September’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Lynne Rowe to create a city-sized scale model of the solar system.

“A location would be found where a mural of the sun can be painted,” Lynne explains. “The size of this sun will determine the scale for the model, from which the orbits of each planet and the size of each planet can be calculated. Locations along each orbit will be investigated to see if any businesses on the orbit are interested in having a model planet on their site — so a store on Venus' orbit would have a scale model of Venus in their store, for example.”

Lynne hopes that the project will engage local artists and scientists interested in building the models and local businesses interested in hosting the planets. “Schools could have field trips touring the solar system,” adds Lynne, “giving students a better grasp of the relative sizes and distances of the planets.”

Lynne is a science and nature enthusiast, with a background in physics and education. They currently run the Constance Creek Wildlife Refuge and work as a data analyst at a community health centre.