A short story, a lighted crescent moon sculpture, and a 50th anniversary.

There is a pole affixed with a lighted crescent moon sculpture located on the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus adjacent to the Paleomagnetism Lab. It has been there since 1973, and its reason for being is rather unique in that is connects to NASA and the Apollo lunar space missions of 1969.

Erindale College, now known as the University of Toronto Mississauga, first opened in 1967. In 1969 Professor David Strangway organized for a small lunar rock and a sample of “moon dust” to be studied and exhibited at the college. The samples had been collected from the moon’s surface during the Apollo space missions. It was the first public showing of moon samples in Canada and they were on display on October 11-12, 1969 in the original North Building of the campus. The samples were then relocated to the newly constructed Physical Properties Laboratory, now Paleomagnetism Lab on Principal’s Road, for geological research.

From the Toronto Daily Star - Aug 20, 1969

Professor Strangway, who in addition to the being the Chair of the Geology Department, also served as the lead scientist at the physics branch at NASA. Professor Strangway led a team of scientists who studied the properties of the lunar samples to determine whether or not the moon once had a magnetic field, as well as a thorough mineral and composite analysis. Several illustrated lectures in support of the lunar study were given at the college in the fall of 1969. Erindale College was chosen as the testing location due to it isolation from interference from subways, streetcars, traffic and other electromagnetic sources.

From the Toronto Daily Star - Oct 6, 1969

In 1973, with the opening of the new South Building (now the William G. Davis building) on campus, the lunar samples were once again exhibited, and the open house saw thousands of people come to see the moon rock and thimble of lunar dust on Sunday, October 14.

In 1973 Principal J. Tuzo Wilson commemorated the moon rock study, a first of its kind in Canada, by formally unveiling the crescent moon light outside of the Paleomagnetism Lab. The light, along with an explanatory plaque, remains there today – 50 years later.

For more on this story please see: https://alumni.utoronto.ca/news-and-stories/news-and-articles/suitcase-full-moon-rocks-when-u-ts-david-strangway-brought-piece