#NASA55: My NASA memory
My NASA memory is a conversation.
Shortly after the death of Neil Armstrong in 2012, I bumped into the ROM’s astronomy teacher at the time, Ian McGregor. We struck up a conversation about Neil’s legacy and importance to science, education and really humanity as a whole.Having never witnessed a Moon landing, I asked Ian where he was when he saw the first mission, and what it felt like. Ian said (and I’m paraphrasing here, and can’t capture the true resonance of his words),
“Right after the broadcast ended, I went out to the front yard and looked up at the Moon. There was a man up there, standing just as I was standing. And it was very inspiring. Yesterday, after I heard about his passing, I again went outside, not a boy, but an adult this time, and I looked up at the moon. His inspiration is still as strong.“
To know that Ian, who knew so much about the stars and had seen so much in his studies throughout the years, was still moved and inspired by a moment that had happened so many decades ago – while he was young - really meant a lot to me.
This conversation has stuck with me. So much so that whenever I look up at our big bright satellite I, without thinking, imagine myself as an awestruck little Ian watching a man on the Moon.
Neil Armstrong’s first steps and famous words!
What’s your memory?
Just because NASA can’t share its memories with us today, doesn’t mean we can’t all express our feelings about them. What’s your NASA memory? Share it here or on Twitter with NASA and the hashtag ‘#NASA55’!
Image information & credits
- A wonderful shot of the Moon.
By Gregory H. Revera (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons- Image capture of Neil Armstrong just prior to his step and giant leap on the Moon.
By NASA via Wikimedia Commons- Photo of Buzz Aldrin by Niel Armstrong.
By NASA, via Wikimedia Commons- Video of Neil Armstrong’s first steps and famous words.
By NASA, via Wikimedia CommonsPost by Kiron Mukherjee. Updated: October 1st, 2013.
@romkids posted a really lovely update about the current Zuul exhibit at the ROM, but prefaced it with a description of the old marine reptile exhibit. It got me thinking about the display (which was terrifying), immersive spaces, and learning (and wonder, and the sublime).
Anyways. Topics to ruminate upon for future days.
Here’s a lino print I made years ago in art school, which was inspired by that same dark cavern of a room.
Happy 2019, here’s a dinosaur!
Continuing my New Year’s tradition of posting about a dinosaur at the start of every year (’13, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18), here’s a look at Zuul, our brand new time machine.
Zuul, Our Brand New Time Machine
You could feel the darkness before you even entered the marine exhibit- it drew you in with terror. The room was dimly lit in green and blue, with the sound of the ocean whispering through the speakers.
Descending from the ceiling, as if sizing you up on the hunt were two of the most fearsome creatures to ever swim the ocean, mosasaur, and pliosaur. Their mouths were filled with destruction blades ready to rip and crunch their way through their prey. Their empty eye sockets would have been filled with lit eyes in life that would pierce your soul. Mosasaur particularly scared me- their jaws were double-hinged, allowing them to eat like snakes- all at once.
As a child, I was haunted by these prehistoric monsters, both in my dreams and in the darkness that drew me in.
***
“I want kids to cry.”
I said this at an early meeting for our just opened Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur exhibit. After relaying my experience in the old marine exhibit, I explained that I wanted that type of visceral interaction to be replicated with a new audience- I wanted children to visibly express *feeling*.
The exhibit design and palaeontology teams then mentioned that was already in the plans. I smiled, this might be something special.
***
The best museum exhibits are time machines, that make you believe you’re there.
You are given every opportunity to be brought back 76 million years with Zuul. There are gorgeous murals of the world these fantastic beasts would have lived in, filled with all sorts of Cretaceous creatures, and vegetation. A giant video screen depicts Zuul in real life, full of colour and character. And of course, the centrepiece of the exhibit, a faceoff between prehistoric foes Zuul and Gorgesaurus.
But what really transported me was the sound. Dinosaurs of all sorts chirp and roar. In unison with the visuals and the animals in front of me, for a moment, I felt myself slip through time. My imagination filled in the gaps, and added in the buzz of insects, a breath of breeze, and the glint of sunlight reflected off a stream.
