SMITHSONIAN GETS POWER-OF-TEN 
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 John Pazmino
 NYSkies Astronomy Inc 
 www.nyskies.org 
 nyskies@nyskies.org
 1991 December 1initial
 2020 December 21 current

    The Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, now exhibits a Power- 
of-Ten model created by AAAer George Awad. Mr Awad built the model at 
his atelier in the Garment District. He has many designs of Power-of- 
Ten offered to schools, observatories, museums, and even individuals. 
They are built to order and are each a handcrafted work of true art. 
    The Smithsonian specimen is a suite of 28 bays, each holding a 
diorama of a segment of the universe. The bays are 3 meters tall and 
together span 13 meters along a wall. The scene in each is scaled 
tenfold from its adjacent ones and the viewer, in passing by each in 
turn, walks from a scene of two ordinary lifesize books to a 
grandstand panorama of our entire universe -- with possible other 
universes around it. 
    The scenes are fashioned from wood, metal, plastic, wire, and 
fiber optics, rendering them dropdead real. A caption board in front 
of each scene explains it and the viewer may highlight the scene by 
pressing buttons on the caption board. 
    Mr Awad's own team of model-builders assembled this work, in the 
course of normal assignment. AAA's Eileen Thomas served as astronomy 
consultant for Awad, to collect, interpret, and organize the facts and 
figures embodied in the model. 
    The Power-of-Ten was shipped to Smithsonian in mid November [1991] 
and mounted in the Experimental Gallery. This is a showcase hall at 
the "Castle", headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution, for unique, 
innovative, and seminal exhibits. The public, Smithsonian, and other 
museums study the displays for possible permanent residency. 
    This particular work is under evaluation for the National Air & 
Space Museum, which already is graced by an Awad ensemble of planets 
showing their relative sizes. 
    Formal opening ceremony was on Tuesday 26 November [1991], with a 
delegation from the Association, that ended up being just myself. Two 
others called off the honor. 
    I arrived in Washington by train I late afternoon and checked into 
a hotel provided by Awad. It was on the north side of the Mall, near 
Union Station.
    I walked to the Castle, crossing the Mall in dusk. The Pinatubo 
dust-deck  colored the twilight a bluish red. As a backdrop for the 
Washington Monument it presented a scene from a painting. 
    After the show I stayed overnight at the hotel, took breakfast, got 
my train for home in the morning. 
    The Power-of-Ten will stand thru 
December and January. Inquiries are received at Awad Astronomical 
Models, 260 West 36th Street, New York NY 10036; 212-563-5480.