The Making of the Fathers of Astronomy Exhibit Opinion Christopher M. Graney Otter Creek–South Harrison Observatory Jefferson Community & Technical College, USA E-mail: [email protected] Summary Key Words The International Year of Astronomy 2009 stretched a few days into 2010 IYA2009 here in Louisville, Kentucky — the Fathers of Astronomy exhibit at the Frazier Exhibitions International History Museum did not close until 3 January 2010. Fathers of History of Astronomy Astronomy, which was open for five months, told the story of Galileo through authentic original editions of three books — the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, Nicolas Copernicus’s 1543 On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, and Galileo Galilei’s 1632 Dialogue Concerning the two Chief World Systems. The success of “Fathers” resulted from three very different partners coming together and combining resources to produce a history-themed IYA2009 programme of the highest quality at minimal cost. Lessons learned from the exhibit may be of value to people interested in communicating astronomy to the public. Introduction include the Frazier’s permanent collection exhibitions, special lectures and other pres- and a substantial collection from Britain’s entations to enhance the quality of classroom The three partners behind the Fathers of Royal Armouries. The Frazier contributed the teaching and to present the collections to a Astronomy exhibit were the Frazier Inter- space for the Fathers of Astronomy exhibit; wider public audience. Within Rare Books is national History Museum, the University of the professional resources to properly han- the William Marshall Bullitt Collection of rare Louisville Libraries, and Otter Creek–South dle, display and keep safe the extremely first editions of key publications in the his- Harrison Observatory. Each partner made a rare books that were the centrepiece of the tory of science, including works by Gauss, unique contribution without which “Fathers” exhibit; and the marketing expertise to get Copernicus, Newton, Euclid and Kepler. could not have existed. word of the exhibit to the public. UofL contributed to Fathers of Astronomy the artefacts of the exhibit — the books The Frazier International History Museum The University of Louisville (UofL) Libraries’ themselves. (Figure 1) in Louisville seeks to bring his- Department of Rare Books and Special tory to life through live interpretations by Collections supports the academic pro- Otter Creek–South Harrison Observatory is costumed interpreters, multimedia pres- grammes of the University of Louisville. The a small public observatory. This observatory entations, educational programming and collections are available for use by all faculty is jointly operated by Jefferson Community hands-on learning. The museum’s exhibits and students. In addition, the staff produce & Technical College of Louisville, Kentucky, • The Making of the Fathers of Astronomy Exhibit • CAPjournal, No. 9 October 2010 • Page 10 • The Making of the Fathers of Astronomy Exhibit • CAPjournal, No. 9 October 2010 • Page 11 and the Parks and Recreation department Frazier staff (patiently): “If you go longer than was some mention of broader themes in the of Harrison County, Indiana. Its primary mis- that, people will be overwhelmed and will not book labels. sion is education and outreach, but it is also read it.” the site of an active programme of research The exhibit could never have happened were in the area of historical astronomy. Otter Astronomer (still outraged): “What point is it not for 21st century technology — or at least Creek–South Harrison Observatory contrib- there in making an exhibit with no content?” it could never have happened without a much uted to Fathers of Astronomy the initial impe- larger budget. The Frazier had materials on tus for the exhibit, some key networking, and Frazier staff (still patiently): “You do not have hand for creating exhibits, but no resources the explanatory materials (display panels) for to eliminate content — you just have to figure specific to the history of astronomy. To the exhibit. out precisely what you want people to know, provide historical background, explanatory and then say just that, and succinctly. You information, and just nice pictures for people Fathers of Astronomy was conceived when can do it.” to look at, we used high resolution images I approached Delinda Buie, Curator of Rare of books from the Bullitt Collection. What’s Books at UofL, about doing a IYA2009 pro- Indeed, I learned that I could! I cut the word more, the University of Oklahoma Libraries’ gramme with a history of astronomy theme. count of my original drafts for the informative History of Science Collection granted us Buie was excited about the idea; she wanted panels by over 60%. In the end I became permission to use high resolution images a programme in which the public could get convinced that following the Frazier’s guide- from their