Welcome to the National Federation of the Blind SABER exhibit. From beginning to end, you will learn about the National Federation of the Blind, how the SABER project came into existence, what the NFB EQ program is, descriptions of the models/projects/activities, and a chance to try some of the activities yourself! The instructions and information on this webpage will help you complete the tasks and activities at the in-person SABER exhibit.
SABER Exhibit Full Guide
- SABER Exhibit Full Guide (HTML)
- SABER Exhibit Full Guide (Audio)
- SABER Exhibit Full Guide (BRF)
- SABER Exhibit Full Guide (Word)
About Us
National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind people in the United States. Founded in 1940 and currently headquartered in Baltimore, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through our network of blind members, we coordinate many programs, services, and resources to defend the rights of blind Americans, provide information and support to blind children and adults, and build a community that creates a future full of opportunities.
About the National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in science and engineering, through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. The National Federation of the Blind was awarded a two-million-dollar grant (No. 1712887) from the NSF in 2017. The Spatial Ability and Blind Engineering Research (SABER) project was created as part of an overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments.
About the Spatial Ability and Blind Engineering Research Project
The National Federation of the Blind, in partnership with scholars from Utah State University, and educators from the Science Museum of Minnesota, developed the Spatial Ability and Blind Engineering Research (SABER) project to assess and improve the spatial ability of blind teens in order to broaden their participation in STEM fields and subsequently the NFB EQ program.
About the NFB Engineering Quotient (EQ) Program
The NFB Engineering Quotient (EQ) program was a one-week engineering program for thirty blind youth, ages 14-22. The program was held in the summers of 2018 and 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland at the NFB headquarters. The student participants engaged in an intensive weeklong residential program focusing on the various phases of an engineering design project with project partners and volunteer blind adult mentors.
Activities
Engineering Quotient (EQ) Models
The Pavilion Model
On display, you will find a pavilion model, which is an instructor-built, large-scale model of what the students were building. By investigating the model, one can get a good sense of the shape and structure that they are building and can become familiar with each of the components and their names. This model is enlarged to make it easier to feel each of the individual components. It is also used to illustrate the difference between roof surface area and tributary area, along with cardboard cutouts for each of those areas.
Student Model
On display, you will find a replica of an actual student-designed “Place of My Own” project. NFB EQ participant, Gabriel Mendez-Frances, designed this structure. He stated, “I think working on the model was the highlight of the entire program as it really let us show how much we learned over the week in Baltimore. I worked on it until it was stable and structurally sound. The skills I learned that week and determination I had to get it done before finding a stopping point, are things I still value to this day.”
Angle/Length Cutting Jig
Providing students with every tool needed to complete their models completely non-visually and accurately was a major priority of the NFB EQ program. This required the development of some unique and useful tools, including the angle/length jig on display here.
Students needed to cut several identical rafter pieces at specific lengths and angles to build their model roofs. This jig creates a way to make consistent and accurate rafters, using only nonvisual skills.
Tactile Drawing and Graphics Exploration
A large component of both the NFB EQ and NFB EQ Online programs was the inclusion of tactile drawing and tactile graphics. Students in both programs got an opportunity to explore their artistic abilities and improve their technical drawing skills. They also learned how to interpret tactile graphics, including how engineers examine technical drawings.
Students used a variety of materials, from textured paper to simple pen and paper, to bring their imaginations to the page. While doing so, they built on their understanding of concepts like scale, background, 3D objects and viewing perspective. Students were also challenged to incorporate math into their drawings using properly measured angles and lines drawn to scale. Check out the following materials on display and try your own hand at drawing!
- Tactile Drawing and Graphics Exploration (Audio)
- Tactile Drawing and Graphics Exploration (BRF)
- Tactile Drawing and Graphics Exploration (Word)
Tactile Drawing Workbooks
NFB EQ students were introduced to tactile drawing curriculum in both versions of the program. Students were initially taught basic concepts such as drawing straight lines to open and closed shapes. As they progressed through the curriculum, they learned concepts such as drawing in three dimensions and background verses foreground. Finally, students learned about the conventions of technical engineering drawings.
