This unique part of the Stanford campus is well-worth exploring. It was designed and created in 1994 in collaboration with New Guinea artists, the brainchild of a graduate student in Anthropology at Stanford. The carvings were made onsite from wood transported from New Guinea and volcanic rock from eastern California. The garden is open 24 hours a day and lit at night for maximum dramatic effect. You can read more about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea_Sculpture_Garden. Also in the garden is a bench in tribute to Professor Stephen Schneider, a researcher, modeler, and outspoken advocate of the deleterious effects of anthropogenic climate change. Interestingly he first came to a very different conclusion and published a paper which he later retracted and updated with additional models, showing first-hand how science is understood and determined in real time. You can read more about him at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Schneider.
Your tasks to determine the final position of the hidden cache are to:
- Find the artists’ rendition of The Thinker*. How many reinterpretations of Rodin’s works are on display in this sculpture garden? That number will be A in the coordinates below.
- Find the plaque describing the Spirit Houses in the central part of the garden. How many letters are in the name of the mythical woman depicted who was saved by a crocodile while marooned on a lake? That number will be B.
- Find the Stephen Schneider memorial bench. What are the last two digits of the year that he died? That will be C.
- Note the words engraved in the top of the bench. D will be the number of letters minus 7.
The final coordinates are:
N37 A5.51D W122 10.B5C
Left a shiny green (? malachite) stone for the FTF. :)
Parking on the Stanford campus is heavily restricted 8am-4pm M-F. On Weekends and after 4pm on weekdays, parking is generally free. Pay parking is available at the Tresidder Parking lot on Mayfield Ave and at the underground Roble Field Garage on Via Ortega.
* If you have time and interest, one of the official castings of Rodin’s The Thinker is on display in the Cantor Arts Center just a short distance away. The museum is open daily at 11am and is free to the public.