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How We Explore Crystal Series
Voyage Crystal Series 2

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation presented a Voyage exhibition as a gift to the City
of Kansas City, Missouri. The model Sun stanchion is located at the Power & Light Building on Baltimore Avenue. As you head south along Baltimore Ave. you walk to the exhibition's other 14 stanchions, including one for each of the eight planets and for the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris. (Visit the photo-album at the Voyage in Kansas CIty Facebook page.)

As part of their exhibition, the Foundation commissioned an additional Explorers stanchion to be placed in front of Kansas City's historic Union Station, exactly 1 mile (1.6 km) from the model Sun. It marks the location of the farthest human made object - the Voyager 1 spacecraft - on the exhibition's opening day in October 2008. Unlike the exhibition's other stanchions which address what we know about the Solar System, the Explorers stanchion addresses how we have come to know it. It celebrates humanity's ability to reach heavenward, beyond the confines of Earth, and through technologies built on the sweat of generations past, send robots and humans to other worlds and train telescopes into the depths of space.

The story of how we explore is captured in stunning detail in a collage of five 3D images placed within the large crystal block of the Explorers stanchion. From top to bottom, they are: 

•    the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit around Earth, peering into the depths
     of space

•    the Voyager 2 spacecraft flying by Neptune, en route to the stars

•    a Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars

•    the Apollo missions to the Moon

•    the Gemini Observatory atop Mauna Kea exploring the heavens from the surface of Earth


An Explorers Stanchion Image Library:
Explorers Stanchion in front of Union StationExplorers Stanchion with flags.Art layout for Explorers Stanchion crystal.Explorers Stanchion front view. Explorers Stanchion from the side.









In honor of the Explorers stanchion and what it celebrates, we have created a crystal line that reproduces all five collage elements in all their stunning detail. Read about them below.
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Crystal sculpture of the Gemini Observatory atop Mauna Kea, Big Island of Hawai'i
How We Explore, Gemini Observatory, Large 3D Crystal Sculpture
Our Price: $99.99

A stunning crystal sculpture of the Gemini North telescope near the top of 13,800-foot (4,200 meter) Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Shown in exquisite detail are the open observatory dome, the telescope within, and tiny people on the summit to scale. This art was originally commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for inclusion in the Explorers Stanchion of the Voyage model Solar System in Kansas City, Kansas. The Explorers Stanchion is located in front of Kansas City's historic Union Station. One of the largest telescopes on Earth, we chose the Gemini North Observatory as a shining example of how we humans explore a greater universe from the surface of our home world Earth. On behalf of the human race, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK TEAM GEMINI!
The Hubble Space Telescope in low Earth orbit peers into space
How We Explore, Hubble Space Telescope, Large 3D Crystal Sculpture
Our Price: $99.99

In 2010, Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Hubble in Orbit
A national treasure, the Hubble Space Telescope has dramatically altered both the depth and breadth of knowledge concerning our Solar System, our galaxy, and the universe. Its images are breathtaking and humbling, and its accomplishments are known by billions of humans on planet Earth. We should take pride in the human capacity to build such an exquisite instrument of exploration. This art was originally commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for inclusion in the Explorers Stanchion of the Voyage model Solar System in Kansas City, Kansas. The Explorers Stanchion is located in front of Kansas City's historic Union Station. This beautiful crystal sculpture captures HST in low Earth orbit, peering into the depths of space.
Crystal Sculpture replicating historic photograph taken at Apollo 15 Landing Site
How We Explore, Apollo on the Moon, Large 3D Crystal Sculpture
Our Price: $99.99

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Missions to the Moon
Recreated in 3D inside solid crystal, the historic photograph of astronaut James B. Irwin saluting the flag at the Apollo 15 landing site. He is standing near the Lunar Module Falcon, and in the distance, the mountain Hadley Delta is seen rising to a height of 13,000 feet above the lunar surface. The stunning detail of the diorama is evident in the American flag. This art was originally commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for inclusion in the Explorers Stanchion of the Voyage model Solar System in Kansas City, Kansas. The Explorers Stanchion is located in front of Kansas City's historic Union Station.
A Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of the red planet
How We Explore, Rover on Mars, Large 3D Crystal Sculpture
Our Price: $99.99

Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity on Mars
Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed in January 2004 on opposite sides of the planet, with Spirit at Gusev Crater and Opportunity at Meridiani Planum. Their primary mission is to characterize the history of water on the red planet by studying surface rocks and soils. The remarkable science from the rovers has now confirmed Mars' watery past. As of November 2009, the rovers continue to operate on Mars, more than 5 years after landing in 2004, and nearly 20 times(!) longer than their planned operational lifetime of 90 Martian days. This art was originally commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for inclusion in the Explorers Stanchion of the Voyage model Solar System in Kansas City, Kansas. The Explorers Stanchion is located in front of Kansas City's historic Union Station.
The Voyage 2 spacecraft flying by Neptune in 1989
How We Explore, Voyager 2 at Neptune, Large 3D Crystal Sculpture
Our Price: $99.99

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Voyager 2 Flyby of Neptune in 1989
A stunning crystal sculpture capturing the intricate detail of the Voyager spacecraft with its high-gain antenna dish, magnetometer boom, camera platform, nuclear generator boom, and radio astronomy antenna. Looming in the background is Neptune, with cloud features as imaged by Voyager 2. Neptune's delicate ring system all but disappears when viewed through the crystal edge-on. This art was originally commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for inclusion in the Explorers Stanchion of the Voyage model Solar System in Kansas City, Kansas. The Explorers Stanchion is located in front of Kansas City's historic Union Station.