Work

Including Deaf and Signing Audiences in Solar Eclipse Outreach and Astronomy Education

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, offered an invaluable opportunity to engage Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Signing communities in astronomical education and outreach. Deaf and Signing individuals are not sufficiently included in astronomical activities: both in public outreach and in the training of professional scientists. The authors of this article, in working to improve Deaf/Signing inclusion in astronomy education and outreach, have carried out a range of activities in a variety of settings: online via Atomic Hands; at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY; at Boston University; and at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. We cast special attention on our activities associated with the 2024 solar eclipse, which collectively reached thousands of Deaf individuals, as well as other recent astronomy education efforts. We comment on how the community of hearing astronomers can better include Deaf/HH/Signing individuals and communities in their activities.

DOI: 10.3847/25c2cfeb.ad24d7db

Authors: Tom Rice, Alicia Wooten, Barbara Spiecker, Blessed Mbogo, Jason Nordhaus, Allison McCarthy, Philip Muirhead

Institutions: American Astronomical Society, George Washington University, Gallaudet University, University of New Hampshire, Rochester Institute of Technology, Boston University

Language: English

Topic: Hearing Impairment and Communication

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

OpenAlex ID: W4405837190

FWCI:

Cites: 8

Cited by:

Related to: 10