Sep 03 2009
Conceive of the vastness …
By Jon Lomberg
In 1991 I painted a portrait of the Milky Way for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
Two depictions of the Milky Way Galaxy. The top half is the painting at the Smithsonian Institution. The bottom half is a view of the Galaxy Garden in Hawaii.
During the project I worked with expert astronomers and the painting was based on the best knowledge available of our galaxy. But effective though it was, it hung on the wall. I knew the most vivid way to teach people about their home galaxy was to make a model they could explore from inside.
Thus the idea for the Galaxy Garden was born.
