Wilton Reads: Making the Dirt Fly: Building the Panama Canal (In-Person & Zoom)

Join Wilton Library for a fascinating Wilton Reads presentation, “Making the Dirt Fly: Building the Panama Canal,” on May 1, when Eric Ward from the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology, will discuss the massive construction project of excavating 238,845,587 cubic yards of material, damning the Chagres River, dealing with devastating landslides, and building six massive two-channel locks. He will also explore current issues facing the Canal due to changing climate.

Designated as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World and a Monument of the Millennium” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Panama Canal, which opened on August 15, 1914, shortened the distance for ocean-going freight and passengers traveling between the U.S. east and west coasts by over 8,000 miles.

Ward is Vice President for Public Programs at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has curated exhibitions on topics ranging from the science of CSI and natural disasters to a history of bird field guides, the Panama Canal, and the science of Project Apollo. Ward’s exhibition on the Panama Canal, titled The Land Divided, The World United, featured material from the Library’s A.B. Nichols Collection. Nichols, Office Engineer during the Canal’s construction, amassed a collection of photographs, blueprints and schematics, maps, letters, drawings, and other items throughout his 10-year tenure at the Canal.

Ward will conduct his presentation via Zoom from his library office in Kansas City, Missouri. In-person attendees will watch the presentation together in the Brubeck Room; however, Zooming from home is another option.

Registration is required. Register online or call 203.762.6334.