Executive Summary
True North Pavilion is a proposal for a permanent outdoor science exhibit built around a large, working magnetic compass. The centerpiece is a circular compass card - initially planned at about 36 inches across, with room to grow after the first prototypes are tested - rotating freely on a low-friction bearing and pointing using nothing but the Earth's own magnetic field.
The compass is housed above visitor reach inside a protected pavilion. Visitors walk underneath and look up to see it turn. The roof shields the instrument from weather and doubles as a mount for solar panels, with an enclosed attic space above holding the battery, charge controller, electronics, and sensors.
The long-term goal isn't just a very large compass - it's a working scientific station that demonstrates Earth's magnetic field, lets visitors run a simple experiment, and gives students a long-term source of real data to work from.
The Idea
The concept is deliberately simple: build a large magnetic compass that actually works, put it high enough that people can't reach it, protect it inside an attractive park pavilion, and let people stand below and look up. A visitor doesn't need to operate a touch screen or read a paragraph of text before the exhibit becomes interesting - the compass is visibly doing something on its own, which opens the door to the obvious next question: why does it do that? That question leads naturally into Earth's magnetic field, navigation, geography, physics, and engineering.
The Visitor Experience
The pavilion is meant to feel more like a small outdoor observatory than a piece of playground equipment. A visitor enters the viewing area and looks upward at the compass through a protected chamber, its face marked with cardinal and intercardinal directions and degree markings. A small display could show the current heading, magnetic vs. true north, local magnetic declination, and basic solar/battery status - but the display is secondary. The instrument overhead is the real attraction.
Why This Makes a Strong STEM Project
The project's biggest advantage over a typical classroom exercise is that the finished piece stays in the community after the class ends. It also isn't a single-subject project - it naturally spans physics (magnetic fields, torque, friction, damping), math (angles, bearings, scale), mechanical engineering (the compass card, bearing, and support structure), electrical engineering (solar, batteries, sensors), computer science (logging and displaying heading data), CAD/fabrication, and even art and communication for the signage and public-facing design. That range makes it suitable for a single classroom, a full STEM program, or several schools collaborating together.
A Staged Build
The proposal lays out a phased student development plan rather than jumping straight to a finished installation. Phase 1 (Discover) has students working with ordinary compasses to learn how magnetism and interference actually behave. Phase 2 (Prototype) moves through a progression of larger builds - roughly 6-12", 18-24", then 30-36" - measuring bearing friction, response time, overshoot, and settling behavior at each size before scaling further. The goal at every stage is to learn what makes a large compass work, not to produce a polished prototype right away.
Status
This is a preliminary concept proposal, written to be shared with schools, STEM programs, parks departments, and potential engineering or sponsor partners. It hasn't broken ground yet - the two documents below cover the full proposal and the accompanying technical notes for anyone evaluating it as a partnership or classroom project.