By Kathy Hermes
With winter comes crisp, cold air and many nights of clear, starry skies. This issue brings you several stories of the skies, from the cosmology of Connecticut’s first people to the smoke-filled skies over Normandy in 1944. Connecticut’s history in the sky blends flights of the imagination with innovative vision. Our photo essay will introduce you to the view from the skies of the landscape below as created by artist Yvonne Jacquette, who grew up in Stamford. From the 17th century to the present day, our telescopes have searched the sky for knowledge of the universe, but our industries have often focused on more earth-bound needs. Our Site Lines feature explains the efforts to preserve an essential part of our aviation history in Stratford.
As a young person, I read every biography of the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart I could get my hands on. I watched the moon landing and the other space missions with interest and awe. A new generation grew up as the Hubble Space Telescope launched into low Earth orbit in 1990. Today, the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, enables us to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble to detect. Scientists at Yale University and the University of Connecticut will use data from Webb, continuing our state’s universities’ integral contributions to astronomy.
Support the Friends of Connecticut Explored
I invite you to support our work at Connecticut Explored Inc. through a gift to the Friends of Connecticut Explored. In addition to publishing four magazine issues each year, Connecticut Explored brings you more stories about Connecticut’s history on our Grating the Nutmeg podcast. Third- and fourth-grade students throughout the state are getting a foundational knowledge of Connecticut history through our book and website, Where I Live: Connecticut, adopted by an increasing number of elementary schools. Venture Smith’s Colonial Connecticut allows fifth- to eighth-graders to explore the world of 18th-century Connecticut through the eyes of an enslaved man who bought his freedom and became a successful entrepreneur. We’re continuing our collaborations with teachers and with other organizations that share the goal of providing rich history to our youth.
We have been given a great opportunity to further those partnerships, thanks to a planning grant from Connecticut Humanities for $25,000 in support of The Spirit of Revolution: The Connecticut Line Explored! Through the grant, Connecticut Explored is creating a non-competitive, online, multiplayer digital simulation on open-source software for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. The Spirit of Revolution will immerse players from Connecticut and beyond in the world of the Revolutionary War as they imagine themselves as part of the Continental Army’s Connecticut Line from 1775 through 1781. Players choose an identity from a mix of diverse characters and make decisions that put the revolution’s fate in their hands. The educational game includes curricula teachers and parents can use to enhance the experience. We will also feature articles about the revolution and the Declaration of Independence in the magazine. The grant requires us to raise matching funds, so this year, you can choose to have your Friends donation help finance this exciting project. If you designate your support for The Spirit of Revolution, you will help us pay for the game’s design and the labor to create the educational materials.
Your regular Friends gift maintains the quality of the magazine’s historical narratives, the beautiful design of its pages, and the Spotlight features that keep you up-to-date with events and exhibits around the state. Please help us continue this work with your gift to the Friends of Connecticut Explored. Donations received by December 31, 2023, will be recognized in the Spring 2024 issue. Please consider contributing $210 in honor of our 21st year!
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Enclosed is my annual gift to Connecticut Explored
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Please return to Connecticut Explored Inc., c/o History Department, CCSU, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050.
To donate online, please visit ctexplored.networkforgood.com/projects/195332-friends-2023. You can apply your online gift to The Spirit of Revolution in a drop-down menu.
