Friends of the
Zeiss Public
Statement For
Telephone: 412-561-7876 By Glenn A.
Walsh:
Electronic Mail: < friendsofthezeiss@planetarium.cc >
Internet Web Site: < http://www.planetarium.cc > Zeiss II
Reassembly
2007 March 26
Good afternoon, I am Glenn A. Walsh of
Friends of the Zeiss.
In 2002, The
Planetarium and placed them in storage
in their warehouse. They promised the City of
owner of the artifacts, that the Zeiss
II Planetarium Projector, which is the oldest
operable major
planetarium
projector in the world, and the large Mercator’s Projection Map of the
World would
be reassembled by the end of 2005. They
also said the 10-inch Siderostat-type Refractor Telescope
would be reassembled once the
With the May, 2003 collapse of the
proposed $90 million expansion project,
said that reassembly of the Zeiss
Projector would be “delayed” a year; they said nothing about
reassembly of the other two artifacts.
That second deadline has come and gone with no effort
on the part of the
they did apply-for, receive, and spend a
one million-dollar grant to totally renovate the existing
Buhl Planetarium historic artifacts!
The reassembly of the Zeiss Projector had been planned
for the second floor, near the current
planetarium entrance. Without a
away from the
new visitors and repeat business. As I mentioned last
year, I doubted the
sacrifice such space for the Zeiss Projector, which
they consider only to be an “antique artifact.”
Immediately following the RAD Board meeting a year
ago, new Carnegie Institute President
David Hillenbrand told me that plans were still
underway for reassembly of the historic artifacts;
I have heard nothing since.
It is now quite clear that The
artifacts and has no intentions of
reassembling them; they do not see display of these artifacts as part
of their mission. All of their
“delays” are simply meant to drag-out the process, hoping that
people will
forget these artifacts exist—the
old adage: “out of sight, out of mind” !
The Zeiss Projector, Siderostat
Telescope, and Mercator’s Map belong in a location where they can
actually be used to teach Science to
children. This cannot and will not happen at The Carnegie Science
Center. It can only happen in the
original Buhl Planetarium building, now being used by the Children’s
Museum.
I ask you to use your influence to have
these three City-owned artifacts returned to the City-owned
Buhl Planetarium building, to be used to
teach Science to children visiting the Children's Museum.
Otherwise, they will languish in
warehouse storage indefinitely, collecting dust and educating no one.
Thank you.
gaw