WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: TESTIMONIALS

“The author, Noreen Grice, has extensive credentials, and her commitment to the book as a lifelong project is apparent…(Touch the Stars is) so rich that it felt like a life-changing work, with more details than one can possibly absorb in a single reading.”
Read the full Book Review published in Sky & Telescope Magazine (Feb 2021) by Kate Crohan, Teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind

"When you've got all five senses and both your legs work, it's easy to miss how often society neglects those for whom this isn't true. In Everyone's Universe, Noreen Grice, a uniquely inspired champion of astronomy education, has identified activities and places in America where, no matter your level of sensory or physical limitation, the universe is accessible to all. As it should be. "
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Astrophysicist & Director, Hayden Planetarium
American Museum of Natural History

"Most of the universe may be out of reach, but it's not inaccessible. Noreen Grice is determined to make it more accessible. She has pioneered Accessible Astronomy for nearly three decades and has developed innovations that download the sky into the hands of those whose grasp it eluded. Her new book is a marvel of encouragement and practical advice. It will certainly expand the universe of Accessible Astronomy. Everyone's Universe shows how it's already being done and how easy it is to get everyone in touch with the sky. "
Dr. E.C. Krupp, Director
Griffith Observatory

"Everyone's Universe: A Guide to Accessible Astronomy Places, Second Edition, Noreen Grice, You Can Do Astronomy - Grice has taken a two-fold approach to making astronomy more accessible. The first part of the guide focuses on giving advice to those that run things to do with astronomy, from planetariums to informal stargazing clubs, and looks at both physical accessibility and accessibility for people that, for example, have autism. The second part of the guide focuses on providing concise, clear, and relevant information to those that can only visit accessible astronomical places due to their own needs or the needs of a loved one. This guide includes a number of real-life accessibility success stories and astronomy institutions from around the United States."
2014 Eric Hoffer Book Award

"Excellent!!! Whether you are a teacher or a person with a disability, this book provides access to the night sky. Well Written."
2013 Ben Franklin Book Awards Review of Everyone’s Universe (second edition)

"Quite unique - this two part book both informs you about mobility and other kinds of access problems while guiding you to especially accessible science museums, planetariums and observatories."
2013 Ben Franklin Book Awards Review of Everyone’s Universe (second edition)

"Everyone’s Universe: A Guide to Accessible Astronomy Places is a must-read for anyone involved in astronomy outreach and should be in possession of every astronomy club and facility that deals with the general public."
Glenn Chaple, Astronomy Magazine

"One of the toughest jobs for teachers is to put ourselves into the shoes of our students. In Everyone’s Universe, Noreen Grice has broadened my focus to make me more aware of some of the special needs of my students. This book is a comprehensive guide to assist educators in making astronomy accessible to students with special needs.

In the first part of the book, the author draws upon her experiences in working in the planetarium field for more than 25 years. Practical advice and suggestions are given, and individual chapters are dedicated for working with those who have limited mobility, visual disorders, invisible and neurological disorders, and hearing impairments. There is also a chapter on augmentative and alternative communication and one on dealing with service animals.

The second part of the book contains a state by state guide to accessible astronomy places. Detailed information is provided for sites located in 41 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.This section of the book could serve teachers as they are planning trips to planetariums and observatories, and it could also aid those who run such sites, making them more aware of the needs of their patrons. Noreen Grice gives practical advice to teachers and astronomers for making the study of the universe more available to persons with disabilities. This second edition of the book is available in large print and is very comprehensive (twice as long as the previous edition.) This book is highly recommended. More information regarding the author’s work can be found at www.youcandoastronomy.com."
Allen Henderson, National Science Teachers Association

"Hearing Noreen Grice speak and seeing her demonstrate truly accessible astronomy is an exciting, inspiring, and enlightening experience! She empowers us to recognize and address the needs of segments of society that have often been ignored at Astronomy Events. Her enthusiastic and engaging style makes her message infectious.

Noreen is motivated by a conviction that there is a simple imaginative solution to bring the Universe to each person - that no one need be excluded by an apparent barrier. Eyepiece out of reach? - we have optical technology, and other innovative solutions. Limited sight? - Noreen has limitless ways to make Space tactile! Where ordinary speech fails, braille and sign language are available - All that’s needed is the will to communicate.

I am convinced that by incorporating Noreen’s unique brand of “Accessibility” into our star parties, talks, and other astronomy programs, we will make our activities more relevant for Society at large. ... We may create little "miracles" of perception and open windows to infinity. ...And we will reap great rewards of satisfaction and enjoyment!"
Steve Dodson, Stargazer Steve

"In a practical and powerful way, Everyone's Universe establishes the Twenty First century paradigm for engaging everyone in the wonder of astronomical exploration. The experience, innovation, and passion that Noreen Grice brings together in this new resource is certain to help create a new movement of backyard astronomers."
Mark Riccobono, Executive Director of the Jernigan Institute,
National Federation of the Blind

"Everyone's Universe: A Guide to Accessible Astronomy Places will be invaluable to those facing an accessibility issue, allowing everyone to enjoy the beauty of the sky."
David Eicher, Editor-in-Chief, Astronomy Magazine

" This is one helpful volume on a subject for which I received no training when I was new to the planetarium profession. If you have student helpers or interns, they need to read Everyone's Universe: A Guide to Accessible Astronomy Places. If you have student helpers or interns, they need to read this. If you're planning a new facility or refurbishing an existing one, consider the information here. If you work with a local astronomy club interested in widening their accessibility, give them a copy. And if you're planning a visit somewhere, check out the venues listed. Facilities that are accessible to all make anyone's visit a better experience."
April Whitt, International Planetarium Society

"I am an officer in the Astronomical Society of Greenbelt, a club of amateur astronomers, & I volunteer at the Owens Science Center in Maryland, which has the largest planetarium dome in the state. I already knew about Ms. Grice's work on astronomy for people with visual impairments when I learned that she wrote this book. The club wants to do well by all of its neighbors, so a book on making our subject more accessible to people with disabilities was something we felt we had to get.