***
I’ve taken a number of laps of the space this holiday season and have been rewarded with children reenacting the standoff on display, rawring with confidence and waving their arms around as if an armoured tail. I haven’t seen any children cry, but I’ve certainly seen them gasp in awe, their eyes eager to take in the entire scene, so they can dream about it again later.
Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur runs through May.
By @kironcmukherjee. Last update: January 4th, 2019.
The Entomology collection contains millions of specimens including gorgeous butterflies, hulking beetles, and alien-like stick bugs.
But it’s the labels that really capture my attention- these 4pt Arial font, carefully cut and pinned labels.
It took over 1 million Madagascar Golden Orb spiders to create this cape on display in the Spiders: Fear and Fascination exhibit.
Handwoven, and having taken over a year to complete the embroidery, this cape is simply one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen.
Sadly it does not come in a hoodie variant yet, but with the leaps and bounds that entomologists and designers are making in the use of silk, we might yet see a future with a wide variety of spider garments.
By @kironcmukherjee. Last update: October 25th, 2018.
ROM Reporters: T O R O N T O
ROM Reporters Isabella, Ellie, Annabelle, Yanni, Olivia, and Meghan painted this beautiful scene of City Hall! Check out how these canvases came together!
To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:
- You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!
- ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!
ROM Reporters: Basketball and Dr. James Naismith
As you may know, basketball was created by James Naismith. He created the game of basketball for young athletes to play during days with cold weather. He used a peach basket for the basket and a soccer ball for the ball. A team would have nine players and would try to throw the ball in the basket to get a point. Player’s only options on offense were to pass or shoot, as they had not yet invented dribbling. On defense, player’s only options were to intercept passes and to block shots. When the ball went out of bounds, the player that touched the ball first would get possession and throw the ball in. When a player scores, a janitor would grab a ladder, climb up and get the ball. It was a slow process so, after a while, the bottoms of the peach baskets were removed.
The first basketball game was played on March 11, 1892. That day, James Naismith asked his class to play a match. It was 9 versus 9. The players all jumped for the ball and started tackling each other. There were students that received black eyes, one with a separated shoulder and one even got knocked out. It was a free for all. Naismith then added new rules to make the game much safer and they redid the game. At the end of the game, the final score was 1-0. As mentioned earlier, retrieving the ball was a slow process, until they added a small hole to the bottom of the basket so someone could poke the ball out with a stick. Later in 1906, they added metal hoops, a net, and a backboard. They also added a Spalding basketball instead of using a soccer ball.
On June 6, 1946, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League combined to create the NBA (National Basketball Association). 30 teams compete to win the title. Many great players have made the NBA much more popular than it had been before. Michael Jordan helped make the NBA more popular by creating the dream team and winning the 1992 Olympics title. Yao Ming made the NBA more popular to Asian countries by being the first Asian basketball player to get the #1 draft pick in the 2002 draft. Many other players have changed the game of basketball and made it much more popular by creating amazing teams or duos that helped them win back-to-back NBA titles. All those ideas greatly increased the popularity of the NBA.
James Naismith was born on November 6th, 1861 in Almonte, Ontario and died on November 28th, 1939 in Lawrence, Kansas. He was a very gifted gym student. Naismith was a University gym teacher and the founder and coach of the University of Kansas; unfortunately, he wasn’t a very successful coach. He also invented American football helmets.
To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:
- You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!
- ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!
By Andrew of ROM Reporters. Last update: August 24, 2018.
ROM Reporters: Inside the Ornithology Collection
Birds are everywhere, there is no region or country that doesn’t have birds. Birds have been around for approximately 3.8 billion years. They have evolved to survive the harsh climates of the poles and they have also evolved to survive the scorching hot deserts of the world. ROM reporters have been given permission to go behind the scenes to see the curatorial of birds. We have learned from expert Mark Peck, how the ROM has gotten possession of thousands of birds, threats to birds, and much more.
