Back in January, I told you about this amazing project that Ed was working on, and now it’s done. Get ready. It’s a textbook—a science textbook about the stars.

“Say what?” you might be thinking.  Well, trust me. This book is cool!

Ed has been teaming with the Space Telescope Science Institute and some of the really smart folks here at SAS to create a book that students of all abilities can enjoy and learn from. It’s called Reach for the Stars: Touch, Look, Listen, Learn.

Available free from Apple iBooks store℠, Reach for the Stars can take students on an interactive journey through space. Check it out! While you’re exploring, you might discover how the universe began. Or how stars are born and evolve. Browse around and find out about the technologies that are used in space and the exciting careers in STEM.

It’s all there in this book, folks, plus some gorgeous images of the Tarantula Nebula taken from the Hubble Space telescope. To make sure that everybody can enjoy it, we’ve used accessible technologies, including:

• sonification of data—so that you can hear the images
• tactile overlays (provided by National Braille Press) –so that you can feel the images
• captioned videos of interviews with scientists
• audio of all content

Sounds awesome, right?  Learn even more from this video.  (And yeah, that is Ed in there. He left me out this time. I have survived the disappointment.)

 
Funded by an education and public outreach grant from NASA, Reach for the Stars opens scientific content to students with visual impairments, but kids of all abilities with love it too.

Did I mention that it's free?

Download Reach for the Stars from the Apple iBooks store℠ to your iPad or iPad Mini™. And please, tell your family, friends, and teachers about it today!