Sagans Mission Continues at New Rose Center Two weeks after Carl Sagans death in 1996, the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City was torn down to make way for its reconstruction.
However, the astronomer's legacy lives on in the planetariums recent incarnation as the Rose Center for Earth and Space where his dream of bringing science to the masses in an engaging way comes alive again, his widow Ann Druyan says.
"The idea that generations of young minds will be taken [to the Rose Center] and will be changed by it, their horizons expanded by it -- thats just a fantastic thing. Carl would have loved it," said Druyan, Sagan's long-time collaborator.
Sagan, one of the most recognizable scientists in the modern era and a leader in space science and exploration, grew up under the city skies of Brooklyn, New York. He visited the old Hayden Planetarium as a boy and learned about the wonders of space.
"The idea that generations of young minds will be taken [to the Rose Center] and will be changed by it, their horizons expanded by it -- thats just a fantastic thing. Carl would have loved it."
Sagan sadly did not live to see the new Hayden, which opened to the public on February 19, but Druyan has brought his vision to the fore there by co-writing Passport to the Universe, the
half-hour sky show now shown inside the remodeled planetarium's spectacular glass-encased sphere.Creating the look, feel, tone and message of the Rose Center required a six-year collaboration of scientists, architects, writers and artists -- including Druyan.
The group's aim was to bring cutting-edge science down to Earth so everyone could understand and experience it -- a mission that Sagan defined decades ago.
| The Making of the Rose |
| The design for the Rose Center for Earth and Space began on a Napkin. |
The new skyshow at the Hayden Planetarium was written by the same teamthe wrote the popular Cosmos TV series that ran in 1980. |
Among those involved was the planetarium's director Neil de Grasse Tyson, who was mentored by Sagan.
"The educational mission and soul of the facility strongly aligns with all that Carl Sagan lived for in his attempt to bring the marvels of the universe to the public," Tyson said.
Tysons selected the planetarium's first scientific advisory committee not only on the basis of their impressive achievements, but also for their efforts to communicate science meaningfully -- as Sagan would have had it.
Sagan took a personal interest in Tysons early career as an astrophysicist. Tyson grew up in the city too -- a native of the Bronx, who was also inspired by the old Hayden Planetarium.
In his new memoir, The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist, Tyson writes about his first meeting with Sagan as a teenager applying to college. "I never told him this, but at every stage of my scientific career that followed, I have modeled my encounters with students after my first encounter with Carl."
Today, Tyson is often called to explain astronomical discoveries to the public. He knows the importance of such communication.
"We may still have an opportunity to impart our long-lost visions of the future upon the aspirations of the next generation We just need creative ways to inspire them," he says.
Druyan agrees, saying she suspects the new Rose Center will have an inspirational effect on a new generation. "It just screams: This is the future This is the universe! And you are part of it."
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