Re: Target: Time Machine

[Jon Noble <jon_p_noble@YAHOO.COM>]

Well, we're certainly into time travel this week

--- Dawn Sardes <Dmsardes@AOL.COM> wrote:
> Happy New School Year to All,
>
> A teacher at a school here has given the assignment
> that students must
> acquire a picture of a time machine.  However, they
> must not use the HG Wells
> book.
>
> Can anyone :
>
> 1. explain what educational validity this assignment
> has  (if my daughter
> came home with it, I'd send her in with a picture of
> a clock),  I mean, what
> could the goals of this unit be (besides to
> frustrate the students),
>
It will keep the parents busy. My daughters, back many years ago when
in Primary School (in Oz 3-6) were always given such tasks as homework.
A list of questions each week that only parents (and well educated
parents with access to good reference resources at that) could answer.
I suppose we went along with it all by answering it for them - and they
then shared the answers with their friends so the teachers doubtless
thought that the questions weren't too dificult for 11 year olds.

> 2.  tell me whether the teacher understands that
> such a device does not in
> actuality exist, so why would one artist's
> conceptualization be less valid
> than another's,
>
Time machines are in theory possible. John Gribbin describes one in
"Spacewarps" (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1984). All one needs is a massive
rotating object. A cylinder a few hundred million kilometers in radius
rotating at 90% the speed of light might do the trick - now there would
be a class project! I suspect more recent books may have other
suggestions.

> 3.  explain why the teacher is not having the kids
> create their own time
> machines,
>
... well as I was saying, the kids will have to collect an awfull lot
of toilet rolls to make a cylinder 300 million km. in radius

> 4. lead me to non-Wellsian images of time machines?
>
The best known (at least in Australia) is Dr Who's Tardis. Books of
illustrations from old science fiction magazines of the '30s through
'60s will have them but even local public libraries are unlikely to
have many of these. There are some nice illustrated histories of
science fiction around that will probably have at least one picture
somewhere.

> Several of these kids aren't even aware that a time
> machine does not really
> exist.  They're asking for pictures of "real" ones.
>
As you suggested - a clock is a "real time machine"

On a completely different subject. There was a reference to The African
Queen here the other day. This has also been discussed on the Stumpers
L list where they where trying to find the current owner of the actual
boat used in the movie. It is running tours in Florida - at Key Largo!

Jon Noble
Teacher Librarian
Glendale High School
Glendale, NSw, Australia
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