SPRINGFIELD, MO — Friends of the Garden and the Springfield Greene-County Park Board dedicate the new Gingko Mosaic Human Sundial Saturday, Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m., at Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave. 

The interactive art installation is located on the Drummond Peninsula on the south side of Drummond Lake, accessible by a paved trail connecting to the bridge over the lake’s spillway. Guests should park near the Rose Garden, on the park’s southwest corner. Golf cart shuttle service to the site begins at 10 a.m., with pickup at the Rose Garden. 

While sundials are a common garden feature, this human sundial is the first of its kind in a Springfield park. The sundial is installed as a flat mosaic in a small plaza of concrete. To use it, a person of any height stands in the middle and raises their arms over their head, acting as a gnomon. On a sunny day, their shadow cast upon the sundial indicates the time. The place where they stand varies based on the month, and the sundial includes both standard and daylight saving time.

Using plans provided by SunClocks North America, Springfield artist Christine Schilling designed the sundial mosaic, incorporating it into a ginkgo tree leaf motif. As one of the oldest tree species on Earth, ginkgos symbolize resilience and hope. Schilling and a number of volunteers installed the mosaic over the summer, gluing hundreds of pieces of glass and tile to a mesh, then embedding them into wet concrete.

“The Ginkgo Mosaic Sundial was big fun to design, so I included all my favorite things,” said Schilling. “Not just an elegant timepiece, it is also a compass rose, and it’s full of number games, color symbols, counting patterns and hidden design jokes.”

This project was made possible through a generous donation from Drs. George and Katie Hope Heinz.   

“We have always been fascinated with the measurement of time,” said Dr. George Heinz. “Our house has a large collection of mechanical, digital, binary and modern art clocks. When the Drummond peninsula seemed like a perfect location, we jumped at the chance to sponsor a truly unique timepiece — a botanical mosaic sunclock.”

Saturday’s dedication coincides with the annular eclipse, which reaches maximum viewing at 11:53 a.m. Eclipse viewing activities take place at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center Rooftop Plaza, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

For more information and photos of the Ginkgo Mosaic Human Sundial, visit ParkBoard.org 

For information on how to volunteer at Springfield Botanical Gardens, or to become a project donor, contact Heather Parker, Executive Director of Friends of the Garden, at 417-874-2952 or visit FriendsoftheGarden.org

For media inquiries, contact Heather Parker or Jenny Fillmer Edwards, Public Information Administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, at 417-224-5510 (mobile).

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