The New Longitude Prize

The groups took turns recording each other asking what they wanted the new Longitude prize (worth £10 million) to be for and why. They were given a list and had to choose from:

• Flight - How can we fly without damaging the environment?
• Food - How can we ensure everyone has nutritious sustainable food?
• Antibiotics - How can we prevent the rise of resistance to antibiotics?
• Paralysis - How can we restore movement to those with paralysis?
• Water - How can we ensure everyone has access to safe and clean water?
• Dementia - How can we help people with dementia to live independently for longer?

Filming Outside the Queen's House

The group decided where they wanted to film their interview
 with John Harrison and set up the cameras

Checking the white balance

When interviewing John Harrison we discovered that when he came to London for the first time he met the Astronomer Royal Halley. He was very supportive of Harrison's invention and solution for the Longitude prize. We also learnt that despite creating such an advanced device, that would seem could have only be made by a rich scholar or scientist at the time, Harrison had actually started out his career merely a carpenter.

Harrison did not get on with the new Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne who disregarded his work and in addition, took the H4 which greatly angered him.

After changing locations we were told by Harrison that even the greatest scientist at the time, Isaac Newton, did not believe that the clock would be the solution to finding Longitude. Newton had a stronger belief in the astronomers and thought that calculating Longitude from the stars and moon would more likely be the solution to their problems. 

Longitude Punk'd Exhibition

Matt's group discuss their plan of action for 
filming Lady Shovell in the Longitude Punk'd exhibition

Lady Shovell speaks about her grief due to her husband's death. She read from the consolatory letter that was sent to her by Reverend Gilbert Crockatt of St Paulinus Church in Crayford. We learnt that he was good friends with her husband which was why he had sent her this letter. He had said in the letter; 'the shortest lines are usually the straightest' and 'Nor is a circle less perfect for being small'. She explained that these lines gave her hope that one day lives will no longer be lost at sea, and that sailors will be able to sail the shortest, safest routes because they will finally have awareness of their Longitude. 

Lady Shovell reacted to the relabelling of her husband's portrait and was shocked, she wondered why her husband was remembered like this when he had achieved so much in his lifetime. A line of the caption read "Cloudesley Shovell, renowned collector of sticks."

Later on in the day they interviewed Dr Finch Boyer, curator of the exhibition who explained that the artist responsible for the caption had found Shovell's name so ridiculous that they couldn't take him seriously, thus influencing them when creating this humorous caption.

The other group filmed John Harrison who explained his first pendulum clock H1 which is replicated in the exhibition also featuring a comical label. He spoke about how, even after creating the bimetallic strip that compensated for heat changes, his invention still didn't meet the requirements of the Board of Longitude.