Another Geodesic Dome

On our way to Craig Woolheater's 2005 Bigfoot conference in Jefferson Texas, Dana and I stopped in Roswell NM. Obviously the big tourist draw there is the UFO museum. But just down the street is a museum dedicated to rocket pioneer Robert Goddard. Next to the museum is the Goddard planetarium. We didn't have time to wait around until the next planetarium presentation, but we were able to take in the museum. I highly recommend it.

Buckminster Fuller did not invent the geodesic dome, though clearly he deserves credit for bringing the design to fruition. That honor in fact goes to an astronomer, Walter Bauersfeld, who simultaneously built the first planetarium! http://www.telacommunications.com/geodome.htm

I've visited museums all around the world, and I say this without reservation; the Goddard museum in Roswell NM was one of the very best. As a welder, I was particularly struck by all the brazed joints on the tubing necessary in a liquid fuel rocket. Not only did the museum display the various rocket components, but the tools used to produce them as well. Goddard's was a profound accomplishment, and the display moved me almost to tears.

So when in Roswell, visit the UFO museum first. I particularly liked the octahedral geometry of the Mogul reflector. Buy your green vinyl inflatable alien. Then get serious and go down the street to the Goddard museum.