[AstroNet] Resources Deadline

Fri Jun 22 17:56:35 SAST 2007

Kevin Govender, SAAO, Cape Town. 

Hi Kevin,

The company that I work for now, MTE Studios, makes a variety of astronomy
instruments as interactive displays for science centres and museums
worldwide, but it is, of course, impractical for me to send you samples of
these as they are quite costly.

We have made the following astronomy-related interactive displays in the
past, and still offer them:

*	Celestial globe (small and large)
*	Astrolabe
*	Universal astrolabe
*	Armillary sphere (table top and full size at 9 m in height)
*	Quadrant
*	Sextant
*	Bowstring sundial
*	3-metre tall, 3D replica of Uleg Beg's Samarkand Observatory
*	6-meter tall, 3D replica of Maragha Observatory
*	Weight on Other Planets
*	Moon Walk
*	Centripetal Swing
*	Jupiter Boots
*	Mars Rover on Mars landscape
*	Interactive touch screen overview of astronomical observatories
during the Golden Age of Islamic Civilisation (700-1400 AD)

We would be able to build the following astronomy tools as interactive
displays:

*	Rotating metal Earth globe
*	Rotating metal Earth's Moon globe
*	Solarscope
*	Cross staff
*	Mural quadrant
*	Octant
*	Torqetum
*	Inclined sundial
*	Horizontal sundial
*	Vertical sundial
*	Human gnomon analemmatic sundial
*	Azimuth sundial
*	Moon dial
*	Solstice predictor
*	African Stonehenge
*	Pipehenge (for children)
*	Galileo's gravity experiment
*	Planetary orrery (metal, with gears)
*	Earth and moon orrery that demonstrates the phases of the moon and
the seasons
*	Giant kid's telescope
*	Replica of one of SALT's mirrors
*	Replica of Galileo's refracting telescope
*	Replica of Newton's reflecting telescope
*	Replica of Tycho Brahe's quadrant
*	Replica of Constantine Huygen's aerial telescope
*	Replica of Herschel's telescope
*	Zero gravity slide
*	Busts of famous astronomers
*	Children's jungle jims on astronomy themes, e.g. rocket ship, space
shuttle, Soyuz capsule, lunar lander, buckminsterfullerene-type dome habitat
on Moon, International Space Station, solar system, meteorite, star, sun,
earth, moon, Saturn with rings.

We are also the representatives in southern Africa for PlanetObserver
satellite image, walk-on floor maps of the world or of any part of the
world.

I would be grateful if you would include this information in your database.
We can send you images of the displays that we have already made. 

I am copying this information to Beverley Damonse of SAASTA for her
information as well. 

Best wishes,

Mike 

  _____  

From: astronet-bounces at mail.saasta.ac.za
[mailto:astronet-bounces at mail.saasta.ac.za] On Behalf Of Astronomy education
in SA - email discussion group
Sent: 22 June 2007 15:20
To: astronet at saasta.ac.za
Subject: [AstroNet] Resources Deadline

Greetings

This is an open call to anyone involved in astronomy to please send us
samples of your astronomy related resources before July 13th 2007.

The purpose of this exercise is a national consolidation of astronomy
resources and the creation of a database that would be used for astronomy
education and outreach within South Africa and abroad.

Examples of Resources that we are calling for:

-                      Posters

-                      Pamphlets or information sheets

-                      Electronic presentations and pictures (along with
lecture notes if part of a series of talks)

-                      Educator workshops (e.g. teaching seasons, phases of
the moon, resource packs for teaching astronomy, etc)

-                      Learner workshops and activities (e.g. build a
telescope, build a spectroscope, observe the sun, measure shadows, etc)

-                      CDs and DVDs 

-                      etc

Postage costs:

Although we humbly appeal to you to send us the materials at your own cost,
please contact me if postage costs are hampering your contribution to the
collection and we will make a plan. A finite amount of money has been set
aside by SAAO for postage in order to facilitate the collection of these
resources.

Copyright issues:

We are obviously calling for those resources which can be reproduced and
distributed without any copyright or commercial issues. Know that everything
that you send us will be made freely available (except for mass production
costs) to anyone interested in promoting astronomy. All materials will be
used "not-for-profit" to enhance the astronomy education and outreach field.
Any modifications to these materials would be performed in a responsible way
with appropriate consultations.

Background/Motivation:

Many organisations and individuals have produced various astronomy related
resources over the years. We have found that in some cases two organisations
have produced very similar materials and in other cases an
organisation/individual may have needed something that existed but not known
where to look. Consolidation of resources is an obvious solution to many
challenges and will also help us to optimize the time that we all spend
producing new resources. There are not a lot of people involved in astronomy
education and outreach and we definitely need to consolidate in this manner
in order to move forward more efficiently as a unified force. Such
consolidation and teamwork is also important as we prepare for the
International Year of Astronomy 2009. We therefore appeal to you to assist
and encourage your collaborators to participate in this effort.

Address to send your materials to or any queries (please try to send before
13th July 2007):

Kevin Govender

SALT Collateral Benefits Programme

South African Astronomical Observatory

Telephone: 021 460 9350

Fax: 021 447 3639

Cellphone: 082 487 8466

Postal: P.O. Box 9, Observatory, 7935, South Africa

Street: SAAO, Observatory Road, Observatory, Cape Town

I look forward to hearing from you.

Viva Astronomy viva!

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