✋ Learn by touch: raised graphs, maps and fractions

The tactile set (19)

• Base-ten rod (one ten) · One rod = 10 units. Grooves show each unit, so you can count by touch.
• Base-ten flat (one hundred) · One flat = 10 rods = 100 units. A grid of grooves on top.
• Square-centimeter grid tile (10 × 10) · A 10 cm square with a groove every centimeter: 100 square centimeters you can touch.
• Pythagorean squares: 3-4-5 · A right triangle and a square on each side (9, 16 and 25 grid squares). The two small squares cover the big one: a² + b² = c².
• Coordinate plane peg board (−5 to 5) · A 150 mm board with raised x- and y-axes and a hole at every point from (−5, −5) to (5, 5). Put pegs in to plot points by touch.
• Half-circle protractor with raised ticks · Raised ticks every 10° and a long tick every 30°, from 0° to 180°. Thick enough to feel.
• Tactile number line 0 to 10 · A 170 mm strip with a tall bump at every whole number and a small bump at every half. Count by touch.
• Carbon atom (Bohr model plate) · A flat plate: the nucleus in the middle, 2 electrons on the first ring and 4 on the second ring. It is a model: real electrons do not move in neat circles.
• Animal cell, cut in half · Half of an animal cell on a flat base. Raised parts: the nucleus (with nucleolus), mitochondria and the cell membrane rim. No cell wall.
• Plant cell, cut in half · Half of a plant cell: a stiff cell wall (box shape), a big central vacuole, the nucleus and green chloroplasts as raised ovals.
• Earth's layers: cut-away half-globe · Half of the Earth with one quarter cut away. Grooves show where the mantle, outer core and inner core begin, to scale (the crust is too thin to show at this size).
• Earth's layers: tactile slice · A round slice of the Earth. Each layer stands at a different height and has its own texture, so you can feel crust, mantle, outer core and inner core.
• Landform tile: hill, valley and river (contour steps) · An example landform built from 2 mm steps, like a contour map you can touch: each step is one contour line. A river valley runs between two hills.
• Compass rose tile · A raised 8-point compass rose with N, E, S and W. Turn it to match a map before you read directions.
• Story mountain (plot diagram) tile · A raised line that climbs and falls: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. Five bumps mark the five parts.
• New York State tactile map · The outline of New York State, raised 3 mm, from U.S. Census Bureau boundary data (public domain). A raised star marks Albany, the capital; a raised dot marks New York City.
• Raised bar graph tile · Five raised bars of heights 2, 5, 3, 7 and 4 on a grid with a raised bump at every unit on the side. Read the values by touch.
• Raised line graph: y = x and y = 2x · Two raised lines on a raised grid. The smooth line is y = x; the bumpy line is y = 2x and climbs twice as fast.
• Textured fraction tiles (halves, thirds, fourths, sixths) · Each family has its own texture: halves have ridges, thirds have dots, fourths have a cross, sixths have a ring. Match pieces by touch.

How these were made

• Raised lines and dots stand 1 to 3 mm above the base and are at least 1.4 mm wide, so a fingertip can find them.
• Each fraction family has its own texture: halves have ridges, thirds have dots, fourths have a cross, sixths have a ring.
• The New York State map uses U.S. Census Bureau boundary data (public domain, 2017 cartographic boundary files). A star marks Albany, the capital; a dot marks New York City.
• No braille on these models. Braille has exact dot size and spacing, and printed braille must be checked by a braille reader or a TVI. We did not add braille we could not check. A TVI can add braille labels that meet the student's needs.
• Print tip: print tactile tiles flat, with a 0.2 mm layer height, in one solid, matte color, so the raised parts are easy to feel and see.

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