86 results for: Aerospace
Two (2) Mars Dial prototypes from the Bill Nye collection, 1998
In 1998, Bill Nye (b. 1955) convinced NASA to add a sundial to their future Martian rover. Nye asked University of Washington astronomer Woody Sullivan and machinist Larry Stark to work with Nye's alma mater Cornell University to design and build the first extraterrestrial sundial, dubbed the "MarsDial," for two NASA rovers that landed on Mars in January 2004. The…
ID Number:2024.39.41
Date:Circa 1990
Blue shop coat modified and worn by Bill Nye, 1980s
Bill Nye (b. 1955) grew up in Washington D.C. and studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University. He moved to Seattle to work for Boeing and later Sundstrand Data Control and other local companies. As an engineer, he needed practical and protective clothing when he would visit the shop and work hands-on with the machinery. This is one of the shop…
ID Number:2024.39.Ref01
Date:Circa 1980
Inclinometer "trophy" from Sundstrand, 1980s
Bill Nye (b. 1955) moved to Seattle in 1977 to work as an engineer, first at Boeing and later for Sundstrand Data Control in Redmond. Sundstrand built parts for the aircraft industry, as well as other kinds of industrial gear drives, pumps, and compressors. While working for Sundstrand, Nye was also exploring stand-up comedy and had some guest appearances on…
ID Number:2024.39.Ref05
Date:Circa 1980-1989
SPEEA strike sign, " No Nerds, No Birds," 2000
On February 9, 2000, more than 17,000 engineers and technicians from the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) walked out of Boeing plants across the country. Organized in 1946, SPEEA is an affiliated local union of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), AFL-CIO, and this was the first major strike for the engineers' organization. After…
ID Number:2025.SPEEA.1
Date:2000
SPEEA strike sign, 2000
On February 9, 2000, more than 17,000 engineers and technicians from the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) walked out of Boeing plants across the country. Organized in 1946, SPEEA is an affiliated local union of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), AFL-CIO, and this was the first major strike for the engineers' organization. After…
ID Number:2025.SPEEA.2
Date:2000
Thacher's calculating instrument (cylindrical slide rule) by Keuffel & Esser, 1881
Edwin Thacher, a civil engineer, invented this device in 1881. It is a mechanical cylindrical slide rule designed for rapid and accurate calculations, particularly for engineers and architects. The inner cylinder slides and rotates freely inside the outer cage-like cylinder. The measurements and scales are more accurate than standard slide rules, and the metal construction protects it from moisture and…
ID Number:2026.5.1
Date:1881