Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium - St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Posted by: Vermontish
N 44° 25.212 W 072° 01.198
18T E 737230 N 4922865
An industrialist's gift to the community
Waymark Code: WMC7ZP
Location: Vermont, United States
Date Posted: 08/06/2011
Views: 6
Thaddeus Fairbanks patented the first platform scale in 1830, allowing heavy objects to be weighed accurately for the first time. The company he founded with his brother carries on the name, still manufacturing scales in this northeast Vermont town.
Thaddeus' son, Franklin, founded the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium in 1889, donating his personal collection of natural science specimens and related artifacts.
Home of the Eye on The Sky meteorology center, which provides weather forecasts and features to ">Vermont Public Radio.