ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions. ***************************************************************************** Nina, Your idea is great! And the slide rules would be a good exercise. But, I doubt if trajectories were calculated that way, at Apollo 13 time. I recall learning Fortran 4 on an IBM 7044 in 1965 - and even that, with its 38K RAM and 3-foot diameter hard disks, was much more capable of calculating a trajectory, than was a slide rule. But, I'll be happy to be proven wrong. Some people were real whizzes with slide rules. The first hand-held calculator from Texas Instruments appeared in 1967. I recall, as many must, getting my kids up in the wee hours to watch the TV .... They all remember it; it was fantastic. As you note, telephones have changed a lot, and communications generally. Some people were still sending telegrams in 1969. And no Internet! Many people relate to car designs, and these might be part of defining the period. Other great advances, as in plastics and synthetic fibers and glues and car engine management, are less noticeable to the public. Good luck! Peter Anderson *********************************************************************** For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org. Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org. The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html. To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to [log in to unmask]