#archivesinspace

Stargazing at the Old Minneapolis Public Library

Minneapolis Star, February 3, 1961: "You don't have to be a chimpanzee to visit outer space--you can make the trip Saturday from 4th St. and Nicollet Ave." 

In February 1961, the Planetarium opened in the new Minneapolis Central Library. That year more than 1,200 city and county residents, including many school children, visited the new Science Museum & Planetarium each day. Maxine Haarstick, director of the Museum-Planetarium, was at the helm, flicking switches, sending planets into orbit, projecting sunsets and thousands of stars across the domed sky. "It makes you feel awful powerful," confesses Mrs. Haarstick. "You're standing here in the heart of the lower loop; but you can take people to the equator or anywhere on earth to see the stars visible there." 

While planning the new planetarium, Haarstick, a former teacher, visited every planetarium in the United States, some with domes as large as 70 feet in diameter (the library dome measured 40 feet across). Haarstick left the library in 1979 to work for the Science Museum of Minnesota, the organization that would go on to run the Planetarium. Due to lack of funds, the library science museum exhibits closed in June, 1982. The planetarium continued to operate until 2002 when the old Central Library was demolished to make way for the new Cesar Pelli-designed building. While a planetarium was included in designs for the current building, it was never built. The new Planetarium is now open at the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum.

The National Archives Hashtag Party for the month of October is #ArchivesInSpace, which is celebrating 60 years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). While the above cartoon doesn’t quite fit the bill in this regard, it does feature astronomy as a way of advertising for Miller High Life beer.

A beer bottle performs the function of a telescope, aiming towards the night sky that is filled with stars, pretzels, various containers of beer, and most notably, a “Girl in the Moon.” The “Girl in the Moon” was first used as branding for Miller High Life beer in 1907 and went on to be featured in advertisements for almost a century. On the ground level, more references to Miller High Life beer and Miller Brewery are depicted through buildings, barrels, boxes, and books.

This cartoon is entitled “Astronomy in Milwaukee” and was published in 1911. It is part of the Thomas and Jean Ross Bliffert Postcard Collection (UWM Manuscript Collection 171), and can be found in Box 6, Binder 11 or online in the Greetings from Milwaukee digital collection.

Space Explorers: A New Dawn

To mark NASA’s 60th anniversary, October’s Archives Hashtag Party theme is Archives in Space. The US National Archives created the Hashtag Party to give archives an opportunity to share their collections around a fun topic; we’re featuring Space Explorers: A New Dawn to highlight this month’s theme.

This exquisite live-action documentary about the new age of space exploration will be presented in multiple pods of synchronized Voyager chairs in all New Frontier venues. Witness the lives of NASA astronauts as they navigate the trials and sacrifices of their training and missions, discover the camaraderie of space programs around the world, and gain insight into mankind’s most ambitious journey to understand our planet, our universe, and our origins.

#ArchivesInSpace: Looking Back at Apollo 11

“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” - Neil Armstrong after touching down on the surface of the moon.

The Apollo 11 moon landing is perhaps one of the most significant U.S. achievements of the 20th century. The realization that science, mathematics and engineering prowess, could put human beings on the moon, was a major milestone in scientific advancement.

It’s been nearly 50 years since that historic landing and 60 years to the day since NASA was founded. This October the @usnatarchives Hashtag Party asks us to take a look back at NASA’s history. This clip from our WTMJ News Film Collection is dated 7/21/1969, the day after the Apollo 11 touched down on the surface of our moon. The WTMJ crew hit the streets to get Milwaukee’s opinion of the accomplishment the day after it happened. This footage comes from the Daily News collection, this footage has not been edited and did not originally appear on television in this state. 

We have a number of WTMJ clips that have been digitized and are available online. Clips that have not been digitized can be viewed in person by appointment. For more on our WTMJ News Film Collection check out the WTMJ News Search. 

This October we are celebrating 60 years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of National Archives Hashtag Party #ArchivesInSpace.

In our digital collections is a half-hour interview with James Lovell, a NASA administrator and astronaut who lived in Milwaukee during his youth. The interview was conducted by WTMJ-TV’s Jim Peck and aired on May 6, 1972. Some topics covered include Lovell’s participation in several missions, in addition to the accomplishments of NASA’s space program and its upcoming projects. Lovell joined NASA in 1963 and his missions included Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13. He was commander of Apollo 13. The spacecraft’s oxygen tank was damaged on the way to the Moon but made it back safely to Earth with its crew.

In the above gif, Lovell gives his response to “What question are you asked the most as you travel around?” He replied with, “Well, the question that perhaps is asked the most is just how does it feel? After I meet somebody they’ll say, ‘Gosh, you were up there. So how does it feel?’ And it’s sort of hard to relate. Because it is a very good feeling, you know. You’re just floating around. Gives you sort of a feeling of superiority to lift up the heaviest weight and have everything just float and pick it up from space. Sometimes it is a little bit hard to readjust back on Earth when you get back.” This exchange occurs between 26:59-27:31 in the video.

James Lovell’s interview is part of a video series titled Conversation that was produced by UWM from 1970-1972.

# Archives in Space

For the month of October, the National Archives Hashtag Party is #ArchivesInSpace. Here is another contribution.

One of the best ways to experience the beauty of the night sky is by going to a planetarium. Stars, planets, and celestial objects are showcased on a large dome-shaped projection screen. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee built the Manfred Olson Planetarium in 1965, and it opened for the first time in 1966. It was named after Manfred Olson, a professor of physics from 1931 to 1963. After retiring from UWM, Olson became the Planetarium director and part-time lecturer in the Physics Department.

Dr. Jean Creighton became director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium in 2007. Her goal has been to improve the visibility of the Planetarium by offering a variety of astronomical programs that are open to the general public and offering private shows for many different groups.

You can find the Manfred Olson Planetarium’s events page here.

Two special events for the month of October are Haunted Horizons, on Fridays through October 26th, and PlaneSCAREium, October 29th-31st.

The photos used for this post were found in the UW-Milwaukee Photographs Collection, UWM AC 6. Some of the above images can be seen in our Digital Collections UWM Photo Collection.