online archive. Therefore our dis- significant direct exposure to the key scien- lines resulted in a final product that did play material included images from books tific works of the Copernican Revolution in not sacrifice content, and that was vastly such as Galileo’s 1610 Starry Messenger the Bullitt Collection — the original works of improved. and the works of Tycho Brahe. To develop Copernicus and Galileo. The question was, museum-quality panels we simply created where could these valuable works be pub- There were other compromises. Buie and what we wanted in very high resolution PDF licly displayed? Few institutions in Louisville I envisioned a short exhibit, but Burnside format and dropped the PDFs off at a local could handle such artefacts, but somewhat urged that it run for half a year. I pushed for print shop with a large-format printer. They providentially, Buie suggested a place where the exhibit to focus on Galileo’s story from did a fine job creating the panels and a it would be suitable — the Frazier. Before a scientific perspective — what he did and large backdrop for one of the exhibit cases long Buie, Madeleine Burnside (the Frazier’s saw and why his work was influential — and (see Figures 2 and 3) for a very reasonable Executive Director) and I were sitting down to stay away from broader “science and cost. The visiting public never knew that this for a meeting, and Fathers of Astronomy society” or “science and religion” themes. exhibit of books was put together for so little began to come together in earnest. Then there was the question of which books cost, using local resources. would be in the exhibit — On the Revolutions Creating “Fathers” required all parties to and the Dialogue, yes, but should they be The three partners for Fathers of Astronomy learn. No one had a steeper learning curve accompanied by the Bullitt collection’s origi- would have liked the public to know more than the astronomer on the team — me. nal edition of Newton’s Principia? That would about the local nature of the exhibit. The The pages of this journal have included vari- help to illustrate the direction of science Frazier was quite successful in getting the ous references to astronomers’ skill (or lack after Galileo. Or perhaps they should be media’s attention. Two regional TV stations thereof) in communicating with the public. I accompanied by the Nuremberg Chronicle, had coverage of “Fathers” on their news pro- received a crash course from the Frazier’s a large and beautiful book that would help grammes, complete with camera footage of staff in how to write for the visiting public. to illustrate a pre-Copernican worldview. the exhibit and commentary from the Frazier Informative panels were to contain no more Finally, the space available did not allow for staff. One of Kentucky’s major newspapers than 150 words, plus up to three images all four books to be displayed. Ultimately we ran a story, as did the local public radio sta- that could feature captions of 50 words settled on a five-month long exhibit, with the tion. “Fathers” even garnered some brief maximum. Chronicle accompanying On the Revolutions national exposure, being the Event of the and the Dialogue; the display panels pre- Day on NBC’s Early Today show (Figure 4). Astronomer (outraged): “One hundred and sented a strongly scientific focus, but there But the local nature of the exhibit was not fea- fifty words? You must be joking.” tured in the media coverage. All three exhibit Figure 1. The Frazier International History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. Figure 2. Display of original editions of the Nuremberg Chronicle and On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, in the Fathers of Astronomy exhibit at the Frazier inter- national History Museum. partners have an ongoing interest in commu- the media coverage will not translate into a Astronomy was strong. People who saw the nicating to the public of Kentucky that local wider awareness of, for example, the exist- exhibit liked it. People came to the museum resources exist — be it a museum, a collec- ence of the Bullitt Collection’s astronomical specifically for “Fathers”. However, as an tion of rare books, or a public observatory treasures. astronomer, I was disappointed in many peo- with outreach and research. The challenging ple’s reactions to it — or to be more specific, nature of communicating the local aspect of Another challenge revealed itself over time. their lack of reactions. My family has a mem- Fathers of Astronomy probably means that The Frazier reports that interest in Fathers of bership at the Frazier and my wife is a long- Figure 3. Informative panels in the Fathers of Astronomy exhibit. • The Making of the Fathers of Astronomy Exhibit • CAPjournal, No. 9 October 2010 • Page 12 • The Making of the Fathers of Astronomy Exhibit • CAPjournal, No. 9 October 2010 • Page 13 interesting, if only we expose them properly. But the lesson was not too sobering.