Kasi is a tactile manipulatives system for chemistry. With magnetic braille-labeled pieces, blind, low-vision, and sighted students can explore chemistry concepts side by side.
Magnetic braille-labeled pieces, coming soon
Kasi was designed with accessibility as a core feature, not an afterthought. Following Universal Design for Learning principles, it creates an inclusive classroom where all students work with the same tools, toward the same learning goals.
Most chemistry learning relies on visual materials that exclude students with visual impairments. The result: students are excused from activities, miss foundational concepts, or rely on a teacher or assistant to handle materials for them. That's not inclusive learning.
"With Kasi, my student got to be hands-on like everyone else and use a tool like others would use in lab. He learned symbols he normally didn't get to learn. Before Kasi, he would just sit and listen, and I didn't know what he was getting out of it."
Kasi (Finnish for "hand") is a tactile chemistry manipulatives system. Each set includes magnetic pieces with braille labels, allowing students to build chemical formulas, balance equations, or construct molecular structures by hand, working alongside their teacher, TVI, or peers.
Unlike standard manipulatives designed only for sighted students, every Kasi piece is labeled in both print and braille, so blind and low-vision (BLV) students can identify and work with pieces independently during collaborative activities.
The Kasi packaging system is designed with the same independence-first philosophy as the tools themselves. A tactile key in the lid and Braille labels within each compartment allow BLV students to locate the piece they need, on their own, without waiting for an instructor to find it for them.
Master chemical naming and balance chemical equations using element and number tiles on our magnetic track piece.
What's included:
Covers:
Chemical formulas, ionic and molecular nomenclature, equation balancing, and reaction types.
Build molecular models and Lewis structures with atom, bond, lone pair, and charge pieces.
What's included:
Covers:
Lewis structures, octet rule, formal charge, reactions, and balancing reactions.
TVIs use Kasi to give their students access to the same hands-on chemistry activities as their sighted peers. Using the same materials, in the same classroom.
Chemistry teachers use Kasi to build truly inclusive classrooms where all students work with the same manipulatives and can engage in chemistry concepts through touch.
Parents use Kasi to support their child's STEM learning at home, ensuring foundational chemistry concepts are accessible and hands-on.
Schools and districts use Kasi as part of their accessible learning toolkit, supporting students with and without visual impairments in the same activities.
Kasi was co-designed with Teachers of the Visually Impaired and blind students over four years of iterative research. Alchemie's work on accessible STEM learning has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, and the NIH.
Julia Winter demonstrated Kasi at the White House, representing innovative accessible STEM education
Kasi awarded second place out of 100 competing teams in the NSF's Visionary Interdisciplinary Teams Advancing Learning Prize Challenge
NSF names 9 winners of VITAL Prize ChallengeJournal of Visual Impairment and Blindness
A Feasibility Study of the Kasi Learning System to Support Independent Use of STEM Diagrams by Students With Visual ImpairmentsPilot study conducted with SRI education on Kasi's impact on learning and engagement for blind and visually-impaired students
Kasi Learning System: Accessible Science Diagrams through Multisensory Augmented Reality
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Kasi will make that possible for students who are blind or have low-vision. Contact us for more details or join our newsletter to hear more about release.
