Jeremiah Horrocks was the first person to record a transit of Venus.  Fellow parishioners of St. Michael Church in Hoole, England, have celebrated his 1639 achievement and the ensuing transits ever since.

In this activity you create your own stained glass window with words and images to commemorate the transit of Venus.  One stained glass window (left) at St. Michael's Church envisions Horrocks looking at a projection of the sun on a large sheet.  (Actually, it was a 6-inch sheet of paper, so allow for artistic license.)  Parishioners from ensuing centuries added additional windows.

To personalize the 2012 transit of Venus experience, print the black and white template on a sheet of paper or a clear transparency.  Design and color your own image and choose your own words.  Fasten the transparency version of your stained glass to a regular window. 

For ideas of what to draw in the stained glass circle (the roundel), see Things Round.   As an alternative, simply color the window with Horrocks  and add your own words of celebration.  For historic phrases that could fill the stained glass banners, see Quotes.  

In subsequent centuries, new stained glass windows have been added to St. Michael Church.  See history/1639-transit/120-church-celebrates-transit-of-venus and history/1639-transit/120-first-witness for windows and scenes.

Sample designs by kids  from the 2004 transit of Venus are at http://old.transitofvenus.org/windows.htm.  Additional samples from a teacher workshop are at images/stories/stainedglass-ND.jpg.