This online exhibit is made possible through the generous support and work by several institutions and individuals. The Guestbook Project was funded as part of the Cycle 22 Hubble Space Telescope Education and Public Outreach Grant Program. A proposal entitled, “Science Through Time: An Exhibit to Connect Students with the Lives, Work, and Legacy of Astronomers”, led by Principal Investigator Seth Redfield (Wesleyan University Astronomy Department Professor) and Co-Investigator Caitlin Lombardi (Thomas Edison Middle School Teacher). Other team members included John Ferrero (Macdonough Elementary School), Paul Erickson (Wesleyan University, History Department), Deborah D. Shapiro (Middlesex County Historical Society), Leith Johnson (Wesleyan University Archivist), and Amrys Williams (Wesleyan University, History Department). We acknowledge support through NASA HST grant EO-13658 from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. for NASA under contract NAS5-26555.
Student researchers deserve much of the credit for organizing, shaping, and performing the research that is at the heart of this project. Jules Lighter (’16) in the summer of 2015 made the digital reproductions of the Visitors’ Book and did the difficult initial research on a broad range of topics associated with the signatories. Max Lee(’16), working over the academic year of 2015-2016, continued in-depth research and developed content for the exhibit. Numerous individuals were integral to this work in the New Media Lab at Wesleyan University, including Jen Carlstrom, Jason Vienneau, Patricia Leone, John Wareham, Melissa Datre, and Miriam Cope.
This work was developed and evolved in concert with other historical research endeavors at the Observatory, notably with the Under Connecticut Skies program. This work owes much to those involved in this project, which include members of the History Department, Amrys Williams and Paul Erickson, members of the Astronomy Department, Roy Kilgard, William Herbst, and Seth Redfield, the Wesleyan University Archivist, Leith Johnson, and the President of the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford, Ray Zwyno. Many Wesleyan students have also been deeply involved in this work, including Abigail Shneyder(’17), Michaela Fisher(’17), Max Lee(’16), Josephine Ho(’16), Matthew Shelley-Reade(’17), and Melissa Joskow(’18).
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