Physicist James Trefil once describes the universe as "The Spongy Universe," comparing large-scale cosmic structures to the structure of a sponge. The NASA Genesis education module "Cosmic Chemistry: Cosmogony" features the "Spongy Universe" activity in which pairs of students observe a household sponge, making inferences about how the structures and holes in the sponge were made and, by extension, how the structures and voids in the universe may have formed. Because the sponge is such a good model for the universe, the authors of this article modified this "Spongy Universe" activity for use with visually impaired students and pilot tested it at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind. Upon completion of the pilot test, they learned that teachers work more effectively with visually impaired students in the classroom when they achieve three objectives: (1) to help all students "see" with their "mind's eye" when introducing new concepts; (2) to use manipulatives and tactile graphics to help visually impaired students learn abstract concepts; and (3) to use visualization techniques involving familiar things to help students learn new abstract concepts. (Contains 5 figures.)