Tactile Drawing Boards
Given that tactile drawing was a critical component of the NFB EQ programs, how did students produce their tactile drawings? Well, students were all given access to tactile drawing boards called, Sensational BlackBoards, which allow the production of tactile drawings using basic tools such as copy paper and a ballpoint pen. This allowed for rapid, real-time, and inexpensive production of tactile drawings for each student. On display, you will find a Sensational BlackBoard (SBB), copy paper, and a pen. You can also find helpful information on drawing with the Sensational BlackBoard by viewing the video “Sensational BlackBoard Basics”.
Tactile Mental Cutting Test (T-MCT) Book
The Mental Cutting Test (MCT) is commonly used to test people’s spatial ability in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Spatial ability is a measure of an individual’s capability to exercise constructs of spatial thinking (like an object rotating or passing through a plane) then visualizing what the cut surface would look like.
Utah State University engineering professor Wade Goodridge, in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind developed the tactile version of the MCT. The administration protocol, response scoring sheet and test examples that Wade and his research assistants used during the NFB EQ program can be found in the T-MCT Administration Protocol booklet.
Now, are you ready to test your spatial ability? Then, pull up a seat to the Tactile Mental Cutting Test (T-MCT) display examples and grab a copy of the T-MCT Problems booklet.
- Tactile Mental Cutting Test (T-MCT) Book (Audio)
- Tactile Mental Cutting Test (T-MCT) Book (BRF)
- Tactile Mental Cutting Test (T-MCT) Book (Word)
T-MCT Administration Protocol
- T-MCT Administration Protocol (Audio)
- T-MCT Administration Protocol (BRF)
- T-MCT Administration Protocol (Word)
Engineering Quotient (EQ) Online
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Federation of the Blind, like so many organizations, needed to get creative about providing programming to blind youth. NFB EQ Online was designed to provide the spatial learning opportunities of NFB EQ, in a virtual setting in 2020 and 2021. The program involved asynchronous web pages, twice weekly Zoom® sessions, and an optional weekly additional virtual-support session for students who were interested in extending their learning even further. The program provided students with a box of all the materials they needed to participate.
NFB EQ Online provided students with an opportunity to build 3D Menger sponge models, get their hands on tactile puzzles, and of course, exercise their brains by folding complex origami projects. The activities were designed to utilize spatial thinking skills and challenge students to learn in new and fun ways; right in their own homes. Check out some of the following activities on display that students participated in during the program!
- Engineering Quotient (EQ) Online (Audio)
- Engineering Quotient (EQ) Online (BRF)
- Engineering Quotient (EQ) Online (Word)
Menger Sponge
On display, you will find a basic cube and a level one Menger Sponge. Although the provided models use LEGO® bricks, this activity challenged students to build Menger Sponges using only index cards. This meant students had to determine how to keep the cube together without glue, tape, or any other adhesive. To provide support to the students in completing this activity, they were provided with a tactile example of how to fold the first two index cards, a descriptive instructional video of how to build their first cube, and interactive support during one of the virtual sessions.
Once students successfully completed one cube, they were encouraged to build as many as they could to try creating a level one Menger Sponge and beyond. For some context, a level one Menger Sponge includes twenty basic cubes, a level two Menger Sponge includes twenty level ones or four hundred basic cubes, and so on.
- How to Build a Menger Sponge (Audio)
- How to Build a Menger Sponge (BRF)
- How to Build a Menger Sponge (Word)
- How to Build a Menger Sponge (Video)
Tangram Puzzle
On display, you will find magnetic geometric puzzle shapes as well as a magnetic board to place them. These are very similar to the tangram sets each student received in their NFB EQ Online supply box.
So, what is a tangram puzzle? Initially, it is a seven-piece geometric puzzle arranged into a square. The challenge is to rearrange them into specific images using only the seven pieces. You will also find a few examples of the tactile graphics representing the images (e.g., turtle, house, bird) you can create with the puzzle pieces.
Now, it is your turn! Can you arrange the puzzle pieces to create the shapes depicted from the provided tangram puzzle book? How many puzzles can you complete? If you are stuck, review the solution in the answer book.
Additional Resources
Teacher Resources
NFB EQ for Teachers is a free, online curriculum and collection of resources for educators who want to teach NFB EQ, the National Federation of the Blind’s week-long engineering program designed for blind and low-vision youth.
Parent Resources
As a parent, you can support your child in participating actively in all areas of their education, including science and math. NFB EQ for Parents was designed to help you in guiding your child’s successes in STEM and much more.
If you have questions about the SABER Exhibit, please contact us at 410-659-9314, extension 2418 or at [email protected].