico Tomato is to provide a “fun and joy” moment to children within the hospital, place of medical treatment. Most of the children in the Kyoto University Hospital need long-term treatment and should obey strict restrictions; e.g., they are not allowed to go out. They thus have really few chances to look up the night sky. Our events create opportunities for such children to feel and enjoy the starry sky and universe even in the hospital and to motivate their curiosity. Also from the perspective of inclusive astronomy, since some of these children are hard to go to museums or planetariums, our activity is a few of their opportunities to enjoy Astronomy.
Until now, over 30 graduate students have participated in this activity. From the standpoint of graduate students, this is not only an outreach event of what they study, but also a good chance to get to know and understand socially vulnerables through interacting with hospitalized children. Each student needs to attend a mini-lecture by our supervisor Mineshige beforehand to learn what to beware of for our activity with hospitalized children, so as to avoid any inappropriate actions, even though they are unintentional, from the viewpoints both of medical care and protection of privacy.
Today, all voluntary activities in Kyoto University Hospital including ours are limited since March 2020 due to COVID-19. Through this symposium, we wish to collect information and to discuss how we can restart and another form of our activity like online.