Ships, Clocks and Stars: The Quest for Longitude: Difference between revisions

(Blanked the page)
Line 1: Line 1:


Ships, Clocks and Stars: The Quest for Longitude, one of the Exhibitions at the Folger, opened March 19, 2015 and will close August 23, 2015. The exhibition was curated by the [http://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum National Maritime Museum] from Greenwich, England and proudly sponsored by [http://www.utc.com/Pages/Home.aspx United Technologies Corporation]. It was originally housed at the National Maritime Museum, but is not traveling to the Folger and then to [http://www.mysticseaport.org/ Mystic Seaport] in Connecticut.
For centuries, longitude (east-west position) was a matter of life and death at sea. Ships that went off course had no way to rediscover their longitude. With no known location, they might smash into underwater obstacles or be forever lost at sea.
Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for Longitude, celebrates the 300th anniversary of the British Longitude Act of 1714, which offered huge rewards for any practical way to determine longitude at sea. The longitude problem was so difficult that—despite the rewards—it took five decades to solve it.
Through extraordinary, historic materials—many from the collection of the National Maritime Museum—the exhibition tells the story of the clockmakers, astronomers, naval officers, and others who pursued the long "quest for longitude" to ultimate success.
Among its highlights are clockmaker John Harrison's "H4" marine timekeeper, the culmination of his life's work; astronomical tables developed by Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal; paintings from Captain Cook's Pacific voyages; and more.
Digital displays throughout the exhibition bring key longitude concepts and materials to light. For those seeking additional activities, try our related Family Programs or come to the "Ships, Clocks, and Stars" concerts by the Folger Consort.
For a sampling of some of the exhibition's outstanding items, as covered in the Spring 2015 issue of Folger Magazine, select one of the three large images near the top of this page. Each one will lead you to part of the magazine article and a small online gallery of objects from the exhibition; be sure to check out all three to get the full story!

Revision as of 14:17, 3 April 2015