Coordinates: 43°56′44″N71°30′2″W / 43.94556°N 71.50056°W
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
Curious George Cottage was the summer home of H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, creators of the Curious George series of children’s books, located in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.
Margret Elizabeth Rey was a German-born American writer and illustrator, known best for the Curious George series of children's picture books that she and her husband H. A. Rey created from 1939 to 1966.
Curious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey with illustrations by Alan J. Shalleck. The books feature a chimp named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" as his best friend to live with him in a giant city.
Waterville Valley is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 247 at the 2010 census.
The Reys first came to Waterville Valley in the 1950s. Hans was revising his popular astronomy book The Stars: A New Way to See Them and needed a place away from the glare of city lights to do observation. Waterville Valley, an "inland island" surrounded by hundreds of acres of national forest, was the perfect location for stargazing and the many outdoor activities the Reys loved. They spent the next twenty summers there, and wrote several Curious George stories while in Waterville Valley.
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and comets; the phenomena also includes supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, all phenomena that originate outside Earth's atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which is the study of the Universe as a whole.
The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of 750,852 acres (303,859 ha). Most of the WMNF is in New Hampshire; a small part is in the neighboring state of Maine. While often casually referred to as a park, this is a National Forest, used not only for hiking, camping, and skiing, but for logging and other limited commercial purposes. The WMNF is the only National Forest located in either New Hampshire or Maine. Most of the major peaks over 4,000 feet high for peak-bagging in New Hampshire are located in the National Forest. Over 100 miles (160 km) of the Appalachian Trail traverses the White Mountain National Forest. In descending order of land area the forest lies in parts of Grafton, Coos, and Carroll counties in New Hampshire, and Oxford County in Maine.
The Reys’ cottage soon became an intellectual center for the town, hosting book clubs, discussion groups, and the opportunity to watch a children's author at work. Hans was known for his chalk talks, in which he would entertain visitors as he drew. Well-behaved children got to take a drawing home with them. At other times, he would take local children on nature walks, which often included conversations with imaginary people, thanks to his ability to throw his voice.
After the Reys died, the cottage was donated to the town of Waterville Valley. It is now managed by the Margret and H.A. Rey Center, dedicated to providing educational and recreational programs for children and families, including nature walks, literary groups, writers workshops, discussion clubs, a monthly lecture series, art shows, and activities for children. The center hosts regular astronomy nights under the same dark skies that first drew Hans Rey to the valley. All activities are open to the public.
