Mossberg Supports Solargraph Outreach

It's solargraph season as the December solstice approaches. Supporting public outreach, Mossberg & Company Inc. of South Bend, IN, has donated 16-ounce aluminum cans for making the pinhole cameras. Many of the donated cans are being used by 7-8th grade students who are studying the sun and sustainability.

I maintain if we want solar energy to be an integral part of our sustainable energy mix, then people need to be familiar with and informed about the sun. A solargraph allows participants to collect their own data on the sun's shine rather than having an unknown person foist data on them. The solargraph is one's personal record of the solar arc through the course of the seasons.

By starting to "expose" the black and white photographic paper at the December solstice you can get the full range of the sun's path if you continue through the June solstice. The students who are loading their respective solargraph cans with black and white photographic paper anticipate a Dec. 21 start to their exposures. Meanwhile, a can filled with Sunprint paper is doing a sample one-week exposure from a classroom window.