From left, a poster showing the three North Adams High School alumni photos and one West Union High School alumnus incorporated in the sculpture, Ms. Olga Cruz Zelaya, and the “Accelerate Your Mind” poster that holds an additional 86 photos taken by Ms. Cruz Zelaya. At the top of the photo is the four-panel glass sculpture honoring Einstein and his groundbreaking ideas.
Submitted News
The unique glass sculpture known as “A New World View” recently found a new home in the Clyde W. Clark Planetarium at Shawnee State University (SSU) in Portsmouth, Ohio.
1905 was a remarkable year for Albert Einstein: the year he developed the theory of special relativity, explained the photoelectric effect, studied the physics of light, and revealed the relation between mass and energy (E-mc2) that made the atomic bomb possible.
To celebrate the centennial of Einstein’s great ideas, a special glass sculpture entitled “A New World View” was commissioned by the American Physical Society (APS) and formed by the Washington Glass Studio. Working with scientists, educators, and students from around the nation, the Washington Glass Studio artists created a cast glass series of panels to integrate imagery and symbols based on Albert Einstein’s life and theories.
As part of the art project, the World Year of Physics team collected over 300 pictures of children from families around the country. From these images, a number were chosen to be incorporated into the cast glass artwork.
North Adams High School Spanish Language teacher, Olga Cruz Zelaya, had four of her photos chosen for inclusion in the sculpture honoring Einstein. 86 additional photos taken by Ms. Cruz Zelaya were used in the creation of a poster entitled “Accelerate Your Mind” that was sent to educational institutions across the nation.
Future students and their parents who visit SSU’s Clyde W. Clark Planetarium will hopefully feel a familiarity as they gaze upward at the special glass sculpture honoring Einstein: a reminder that our students have something valuable to offer in the conversation that is science and future scientific progress.
