After a long journey last semester, a giant globe made its way to Syracuse before showing up, almost overnight, above the doorway of the Heroy Geology Building.

The inflatable Earth, which is 10 feet in diameter, is the Department of Earth Sciences’ new icon. It is part of the department’s larger effort to upgrade the look of its teaching spaces, said Jeffrey Karson, chair of the earth sciences department, who was behind the idea of installing a globe.

“It’s meant to better reflect the teaching that’s going on in Heroy,” Karson said. “As you can see, the building is a little non-descript, almost indistinguishable from the Physics Building.”

The original plan was to suspend the globe from the ceiling in a dramatic fashion while not disturbing the ceiling, Karson said.

Instead, the inflatable planet now looms over students as they enter the building.

Its spot above the entrance is made possible by a custom base designed by building manager Michael Cheatham.

The placement allows for “terrific visibility,” said Karson, adding the department has received emails from people “very excited” about the globe — especially at night.

Imprinted with a massive NASA mosaic photograph of Earth, the globe rotates on the same axial tilt as the Earth itself. The internally illuminated model symbolizes a far-reaching-yet-still-mysterious field of study, one currently undergoing rapid evolution, said Cathryn Newton, professor and dean emerita of earth sciences.

The globe also highlights what Newton called an extensive history of research at the university, and makes Heroy distinct from the Physics Building.

Newton first saw the globe while driving back to campus from a research trip at night. She said she was “thunderstruck” by the sight of it.

The globe, Newton said, reminded her of the first image of Earth coming over the moon.

“It was a powerful symbol about our dynamic Earth and why it matters,” she said. “I don’t feel that many people understand this Earth too well.”

Her colleagues in the department find the globe compelling and riveting, Newton said, and she personally enjoys watching people suddenly notice the globe, stopping to stand and stare.

The globe has inspired ideas for more plans. Karson said he would like to install a Jumbotron screen, which would be a giant tiled display of earth science activity.

Calling the globe a “public icon,” Newton said it draws attention to the Earth as a dynamic system. The timing of the globe’s installation, she said, could not be better.

“Never have we been learning so much,” she said. “We are participating in a massive global experiment as people are trying to understand how the Earth works.”

Published on January 13, 2013 at 11:18 pm

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