The book discusses ways to make astronomy accessible, with interpreters, tactile images, &c., & examples in many states of how these have been implemented, mainly by institutions with solid financial backing, but many of the ways discussed do not need a lot of money. For instance, if the owners of a 19th century observatory want to open it to the public, they may want to have another telescope nearby, like an Astroscan, that could be used by people with disabilities.

I hope that her list of accessible facilities grows over the years, perhaps to such a degree that it will become a stand-alone directory."
-- C.M. Levin (Maryland)

"Noreen Grice has done a great job creating a must-have guide on how to make the universe more accessible."
- Damien Wimbush, Assistive Technology Training Programs Manager
California State University Northridge Center on Disabilities

"The Little Moon Phase Book is a wonderful little book, in both print and braille, with tactile images of the phases of the moon, as well as detailed descriptions of why the moon appears differently at different times in the night sky. This book makes it easier for a blind person to understand the moon without having to see the moon itself in the night sky."
--Sheila (goodreads.com)

I use Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy in my college-level astronomy 101 class to demonstrate to typically-abled students that there are different ways of "seeing" the universe and all are equally valid. Many students have difficulty understanding that astronomers use not only visible light, but also other wavelengths of light to "see" the universe. This book and "Touch the Invisible Sky" help them visualize the information in a different way. It's a fun supplement that I pass around the classroom when I introduce the different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and discuss the astronomical uses of different types of light.
--Zandperl (Worcester, MA)

“My 6 year old loves this book (Touch the Sun). Much of the content will be current and relevant as he gets older and while he may not understand everything now he certainly enjoys it. The book is great for all ages and I have learned quite a bit. Of his library of Braille books, this is his absolute favorite!”
-- Lorelei Clark ( Southern California , USA )

“(Touch the Sun is) An excellent book to teach students who are blind or visually impaired about the sun. The tactile representations and the descriptor for each tactile representation are just what is needed to bring these abstract concepts home.
-- Elizabeth Eagan Satter ( Houston , Texas )

“(Touch the Sun is) Fun to read. Really enjoyed the illustrations. It was a whole new experience for me.”
--K. Mills

“Touch The Sun like the other two books by Noreen Grice, Touch the Universe and Touch the Stars, is a wonderfully clear explanation of complex events and stellar phenomena. In addition to the large print and Braille text, this book is filled with beautiful full color and fully embossed images of the sun making it entirely accessible to people tactually or visually. This is a informative and important book.”
-- Ann Cunningham ( Denver , CO )

"...fun to experience whether you're visually impaired or not..."
-- Chicago Tribune , June 29, 2003

"Noreen Grice presents the sky in a way I'd never envisaged. Sighted people should close their eyes to touch the Eagle Nebula. It will never seem the same again. This book doesn't merely fill in gaps for people with impaired vision, it adds a new dimension for those of us who have already seen the phenomena depicted here."
-- New Scientist , March 22, 2003

"...a wonderful book...The gorgeous full-color images are also beautifully rendered in raised line form. ... Author Noreen Grice writes in clear, simple terms easily understandable by children from third grade or so on up. ... Grice's enthusiasm for astronomy and wonder at the universe is evident throughout the book. ... How exciting that there is now a way for blind children to get a glimpse of a world they ordinarily would not get to see. I tried the book out on three blind students, a fifth grader, an eighth grader, and a senior in high school. One of the kids almost refused to give it back to me! I am sure blind adults would also appreciate and enjoy the book. If you've ever marveled at the size and complexity of the universe and if you'd like to awaken or nourish that wonder in your child, be sure to get this book."
-- Carol Castellano, Future Reflections , 2002

"As a radio astronomer (and the world's only blind one, at that), I feel a powerful intuitive connection with the astonishing exotic objects in the distant universe. When I touch the tactile image of the Hubble Deep Field galaxies in Touch The Universe , I am overwhelmed by the same astonishment, a sensory connection with the distant cosmos. It has oft been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, for the first time in my career, I get the picture."
-- Dr. Kent Cullers, Director of Research and Development, the SETI Institute

"...a fine achievement... the text is concise and lucid, and some of the illustrations, particularly those showing star and galaxy clusters, are classics of their kind: here, the fundamental problem of translating the three-dimensional photographic perspective into two-dimensional tactile illustration is tackled with ingenuity and imagination. ... Grice has accomplished something which, unless you are worringly short on the capacity to stand back in amazement, will enrich your life."
-- Royal National Institute for the Blind , Jan/Feb 2003

"I bought this (Touch the Sun) book as a gift for my 11 yr old Daughter who is Blind. I think the idea of having pictures that she can feel that are also illustrated so that myself and anyone else reading the book with her can see is GREAT! There is also printed text on every page so that sighted people can read it as well. Out of all of the braille books she owns or has borrowed this is the best one in my opinion. She was absolutely enthralled by this book.The information is presented in a way that was easy for her to comprehend.When I ordered this books I wasn't sure how she would react to a non-fiction book. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she absolutely loved it. All braille books should be done this well.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book."
-- Chad Cheatham, Rockford, IL

"This book (Touch the Sun) is absolutely amazing. I ordered it for my blind grandson and then ordered another copy for myself. The text is accurate and the illustrations are amazing, awesome and out of this world. The illustrator has truly brought a new level of learning to the blind. Good Job!!! "
-- M.L. Orth, Tucson, AZ

Book Noreen Grice to speak at your organization