DIY Golden Record
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Helllooooo! Today we’re sharing a special activity inspired by DrawTogether’s collaboration with NASA. Kids at home get to do the exact same lesson that kids used to create their drawings for the First Kids Art Show in Space. But first, let’s do a quick dive into the inspiration for the historic DTxNASA Collaboration. It’s more than just pretty pictures!
Pioneer Plaque, Golden Record, and YOU
Years ago, astronomer, cosmologist and author Carl Sagan looked up at the stars and wondered: who else is out there? What would we want to tell them about our planet and the creatures on it? And how we could communicate those messages with our galactic neighbors?
In 1972, NASA launched the spaceship Pioneer 10 to study our solar system and beyond. Bolted to the ship was the Pioneer Plaque, a very special metal plate created by Carl Sagan and friends containing drawings and symbols that told a story: it showed where the in the universe Pioneer 10 came from and an image who made it. A drawing of humans, saying hello. The Pioneer Plaque was the first “galactic greeting card” for any space neighbors who might stumble across it.
Soon after, Carl Sagan and friends created The Golden Record.
The Golden Record was similar to the Pioneer Plaque, but contained a much fuller celebration and communication of the diversity of life and culture on earth: 115 images, greetings in 55 languages, and a selection of sounds from around the world. (You can listen to/read about all the contents here.) Like the Pioneer Plaque, the surface of the Golden Record was covered with drawings, diagrams and symbols that illustrate where the spaceship carrying it came from - and this time, instructions on how to play the record. (Drawings can be so many things, but in essence they are always about communication.)
The Golden Record was launched into space in 1977 aboard the Voyager spaceship.
Both the Pioneer Plaques and the Golden Records are still traveling through space today, ready for someone far, far away to discover them.
Today, DrawTogether x NASA are continuing the cosmic conversation.