Plaque for Children of the Earth monument at North Cape on Magerøya Island, Norway

December 1969 Issue

Plaque for Children of the Earth monument at North Cape on Magerøya Island, Norway

"What I did on my summer vacation." How about "Helped design a monument at 71º north latitude"?

November’s photo depicts the plaque for the Children of the Earth monument at North Cape on Magerøya Island, Norway.

In June 1988, children from seven countries (Tanzania, Japan, Brazil, Thailand, Italy, the USSR and the USA) spent a week together on the island — which in the summer is also home to nomadic Sami herdsmen and some 4,000 to 5,000 reindeer — and celebrated their stay by each designing a plaque.

The monument comprises seven circular, freestanding plaques plus this one which shows them all and describes the project. The monument is “a symbol of cooperation, friendship, hope and joy.”

Twenty-three correct answers were sent in by the deadline, and NORMAN BENTON of Creswell, Oregon, won the drawing. We thank Carolyn Casperson of Banning, California, for contributing the photo.