In my telling of our trip to The County, I omitted a delightful activity along the main road through potato country.
Our encounter started with a stop at the state university branch on the southern fringe of the county seat, Presque Isle.
We were looking for the sun on a cloudy day. It was harder than you’d think.
According to the brochure, it was supposed to be at the base of a flagpole. No luck there.
Finally, asking passers-by, “Where can we find the sun?” we were pointed to a science building and told with a laugh, “It’s inside, by the stairwell.”
The yellow arch represents the size of the sun in relation to the earth, set out by U.S. Route 1 a mile away. As you’ll see. I’m assuming this is an economy version, considering how big a fuller version placed in an atrium or outside would be.
Welcome to a three-dimensional run through our solar system, one created by an imaginative science teacher abetted by enthusiastic students both at the college branch and the community college plus high school and tech center kids and interested adults (aka the space enthusiasts) in the county, the results were executed without big grant money et cetera. Amazing.
As a small correction: The model is now the second-largest, the biggest in the Western Hemisphere. Or so I read elsewhere.
To be continued, if you’re patient.
Jnana's Red Barn 