Nebraska Dark Sky
- Etched Glass, LED, Motion sensors, Sintra, Copper Leaf, Acrylic Paint
- Lee Running
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Not For Sale
This three-site installation celebrates a valuable yet underappreciated natural resource: dark skies. Our state protects some of the darkest skies in the country. Each summer, amateur astronomers gather at Merritt Reservoir in Northwest Nebraska to observe deep space objects using personal telescopes, some of them built by hand. The murals' images are inspired by photographs taken at this gathering by astrophotographers Sonali Deshmukh and John Poole.
The hallway leading to the atrium features glass panels covering a star mural. Each pane of glass is engraved with hand-drawn images of Merritt Reservoir's botanical specimens as seen under a microscope. They are then surrounded by 360 LEDs wired to a custom circuit board with a microcontroller and sensor activated by human motion. As people walk down the hall, their presence illuminates the drawings and obscures the stars. When they are still, the glass sunsets, revealing the stars again.
This project incorporates open-source electronics, sensors, programming, circuit building, photography, mapping, and citizen science—all elements taught in STEM Trail courses. These installations explore the excitement of lenses and illumination to allow us to witness surprising and beautiful elements of the natural world while reminding us that to see the furthest we have to preserve the darkness. This balance is important not only for humans but for all species.
Omaha Project Partners:
Nebraska Arts Council
Chris Russell - Circuit Design and Fabrication, Programming
Sonali Deshmukh- Image of Milky Way
John Poole - Image of Nebula
Pat Weeks, John Blackburn, Paul Garner - Install Nation Glass Panel Fabrication and Installation
Bob and Jeanne Smith - Wooden Ways and Old Days Glass Etching
Quality Glass - Glass cutting and tempering
- Subject Matter: plants, skyscape, techonological
- Inventory Number: 10K.766.2024
- Current Location: University of Nebraska Omaha - STEM TRAIL Center in Roskens Hall - 6001 Dodge St Omaha, NE 68182 (google map)
- Collections: 1. New Acquisitions, University of Nebraska Omaha