A PROPOSAL TO PLAN AND DEVELOP A "UNIVERSE ROOM" FOR THE BACKGROUND Education of children, and adults, has historically been concerned with the past and the present, but not with the future up to now. To do so would have required clairvoyance beyond human predictive capacity, but the gap between what we could do and what we should do in the field of education can be narrowed. Indeed, it must be! It must make us cognizant of what lies ahead. An extensive body of knowledge has been built up by the universities, NASA, other branches of government and industries such as those involved in computers and aerospace. This must be put to use in preparing the coming generation for a future that is intrinsically bound to space and to a greater understanding of the role of man in the Universe. We must learn what phenomona beyond life are in our solar system, meta-galaxy and universe, and we must relate this knowledge to our understanding of the environment here on earth. This is a king-size order and not one to be accomplished completely in any individual span of life. But as we have learned from our earth-bound experiences, what we wish to achieve 10,20, or 30 years hence we must plan forthwith. Those who are the participants in current planning and execution will be beneficiaries in the short-term rewards derived from acting now to confirm the future. Our proposal implies this. PURPOSE 111 We have a single-minded purpose in submitting this proposal; but we are certain the results that could be achieved range far beyond our immediate objective. We want to raise funds to do the planning necessary to build a "Universe Room" a panorama that would synchronize a planetarium, audio-visual presentations and simulation techniques. The beholder within the Universe Room would become poignantly conscious of the splendor of space and of its far-reaching implications, an enduring educational experience. -- The educational aspect of our proposal is emphasized because it constitutes the central theme: to provide a greater understanding and capacity to cope with our Earth environment by making use of our knowledge about spece by dissecting the requisite skills to perform in space into the educational components necessary to achieve them. In other words, the Universe Room will provide an environment for a wholly new and essential educational curriculum. SCOPE Our proposal is directed to the immediate planuing tasks necessary to initiate design and construction of the prototypical "Universe Room" but our overall objectives are much more ambitious. We would eventually replicate many of the expensive components of the proto-type in mobile form for the transport to other universe rooms. These rooms would be in schools and universities in other cities and towns around the country, and even around the world. APPROACH Our approach is quite simple. We have developed a resident staff of sufficient size to do the initial planning and research necessary to accumulate and synthesize the body of knowledge that now exists, to contract with industry,and employ consultants in specific communications, arts and technological areas in which we would not need permanent staff, but would make maximum use of existing government, university, and industrial sources to achieve our objective. To start the initial phase of planning we estimate that a commitment of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars will be required for the first nine months of operation. The result of the planning will provide a basis for subsequent cost estimates for a sustained operation. HISTORAMA, ENVIRAMA, FUTURAMA The room space would be designed so that a multiplicity of educational functions could be accomplished within the basic structure: a historama of eras including previous forms of life on earth up to the present time; an "envirama" portraying the current state of our existence; and a "futurama" showing the alternative futures that will confront us and future generations. LONGER RANGE OBJECTIVES The short term goal is to make the Univere Room functional, profitable and self-sustaining. Beyond this, however, there remains a vast array of educational tools to be developed and applied: panaramic projections to set forth the scene to precede educational experiencesň programmed learning textural and visual presentations; and virtually an infinity of comparable elements that would contribute to the educational experience. We want either to produce them, contract to others for their production or establish a franchising arrangement for marketing them. A proposal of The Friends of Man in Space. William C. Moore Director of Programs International University Foundation 1819 H Street N.W. Washington L.C. 20006 Telephone 202 293-1456 Office Space (1200 Sq.Ft at $7.00 sq.Ft.) $ 8,400 3,000 Public relations (Publications, Advertising, etc) 6,000 Subtotal 6,000 $23,400 SUBCONTRACTS AND CONSULTING Art & Architecture Acoustics & Simulation Systems Engineering Subtotal GRAND TOTAL $10,000 10,000 20,000 $40,000 $164,900 * Includes F.I.C.A., sick leave, insurance, etc. **After a definitive work plan for "planning" has been delivered |