NAVIGATING WITH LEWIS AND CLARK: How did they know where they were, when they were in the middle of nowhere?

By Eileen M. Starr, Valley City State University

The celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition up the Missouri River and across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean has already begun. The "Navigating with Lewis and Clark" planetarium presentation combines a travelogue of the exploration by the Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River and across the mountains, with the astronomy used by these two great explorers, as written in their journals. The "Navigating with Lewis and Clark" planetarium presentation will be available in autumn, 2000.

Mom and Child: This statue of Sacajawea (or Sakakawea in North Dakota) is located in front of the Heritage Center, on the Capital grounds, Bismarck, ND.

Lewis and Clark described their locations in two ways. Lewis used the position of the sun and other celestial objects to determine their latitude and longitude. Clark was an expert in dead reckoning; an estimation of where they were based on the distance and direction traveled. Clark was also the mapmaker. By reading the journals, studying the maps, and using their measurements of latitude and longitude, one can follow their route.

Equal altitudes: The method used by Lewis and Clark to establish their latitude and longitude at Three Forks, MT.

"Navigating with Lewis and Clark" was written, produced, and uses photographs taken by Valley City State University's Planetarium Director, Dr. Eileen Starr. She and her husband have spent the last five years following the Lewis and Clark trail between St. Louis and the Oregon coast.

David Swenson of Makoche Recording Company of Bismarck, ND created the sound design and final audiotape. The background music is taken from two Makoche-produced CD's: Lewis and Clark: Sounds of Discovery, and People of the Willows. A copy of both CD's (or audio tapes if you prefer) will accompany the show package. This music was recorded on location at sites along the Missouri, and is authentic period music. The background music is a variety of violin, percussion, hand drum, tin whistle, wooden flute, and voice, blended into a unique sound experience.

Slant: The On-A-Slant Indian villages are located on the Missouri just south of Mandan, ND.

Whale: Statue of the whale visited by Lewis in Clark at Ecola Creek, Cannon Beach, OR.

The Missouri as seen from Brocton, Montana.

The program package will contain 220 slides mounted in holders. Forty of those slides are map slides that retrace the Lewis and Clark route. Copies of the Kodalith slides are included, but actual Kodalith slides not provided. For those who wish to make their own Kodaliths, black-on-white paper copies of all diagrams and maps are included.

A thunderstorm viewed from along the Jefferson River in Montana.

A black/white nine-slides-per-page PowerPoint "handout" of the slides is included for easy slide identification. The show narration, which runs 29:30 minutes, is available on audiotape or CD. With pre and post show music, the tape is 37 minutes.

Lolo Creek, the location of the Lewis and Clark camp on the east side of the Rocky Mountains called "Traveler's Rest".

The script shows the placement of the slides within four slide projectors, although the program can be modified to fit each planetarium installation.

The rapids encountered by Lewis and Clark on the Columbia at The Dalles as the river makes its way through the Cascade Mountains.

Ft. Clatsop, the winter 1805-06 camp of Lewis and Clark near the mouth of the Columbia.

The Missouri from Onawa, Iowa.

Lewis and Clark used two of these vessels, called pirogues, to make their way up the Missouri.
The Gallatin river in Three Forks, Montana, which combined with two other tributaries to form the Missouri.
Map of the return route of Lewis and Clark

Cost of a program package will be $579 (US funds). VISA and MasterCard are accepted.

For more information, contact Eileen Starr, Valley City State University, Valley City, North Dakota, 58072. Telephone (701) 845-7522.

TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Slant: The On-A-Slant Indian villages are located on the Missouri just south of Mandan, ND.
	Whale: Statue of the whale visited by Lewis in Clark at Ecola Creek, Cannon Beach, OR.
	The Missouri as seen from Brocton, Montana. The program package will contain 220 slides mounted in holders. Forty of those slides are map slides that retrace the Lewis and Clark route. Copies of the Kodalith slides are included, but actual Kodalith slides not provided. For those who wish to make their own Kodaliths, black-on-white paper copies of all diagrams and maps are included.
	A thunderstorm viewed from along the Jefferson River in Montana. A black/white nine-slides-per-page PowerPoint "handout" of the slides is included for easy slide identification. The show narration, which runs 29:30 minutes, is available on audiotape or CD. With pre and post show music, the tape is 37 minutes.
	Lolo Creek, the location of the Lewis and Clark camp on the east side of the Rocky Mountains called "Traveler's Rest". The script shows the placement of the slides within four slide projectors, although the program can be modified to fit each planetarium installation.
	The rapids encountered by Lewis and Clark on the Columbia at The Dalles as the river makes its way through the Cascade Mountains.
	Ft. Clatsop, the winter 1805-06 camp of Lewis and Clark near the mouth of the Columbia.
	The Missouri from Onawa, Iowa.
	Lewis and Clark used two of these vessels, called pirogues, to make their way up the Missouri.
	The Gallatin river in Three Forks, Montana, which combined with two other tributaries to form the Missouri.
	Map of the return route of Lewis and Clark
	Cost of a program package will be $579 (US funds). VISA and MasterCard are accepted. For more information, contact Eileen Starr, Valley City State University, Valley City, North Dakota, 58072. Telephone (701) 845-7522.