The exhibition, “SPACE: A Journey to Our Future,” touches down at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center on Saturday, November 22. Created in collaboration between NASA and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the SPACE exhibition is produced by Clear Channel Exhibitions. It was made possible by General Motors (GM) with additional support from the Space Day Foundation and Lockheed Martin.
Former NASA astronaut Gene Cernan; Dr. Adena Williams Loston, NASA Associate Administrator for Education; Larry Burns, General Motors Vice President for Research, Development and Planning; and Douglas R. King, St. Louis Science Center president, introduced the new exhibition as an educational tool to inspire young people and raise public awareness about space exploration.
The 12,000-square-foot exhibition, one of the largest touring space exhibits ever developed, will be on display in Seattle through May 9, 2004. It will travel to other museums and science centers in several U.S. cities over the next five years.
We hope this exciting exhibit will help to inspire the next generation of explorers,” Loston said. “We want to fuel the imagination and ignite the desire for discovery in the youth who will be our nation’s next pioneers of air, space and Earth,” she said.
SPACE immerses the visitor in past discoveries and explorations. It introduces visitors to today’s explorers who are shaping our destiny in the universe. The sights and sounds of space exploration envelop the visitor through live performances, easy-to-use interactives, state-of-the-art projection and audio technology that brings this epic story to life.
Highlights include opportunities to ride a lunar module simulator to a surface facsimile of the moon and a visit to a simulated scientific base camp on Mars.
This first-of-its-kind educational exhibit is geared toward young people ages nine to 17. Representatives from NASA, NSTA and GM served on an educational committee with specialists from leading science centers across the country, including the St. Louis Science Center, Maryland Science Center, Pacific Science Center and the California Science Center, to consult on the content of the exhibition. A teacher’s guide complements the exhibit and is available on the Internet at:
http://www.spaceevent.com
Over the next five years, the SPACE exhibition will visit Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and St. Louis.
For information about NASA Education programs on the Internet, visit:
http://education.nasa.gov
For information about Clear Channel Exhibitions and the SPACE exhibition, visit:
http://www.clearchannelexhibitions.com