THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE WATER TANKS THAT ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE URBAN AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES ARE EXTREMELY BORING AND UNINTERESTING. That is not the case in the town of Germantown in Maryland. There, a tank with a diameter of one hundred feet and a capacity of two million gallons of water is painted to make it appear as though it is the Earth as seen from orbit. The painting encompasses the entire spherical surface of the tank, which is green for the continents, blue for the oceans, and white for the wispy clouds. Learn more
In 1980, the students who were enrolled at the Montgomery College Germantown campus were tasked with the creation of a water tank that was situated on the boundaries of their university. The students ultimately agreed, through a process of voting, that the circular tank ought to be fashioned in a manner that resembles the Blue Marble. The term “Earthoid” was used to refer to it.
Peter Freudenberg, an artist with previous experience working on projects that were also spherical in character, was given the responsibility of painting the scale model globe by the educational institution. He used an image of a globe that was published in National Geographic as well as satellite photos that were produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a point of reference. Next blog post
The gigantic Mother Earth artwork was eventually created after a delay of two months’ worth of time. Since that time, the Earthoid has received a new coat of paint, but it is still standing today and continues to serve as an influential symbol for the protection of the environment each year on Earth Day.
