How do you share the wonders of the night sky with someone who cannot see the stars? For Canadian young innovator Gregory Perri, the answer begins with listening, collaboration and creative ways to explore astronomy.
Gregory Perri grew up fascinated by astronomy. After speaking with a family friend who has a vision disability, he began thinking about how a subject often taught through pictures and telescopes could welcome more people.
From an idea to an accessible astronomy club
Gregory contacted CNIB, a Canadian organization supporting people affected by sight loss, to explore the possibility of an astronomy club designed for accessibility. He sought feedback from people with lived experience of vision disability as the idea developed.
According to the Rick Hansen Foundation, the resulting club hosts monthly online sessions open to people across Canada. Discussions combine verbal descriptions, sound-based representations of information known as sonification, and hands-on experiments.
A star map you can feel
Gregory created a portable tactile star map that lets participants explore the shapes and locations of constellations through touch. Simple materials such as string and paper can help translate large astronomical ideas into something participants can handle and discuss together.
These methods can also benefit sighted learners, offering different ways to understand concepts that are difficult to imagine from a picture alone.
Recognition for making learning inclusive
Gregory was selected as a 2026 Difference Maker of the Year by the Rick Hansen Foundation School Program, which celebrates young people creating more accessible communities.
He has also discussed a future three-dimensional printed star map and the possibility of an in-person community meetup. These are plans, not achievements already completed.
What makes Gregory’s work particularly compelling is its collaborative approach: accessible learning does not begin by deciding what disabled people need without them. It begins by asking, listening and designing together.
Source: Rick Hansen Foundation, October 1, 2026 — Gregory Perri’s accessible astronomy work.
Featured space photograph is illustrative, not a photograph of Gregory or his tactile star map.
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