“The Sky in Your Hands” (or “El Cielo en tus Manos”) is a planetarium show for the blind and visually impaired.

The program makes use of a seven channel soundtrack to mark on the dome  the position where a particular constellation is being projected by using special sound effects. At the same time, one of the two narrators guides the user through a tactile hemisphere in which the constellations are engraved.

The premiere of the show took place on October 29th 2009, at the Hemisfèric, the planetarium at the Valencia’s Arts and Sciences City. Other planetaria worldwide have shown their interest on the show (the picture below is from the planetarium at Espinho, Portugal).

With the help of Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) it is now available in Spanish, Portuguese and English. We look for volunteers who would like to translate it into their own language and show it in local planetaria, theaters or schools.

There is a more detailed description of the project in the User’s Guide.