Wings to Dreams — 3D Models for Accessibility
Volunteer 3D artist for Chain for Change — designing precise, printable models of the solar system, anatomical structures, and botanical specimens as tactile learning resources for visually impaired students.
Astronomy, anatomy, botany
MODEL DOMAINS
Visually impaired students
AUDIENCE
Overview
For a visually impaired student, a diagram of the heart is useless — but a tactile 3D-printed model turns the lesson into something hands can read. As a volunteer 3D artist for the Wings to Dreams initiative (Chain for Change), I designed precise models of complex objects to be printed as tangible learning resources.
What I modeled
- The solar system — scaled planet sets where relative size and surface texture carry the information sight normally would.
- Anatomical structures, including the heart — where internal chambers and vessel routing have to survive both simplification and 3D printing constraints.
- Botanical specimens — leaves, flowers, and structures with the fine features exaggerated just enough to be distinguishable by touch.
The design constraint that matters
Tactile models are an engineering problem disguised as art: every feature must be large enough to feel, robust enough to survive a classroom, and printable without supports ruining the surface. Accuracy that can't be touched is decoration.
Why I did it
This sits alongside my work with Partnership in Education and Mathematics Initiatives in Nepal: education access is the through-line. This one just happened to need Blender instead of a whiteboard.
APPENDIX A // MEDIA
IMAGE SLOT — AWAITING UPLOAD
IMAGE SLOT — AWAITING UPLOAD