News

# 3D models help visually impaired students dive into history

Today, The National Archives is launching a new workshop for students who are
blind and visually impaired, using optacartography – a technique for
transforming flat documents into 3D models.

Published 10 July 2025

The workshop includes three-dimensional versions of historic documents from our
collection, including a medieval map and a wage slip for Tudor courtier John
Blanke.

The models are designed to be touched, with raised surfaces that can reproduce
features such as churches, houses and moorland on a map or the position of
troops lined up for battle. They can also recreate the signatures of important
historical figures, including kings and queens.

The 3D-printed models for the Sensing the Archives workshop were made by George
Rhodes of the University of Westminster and All Able, an organisation committed
to accessibility and inclusion. He developed a method of printing them in UV
cure resin without specialist equipment or knowledge.

He said: 'I wanted to help make 3D maps more intuitive. I’ve been working to get
the textures, I chose resin printing because it means your models can be very
finely detailed. The idea was to see if we could make tactile maps that can make
it easier for people to dive in and understand.'

Ellen Oredsson, Digital Projects Officer at The National Archives, said: 'We’re
excited to launch our first workshop designed from the ground up for blind and
partially sighted students. We hope these sensory and 3D-models will help bring
our vast collection to life.'

The free workshops have been devised by the Education & Outreach team at The
National Archives, with input from New College Worcester, a school for young
people who are blind or vision impaired.

The workshops include tactile props like a smell pot and a toy rat, with
students given the opportunity to touch important original parchment documents
including records handled by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

## [Sensing the Archives](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/education-sessions/sensing-the-archives/)

Find out more and book a Sensing the Archives session.

Sensing the Archives is supported by the Friends of The National Archives and
The National Archives Trust, with the Trust’s support made possible through the
generosity of the Powell Family Foundation, the Edith Murphy Foundation and the
Spectacle Makers’ Charity.

## Supported by

* The National Archives Trust

    ![](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/media/images/tna-trust-logo.height-400.format-jpeg.jpegquality-100.jpg)
* The Powell Family Foundation

    ![](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/media/images/Powell_family_fou.height-400.format-jpeg.jpegquality-100.jpg)
* The Spectacle Maker's Charity

    ![](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/media/images/The-Spectacle-Mak.height-400.format-jpeg.jpegquality-100.jpg)
* Friends of the National Archives

    ![](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/media/images/Friends_of_the_Na.height-400.format-jpeg.jpegquality-100.jpg)

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