Museum of the Moon - by Doncaster conversation club

It’s 9 months since I visited the moon in Doncaster Minster – and I still have very vivid picture in my mind of the moon hanging centrally in the church tower with so many people coming inside on a raw November night, to gaze up at it.

Children all over the world will surely have been shown the moon at some time by an adult and told stories or poems – or facts – about the moon. Different stories and myths in different cultures – but seeing it close up seemed to bring those individual memories back for all of us – drawing us all together.

Julia Burn

Have you ever stopped to look at the moon – I mean really look at the moon? Not just a quick glance but emptying your mind and reflecting on what it is. What keeps it hanging in the sky? What are the shadows on the surface? What makes it shine so bright? Is it really spherical? How far away is it when at times it looks close enough to touch? 

Have you ever tried to complete the circle of a crescent moon in your mind and to imagine the unlit parts? Have you wondered that the light of a full moon is purely reflected light from the sun? What does the dark side of the moon look like?

The 'Moon in the Minster' answered some of these questions but did not for a moment take away the mystery of the moon. Suspended as if floating under the tower hanging like the full moon in a clear sky one could see close up the details.

I am involved with many people from the majority world who have come from equatorial areas with clearer skies and less light pollution than the UK. The moon plays a much more significant part in their life and culture, often being their only source of light at night. They were clearly moved by the 'Moon in the Minster'; perhaps it brought back memories of home.

Apart from emphasising the wonders of the moon itself the sculpture is a superb melding of art, creativity, technology and science - a great achievement in itself.

Nic Burn