Sun Dagger Explorer Model
An interactive Computer Model on exhibit in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque.
The Sun Dagger Explorer
The Sun Dagger Explorer is now part of the Space Frontiers exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM.
We now have an interactive research version of the Sun Dagger Explorer model, displaying the solar and lunar markings at the site atop Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon.
The interactive tools invite creative inquiry and research to explore its shadow-casting edges and the sensitivity of the rock slabs’ shapes and positions to the light markings on the spiral.
What features of the site might the Chaco astronomers have controlled to create sun and moon markings on the same spiral?
The model serves as an archival replication of the fragile site created with modern tools: laser scanning, stereo glass plates and precise NGS orientation. It offers a broad range of educational opportunities, including museum exhibitions, installations, educational programming, and individual inquiry.
AWARDS
2010 International MUSE Award winner – American Association of Museums, Media and Technology
2009 MPMA Award in Technology – Mountain Plains Museum Association
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New
Mexico received the award in the multi-media category for “Sun Dagger Explorer.,
Alan Price, design and programming; Anna Sofaer, research; Matt Celeskey, exhibit
designer/illustrator; Robert Ungnade, exhibit liason; Charles Compton, IT liason;
Western Mapping, laser scanning. The project was produced with the Solstice Project
and Ohio State University.