Monthly Meeting September – Astronomical Displays

My mission is to engage people with the science that is going on in the world around them. I develop activities and hands-on physical displays that spark curiosity and creativity. You will have seen some of my interactive works in Stardome’s amazing new exhibition gallery that explores space and connects visitors to the night sky. I will talk you through my creative journey and you will see how my aim of displaying patterns and cycles has resulted in these interactives that often reveal some unexpected connections. I’ll talk about some of the Stardome interactives: The Tellurion; The Moon Phases over Maungakiekie; The Tohu monthly star markers; and Pacific navigation.

Plus I’ll have some slightly crazy prototypes for you to play with, a chaotic glow in the dark pendulum, a clock that shows the phase of the moon driven by the tide and an Aotearoa-centric armillary sphere.

Doug Makinson