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Dennis,

> Giant 'magnifying glasses' with different filters and
> lenses

When the USS Requin submarine started tours, Tom Flaherty talked to me about the possibility of establishing a periscope on the riverbank that children could use (as you know, for safety reasons we could not allow the public to use the periscope in the submarine). As Buhl Planetarium's Astronomical Observatory Coordinator at the time, I immediately warned him that such a periscope would have to be closely monitored by the staff, to ensure that children, or any member of the public, did not inadvertantly aim the perisccope at a rising or setting sun, as this could cause serious eye damage and even blindness. Of course, the riverbank periscope was never installed. Likewise, this could be a concern for magnifying glass lenses used by the public.

> Human Sun-Dial

Such a sundial, specially designed for children to play on, was once proposed for Allegheny Commons Park-East, at the corner of Cedar Avenue and North Avenue, directly across the street from Allegheny General Hospital. This would have been a 1976 bicentennial project funded by the United Nations Association of Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the senior citizens in the neighborhood longed for a replacement of the decorative fountain that once was located at that site, rather than something for children to play with. Consequently, the project fell-through. And, of course, no one had any money to replace the decorative fountain. Hence, this site is now a flower bed.

I have always thought that such a sundial project made sense for Buhl Planetarium, the Children's Museum, or The Carnegie Science Center.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: 
  < http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com > 
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://incline.pghfree.net >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >


--- On Tue, 3/30/10, Dennis Bateman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Dennis Bateman <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Outdoor Exhibits
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 9:51 AM
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the
> Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and
> related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Everyone -
> 
> Let me focus my original question a bit - 
> 
> We've got a $12,000 donation and a nice patch of flat lawn
> (triangular, about 40 feet long and 15 feet wide at the
> widest end).  
> 
> We are doing a nice native-planting/river landscaping thing
> on another piece of riverfront property, so no need to
> rivers stuff on this patch.  I was thinking more along
> the lines of echo tubes, etc. - solid, few moving parts,
> last 5-10 years.  Too cloudy for fun Clore Garden solar
> stuff, and water/plumbing is too expensive for this area.
> (Could I make this more impossible?!)
> 
> My own list, and a summary of this discussion (minus the
> water ones) runs to:
> 
> Giant 'magnifying glasses' with different filters and
> lenses
> A field of 6-foot turbines
> Drums
> Pan Pipes
> Echo Tubes
> Sound Delay Tubes
> Heat Tunnels - one black, one white
> Element Stones (Flush-to-ground 'headstones', each with an
> element on it)
> Torsion Wave
> Lever Lifter
> Human Sun-Dial
> Hedge Maze
> Rock Maze
> Optical Illusion Sculptures
> Sand
> Rock Maze
> 
> - Dennis Bateman
> 
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