Model of the Earth is Campus Reality
This article describes a relief globe that was constructed byfaculty member H. Daniel Stillwell. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: "Model of the Earth is Campus Reality," The Daily Reflector, April 11, 1964.
A scale model of the earth, a relief globe 5 1-3 feet in diameter, has been constructed and given to East Carolina College by a geography department faculty member, Dr. H. Daniel Stillwell.
The project took about 510 hours' work, spread over more than 18 months. It was completed with a college outlay of only $125 for materials. But a comparable globe market by Rand-McNally, slightly larger and more detailed than Stillwell's, carries a $12,000 price tag.
Stillwell says he knows of few globes on U.S. college campuses. He can pinpoint at least one, a similar model he built for the University of Texas in 1962.
The 150 - pound globe, now mounted in the foyer of East Carolina's Joyner Library,rotates on an inclines axis once every two minutes. There are mirrors beneath so that every area, even the South Pole, can be studied. Nearby placards chronicle the globe's construction story and explain the meaning of its colors.
Stillwell agrees that the model makes an attractive display piece, but the purpose of the large model doesn't stop there. He explains:
"With such a large-scale globe (this one is one eight-millionth actual size), it is possible to show much detail in the surface and water features of land, various types of vegetation, ocean depths, urban areas and other features. Thus, the globe gives a true effect of the earth as viewed from space. That's not possible with a flat map."
Construction of the globe was started in September 1962. First, a hole was dug in Stillwell's backyard and a concrete hemisphere was shaped. Then two fiber glass shells were molded inside the concrete form and reinforced with wooden cross strips. Theshells, only an eight of an inch thick, were bolted together in the map room of the Geography Department with two-inch-wide iron bands, making a perfect sphere. (This was later disassembled for transfer of the globe to the Library.)
The next major problem was that of "reverse cartography," getting data from flat maps to develop onto the curved surface. Twenty-four "gores" much like sections of an orange, were made on tracing paper. [Each] represented 15 degrees around the equator. These were used to transfer and control all data drawn from flat maps to the globe. The entire surface of the Earth was copied to scale by stacking carefully traced and controlled thickness of cardboard -- one layer or each 1,000 feet in elevation from sea level to the mountains. Then a mixture of powdered asbestos and "Weldwood" glue was used to smooth out adjacent layers and build up mountain peaks to a scale 10 times that of the horizontal scale. River valleys and minor fetures were carved in detail.
A color scheme representing vegetation as it appears at the height of the growing season was chosen. For example, needle-leaf evergreen trees are shown in a dark blue-green, grass in a light green; irrigated areas were painted in bright green, deserts in light tan. Urban areas with popualtion over 500,000 are a bright red. Ocean depths were painted in varying shades of blue with an air brush borrowed from the School of Art. Coral atolls, reservoirs, canals, oases, and mountain glaciers are also shown. Thin red tapes indicate the Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and the Polar Circles.
The globe will be used in lecture classes, laboratory exercises, and for display of current events. Stillwell sees in the project "A course of general geographic knowledge in our age of space to many students, regadless of the academic majors.
When the model was ready for its trip to the library foyer, Stillwell enlisted the services of Harold Olsen in the industrial arts department. Together they devised a base mount and motor assembly for the model's permanent installation.
Stillwell joined the East Carolina faculty in August of 1962 after teaching at the University of Texas in Austin and at Eastern Michigan University at Ypsilanti. He earned the Bachelor of Science (1952) and Masters of Forestry (1954) degrees at Duke University. Following studies at Oregon State University, he completed his doctorate in geography at Michigan State University in 1961. A native of New York City, Stillwell is a son of Pauline F. Stillwell. 1227 W. Cornwallis Road, Durham. His brother, Dr. E.F. Stillwell, teaches zoology at East Carolina.
