Photo courtesy Science Museum of Virginia
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to walk on the moon, live on the International Space Station or experience interplanetary travel, it turns out you can do it all without leaving the ground or, more precisely, Richmond.
Three area museums are presenting space-themed exhibitions and creating a “Summer of Space” website, which serves as a hub connecting the cosmos-curious to limited-time interactive explorations. The Virginia Museum of History & Culture presents “Apollo: When We Went to the Moon,” the Science Museum of Virginia hosts “Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience,” and the Children’s Museum of Richmond offers “Moon to Mars.”
The Science Museum’s exhibition opened in May and offers a glimpse into human space travel. It was designed by the Science Museum of Minnesota in partnership with the International Space Station Office of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It explores several facets of space travel, including weightlessness and daily life. Interactive exhibits include a life-size replica of an orbiting space station, a maneuverable robotic arm and a vacuum chamber experience.
The exhibition unlocks the possibilities of space travel and what lies beyond, focusing on current and future space exploration. It tackles the challenges and dangers of surviving in the harsh vacuum of space and answers astronaut-related questions — yes, even the “How do they go to the bathroom?” question, offering a space toilet replica that people can view and sit in.
“Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience” continues through Sept. 4 and requires a $5 entry ticket in addition to museum admission ($10 to $17).
Geared toward future space explorers up to age 8 and their families, the Children’s Museum of Richmond’s “Moon to Mars” exhibition was produced by the Omaha Children’s Museum with design support from NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems at the Johnson Space Center. The exhibition is intended to spark innovative thinking; inspire appreciation for teamwork, diversity and space; and demonstrate scientific problem solving. Interactive activities include taking the controls of the Orion Spacecraft, navigating a lunar rover, and building and launching a rocket.
“Space exploration and learning can be for every age and stage of life, as demonstrated by this exhibit and what our museum community will offer during this ‘Summer of Space’ in Richmond,” says Danielle Ripperton, executive director at the Children’s Museum of Richmond.
“Moon to Mars” is included with museum admission ($9) and continues through Aug. 13 at the downtown West Broad Street location.
Visitors to “Apollo: When We Went to the Moon” at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture have the opportunity to sit inside a full-scale Apollo 17 lunar rover model. The exhibition continues through Dec. 31. (Photo by Flying Fish)
Learn about the history of the Space Race and Virginia’s role in getting the first humans to the moon during “Apollo: When We Went to the Moon” at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Organized by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, it is the largest exhibition the VMHC has hosted to date, spanning four galleries. Visitors will be immersed in the epic story of manned space flight through not only the eyes of astronauts, but also the 400,000 scientists, engineers and contractors who made landing on the moon possible.
There are opportunities to touch a piece of the moon, sit inside a full-scale Apollo 17 lunar rover model and leave your footprints on the moon via a virtual moonwalk. See objects from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s archives, including a model of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite and Apollo-era astronaut suit gloves, moon boots and bubble helmets.
“Apollo: When We Went to the Moon” continues through Dec. 31 and is included with museum admission ($5 to $10).
