The National Air and Space Museum will soon demolish its "Where Next,
Columbus?" gallery in preparation for a new exhibition.  A major element in
this gallery, which opened in 1992, is the custom-built Stellarium, a
three-dimensional scale model of a section of the Milky Way surrounding our
Sun.  The model accurately depicts the positions and relative brightnesses
of more than 700 stars, each the tip of a single fiber optic strand, within
50 light years of our Sun.  The scale is one inch = one light-year.  The
tube-shaped model, enclosed in Plexiglas, measures about 8 feet in diameter
and 9 to 10 feet tall.

We are willing to give the Stellarium away to whomever wants it, but with
several significant catches.  The model is very fragile and cannot be moved
without being completely dismantled and carefully packed, which is a
formidable but not impossible task.  If you are interested in obtaining it,
you would have to dismantle it yourself, pack it, and remove it with
minimal assistance from us.  This would have to be done within a very tight
and specific timeframe?between March 18 and 22?in order to accommodate our
demolition schedule.

We've made some inquiries among museums and planetariums, but so far no one
has expressed interest in acquiring the Stellarium.  This is a final effort
to see if anyone is interested, and we would need to know soon, by March 8,
or we will proceed with demolition of it.

If you are interested, send me a request outlining your plan to remove it,
describe the number and skill level of individuals you will have working on
this, and note any support you would require from us.

David Romanowski
Exhibits Writer-Editor
National Air and Space Museum
202-357-1454
[log in to unmask]


=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).