Summer Field Trips

While we await the response of several hundred school principals to our field trip invitation, two different organizations visited last week. Under the initiative of New Jersey state curator of natural history David Paris, the museum's Kaleidoscope summer science academy learned about some of the state's traditions in high-tech research and innovation, sound waves and their application, and data gathering techniques in the museum. Executive director Alex Magoun and docents Vrinda Nair and Swapnil Mhatre guided the 36 students and their chaperones through two hours of science and history, no small feat when your students run from 6 to 12 years of age! On Friday, through the initiative of Tia Clifton of Haven Home in Trenton, the Library hosted a smaller group of girls to learn about David Sarnoff's life and collect information from the museum exhibits. "With every visit we learn something new from the students and about our program, just as they learn a few things from us," says Alex.

The Power of the Press

Yow! The Princeton Packet follows Town Topics' feature article last winter with a double feature today. First, an article by Adam Grybowski on Library executive director Alex Magoun, David Sarnoff, and RCA's inventions as exhibited in the museum, with multiple photos by Mark Czajkowski; and then an article on the Library's Martians for Education campaign and logo. Can the Today Show and Jon Stewart be far behind?

And the winner is. . .

Monica Vagnozzi!
But first, some background. After five years and the first field trips, it was time for a change. “We’ve been staging the War of the Worlds broadcast with a live cast and antique radios since 2003,” says David Sarnoff Library executive director Alex Magoun. “A lot has happened at the Library since then. Now that we’ve begun hosting field trips to our new exhibits and renewed our commitment to science and technology education, the need for funding for an education director is more pressing. There are also so many new and younger members of the community who are unfamiliar with the broadcast, and we wanted to connect with them through the Library’s educational mission.”

Gwen McNamara, communications manager at Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, and board member and Plainsboro Library director Jinny Baeckler suggested expanding the theme beyond the radio broadcast and offering more events. Library volunteer Sharon Chapman of West Windsor urged setting up a contest for a logo, and Magoun came up with “Martians for Education.” “It lacks the alliteration of “Aliens for Education,” he said, “but it also lacks the political overtones, and Martians are really what we’re focusing on. As Sharon said when she pushed this contest, there are some very talented people here, and we’re grateful for their best efforts in meeting our requirements.”

The judges committee of Magoun, Baeckler, Chapman, and Dick Snedeker and Jerry Fields of the West Windsor Arts Council reviewed eighteen entries from ten artists aged 11 to 75 years old. Monica Vagnozzi of Ewing, and a 2007 graduate of The College of New Jersey’s Art Department, submitted the winning design in a unanimous decision based on its brightness, original imagery, and positive view of educated, radio-friendly Martians against a global backdrop. Magoun announced the decision at the Library’s annual meeting Monday while recognizing the other two finalists from Princeton Junction: Janet Felton, second, and Charlotte Dey, third. They took home prizes including a dinner for two at Sotto Ristorante in Princeton, a gift basket from Grover’s Mill Coffee Roastery and Café in West Windsor, and an Avon Products gift certificate donated by Dorothy Sadley and Joann Marchiano.
For other activities, the Library plans to brand a variety of events culminating in its annual radio broadcast re-enactment on Saturday, October 25. The David Sarnoff Radio Club has agreed to apply for a special-event transmitter license for station W0W, and amateur radio operators or "hams" that make contact with W0W will receive a QSL card with the Martians for Education logo. The Library is working with the Plainsboro and West Windsor Historical Societies and other organizations to develop other activities with which to engage people of all ages.
“This is coming together at such an opportune time,” said Magoun. “NASA has just confirmed the existence of ice on Mars, we’re already booking field trips for the 2008-9 school year, and this campaign fits like a glove with the Princeton region’s designation as a tourist destination. We look forward to making this a festival of science, art, food, and history that you can’t get anywhere else on this or any other planet.”

The Verdict Is In

Yes, our five fearless and discerning judges--Jinny Baeckler, Sharon Chapman, Jerry Fields, Alex Magoun, and Dick Snedeker--found favor with three of the eighteen entries for our Martians for Education logo to accompany our 70th-anniversary War of the Worlds festivities this October. One logo ruled them all, though the other two will also receive prizes--from Sotto 128 Ristorante in Princeton, Avon Products courtesy of Dorothy Sadley, and Grover's Mill Coffee Roastery. Who is it awready, you're no doubt asking yourself. Simmer down, and come to our annual meeting this Monday evening at 7:30 in Sarnoff Corporation's auditorium, 201 Washington Road, Princeton 08540, to find out. You'll also get to see and help thank some of the wonderful people who make the Library possible through their selfless volunteering; see and congratulate some of the hard-working and smart local students who competed in the International Future Problem Solving Championship and the National Science and Physics Olympiads; enjoy the Library's refreshments; and watch the New Jersey premiere of All-Russia State Television and Radio Company's wonderful documentary on RCA’s leading television inventor, Vladimir Zworykin: Russia’s Gift to America. Fred Olessi, Dr. Zworykin's amanuensis and co-author of his memoir, Iconoscope, will introduce the film and, to a degree, Zworykin, who was interested in much more than television. The film is 60 minutes, well-subtitled; I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

IEEE Adds TV!

We're very excited to see the world's largest engineering organization, the IEEE (formerly known as the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers) add video to its website. IEEE.tv provides free streamed videos to those interested in what engineers do in some crucial areas for our future: environmentally sensitive design, transport, energy, and manufacturing, and what they've done in the past, courtesy of the IEEE History Center's first videohistory, with Jerry Minter, who specializes in collision-avoidance inventions.

It's wonderful to see the IEEE expand its outreach online; IEEE.tv is a great complement to TryEngineering, a seven-language (!) collaboration with IBM to encourage more young people to consider and commit themselves to careers in engineering. There's something here for students, parents, teachers, and counselors, who can play engineering games; meet male and female engineers in aerospace, computer, and biomedical careers, among others; look for internships and college or university programs; and borrow from lesson plans, all online.