A Look Inside Curatorial
At the curatorial department of Ornithology, they have about 140,000 bird skins in their collection. The first thing we experienced was the smell. With all the skins, the room smells like chemicals and dead birds. That’s because the chemicals are used to keep the bird in its original state. There was one male snowy owl who was found in 1896. He has been preserved for 122 years! But how did the ROM agent all these birds? Many birds were found dead, and kept, or given to the Museum. Others were killed and collected for sport and when laws changed, they gave them to the ROM. When the ROM revives the specimen, they stuff it with cotton and put it in the proper cupboard. The cupboards are labelled by scientific names because common names are limited by language, but scientific names are universal.
Some interesting birds in the curatorial department are goatsuckers, penguins, bee hummingbirds, snowy owls, and blue jays. Goatsuckers got their name when people never saw them eat and so assumed they sucked on goat teets. Penguins wings are very hard because it’s only skin, bones, and feathers. Bee hummingbirds are the smallest bird being only 5-6 cm. That’s about the size of your pinky finger! Male snowy owls are pure white, unlike females who are white and brown. Blue jays have 4 different shades of blue on their body. However, there’s a dark side. Some of these magnificent beauties are being hunted.
Predator and Prey
Birds are both predators and prey. For example, robins hunt worms since they are predators, but they are also prey since they are hunted by hawks, raccoons, and even your average house cat. 270 million out of an estimated 10 billion birds have been killed each year in Canada. Cats, both feral and non-feral, tall structures, and accidents on the roads are responsible for 95 percent of bird deaths in Canada. The curatorial of ornithology also had a collection of bird eggs, including an elephant bird eggs cast. Egg collecting was a big threat to the bird population. Since bird egg collecting was such a popular hobby back in the 19th to early 20th century, many bird species couldn’t grow since their offspring would be stolen.
Birds have survived and adapted to multiple circumstances and instances to which other animals would have died. Seeing how many dead birds were there was saddening and showed how many birds were endangered in the past. Now the birds are used for scientific research. The time spent in the curatorial department of ornithology was an informative and interesting experience. ROM Reporters would definitely go to the curatorial department of ornithology again if given the chance.
To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:
- You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!
- ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!
By Isabella, Fiona, and Annabelle of ROM Reporters. Last update: August 24, 2018.
ROM Reporters: Ancient Games Revived
We had the great opportunity to unbox an Edu-kit on medieval artifacts. An Edu-kit is a case filled with unique artifacts that can be shipped anywhere in the region of Ontario. They provide students with a great learning experience outside of the museum. The best part of the medieval artifacts in our opinion was the game pieces, there were chess pieces, a seven-sided die, and some tarot cards. Our greatest interest was the old chess pieces, they motivated us to do research on the topic.
So, what did we learn?
Chess originated in northern India in the 6th century. From there it spread to Persia. When the Arabs conquered Persia, the Muslim world took up chess and through the Moorish conquest of Spain, it spread to Europe. From then on, chess spread to many nations across the world. Even now, chess is a game that is known worldwide as many play to pass time.
Senet is one of the oldest board games ever. Archeologists have found parts of an ancient senet board in an Egyptian burial that dates back to the first dynasty. The age of the fragments are from up to 5118 years old. An Egyptian picture resembling a senet board was found in the tomb of Merknera and is said to originate from around 3300-2700 BC. The Edu-kit also encompassed an image of Egyptians playing senet in tombs of the 5th and 6th dynasty such as the tomb of Rasphepes. The oldest intact senet board is from the Middle Kingdom that dates between 2050 BC-1710 BC.
Finally, Hnefatafl originated in Scandinavia and most closely resembles a Roman war game called Ludus Latrunculorum. Hnefatafl was spread around Europe and even Newfoundland by the Vikings who traded and set up new settlements there. Consequently, Hnefatafl was played all around Northern Europe until the arrival of chess.
To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:
- You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!
- ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!
By Michael, Connor, Andrew, Jakob, Agustin, and Roman of ROM Reporters. Last update: August 23, 2018.
ROM Reporters: Learning with Leeches!
The ROM Reporters visited Dr. Sebastian Kvist’s lab at the Royal Ontario Museum to interview Danielle de Carle - a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto. Danielle discussed leech biology and best practices regarding leech removal.
- You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!
- ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!