XLIII Scientific Instrument Symposium - SIC 2024

Many of our community acknowledge Jim's broad and lasting legacy in the field of instrument studies and museums and beyond. On the occasion of the 43rd Symposium of the SIC in Ottawa, 16-22 Sept 2024, we would like to invite you to share your remembrances. For this we are imagining a hybrid session with contributions mainly by former students or collaborators of Jim's, of about 5 to 10 minutes – ideally combining a personal reminiscence with a reflection or specific example showing where Jim’s own studies or his methodology continue to influence your own work.

1. An acrobatic appreciation
Richard Dunn (Science Museum, London), Ph.D. (1992)

2. Remembering Jim: the particular and the universal
Stephen Johnston (History of Science Museum, Oxford), Ph.D. (1994)

3. An object is worth a thousand words: an editor’s take on instruments and texts
Hester Higton (Academic Editing, Durham), Ph.D. (1996)

4. Encounters around objects: History of science, museums, and beyond
Pedro Raposo The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia/PA), Ph.D. (2010)

5. From Oxford to Yale: Teaching, displaying, and researching instruments
Alexi Baker & Paola Bertucci (Yale University, New Haven/CT), MSc. (1997/2004)

6. From Museums to Marx
Jessica Ratcliff (Cornell University, Cornell/NY), MSc.

7. "I asked Jim to teach me about objects and instead got a lesson in how to be a curator."
Kristen Frederick-Frost (Smithsonian Institution, Washington/DC)

The session is organized by Samuel Gessner (Lisbon) and Michael Korey (Dresden).

To join the session remotely, please use the link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-qEpR4BMTmSBNF8g4fsdnA

Le français suit l’anglais

Transportation provided by conference. At 4pm, the buses will return to Les Suites, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn and Canada Science and Technology Museum. For those who wish depart from Aviation Museum, you can bring luggage on the bus and leave it at the museum.

As part of the official program on Friday afternoon, there is a special tour of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum (CASM) (bus transportation is provided). Our conservation team is leading this tour with a focus on 20thcentury instruments, materials and preservation challenges. This will also be a good chance to see our Convair 580 aircraft that we collected as a large assemblage of scientific instruments used for remote sensing around the world.

1pm departure from Canada Science and Technology Museum

1:20pm arrival to CASM main building

1:20 to 2:30 pm - a hands-on instrumentation tour of CASM aircraft on display

2:30 -3:00 pm. Convair 580 remote sensing aircraft and instruments

3:00 - 3:30 pm Project North Star Tour

3:30-4:00 pm 195 hangar tour of new acquisitions

Dans le cadre du programme officiel, une visite spéciale du Musée de l’aviation et de l’espace du Canada (MAEC) est prévue le vendredi après-midi (le transport en autobus sera fourni). Notre équipe de conservation dirigera la visite, et mettra l’accent sur les instruments, les matériaux et les défis de préservation du XXe siècle. Ce sera également une belle occasion de voir le Convair 580, un avion que nous considérons comme un véritable ensemble d’instruments scientifiques utilisés pour la télédétection partout dans le monde.

Arrivée à 13 h au bâtiment principal du CASM

13 h 15 à 14 h 30 - visite pratique de l'instrumentation des avions du CASM exposés

14 h 30 à 15 h. Avion de télédétection Convair 580 et instruments

15 h 00 à 15 h 30 Visite du projet North Star

15 h 30 à 16 h 00 Visite du hangar 195 des nouvelles acquisitions

This tour is an extra offering. Participants are asked to travel to the below address via car, taxi, Uber or public transit.

Dominion Observatory (Map) 1 Observatory Crescent, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6

The outdoor tour will start at 1:30pm on the grounds of the Dominion Observatory (closed since 1970), where Sharon Odell will give a history of the site and activities therein.

La visite commencera plutôt sur les terrains de l’Observatoire fédéral  (fermé depuis 1970), où Sharon Odell expliquera l’histoire de l’établissement et les activités qui s’y sont déroulées au fil du temps.

Parking. For those who choose to drive, there will be free parking at the Observatory site.