Carl Sagan holds a special place in my heart. He advocated science and mastered at taking complex ideas and breaking them down into accessible knowledge that everyone could understand. Sagan’s influence on many was, and is, still profound. Due to a donation by Seth MacFarlane, there is now a Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan collection at the Library of Congress.
You’ll want to set aside some time to browse, because you’ll find everything from home movies of Sagan as a child …
… to the second draft of Pale Blue Dot.
The Seth MacFarlane collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan archive includes three primary sections:
- Models of the cosmos throughout history
- History of the possibility of life on other worlds
- Carl Sagan’s life and contributions to science and society
The summary on the collection search page says “Astronomer, author, and educator (Carl Sagan). Author and television producer (Ann Druyan). Correspondence, memoranda, scripts, notes, subject files, course files, articles, book drafts and resource material, reports, organization files, biographical material, clippings, printed matter, slides and transparencies, photographs and negatives, electronic files, and other material documenting Sagan’s career as a scientist and educator and the collaboration of Sagan and Druyan on articles, books, television shows, movies, and other projects.”
I’m going to need to set aside a weekend to do nothing but take it all in. =)
Finding Our Place in the Cosmos: From Galileo to Sagan and Beyond via Boing Boing
