Event name: National Air and Space Museum Field Trip

National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C. (02/24/2024)


A model rover from the NASM exhibits
The Destination Moon exhibit presented several different aspects of science and technology, primarily lunar science, and the technology relating to Moon missions. Some of the most notable displays from Destination Moon are the Apollo mission artifacts, including Neil Armstrong’s space suit. The exhibit displays the Gemini VII capsule, which is a NASA spacecraft that astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell went on a two week long 1965 mission. The exhibit also features the Apollo 11 command module which is where the crew of the Apollo 11 mission lived. Finally, the exhibit contains Eugene Kranz’s Apollo 11 vest. The gallery has numerous avenues to convey information related to the specific concepts, discoveries, and inventions that are portrayed. The exhibit supplements artifacts and displays with videos or descriptive captions that provide information relevant to the displays. For example the Apollo 11 suit is paired with stories like “How do you get to the Moon?” or “Building a Moon Rocket.” The exhibit seems to be aimed at individuals with a middle school to high school education, as it uses basic language, some moderately complex topics, such as the challenges of space travel. However, there are various components of the exhibit that allow it to be informative to someone with a lower education level as well. The exhibit includes numerous interactive features such as a tablet that allows visitors to choose and playback various videos of satellite footage footage, rocket footage, and more. Additionally the exhibit includes a table that allows visitors to examine different spaceships by tapping on them. I found that these interactive components were effective at conveying information. They allowed people to more deeply investigate specific items of their interest, helping enhance understanding and capture attention. In particular, the feature that allowed visitors to satellite footage provided a demonstration that did a better job of explaining what actually happened than a paragraph could have.

The One World Connected exhibit demonstrated telecommunications technology and its connection to space exploration. Some of the most intriguing concepts and inventions portrayed in the exhibit were supercomputers, the emergence of the Internet, high-speed data, and a section detailing the International Space Station. The gallery has numerous modes of conveying information, namely, a cross-section of a super computer that reveals the inner workings of it, and a replica of the cupola that can show earth from an astronaut’s perspective. This exhibit also seems to be aimed towards a middle school to high school level, educated visitor, as it also contained straightforward wording. However, it did contain more complex information than much of Destination Moon, and it would take a more interested visitor to understand it thoroughly. This exhibit also contains interactive elements, particularly a spherical globe, projection screen, and the ISS cupola replica. I did think that these interactive components were effective at conveying information. However, these just seem to be more aimed towards providing a visual experience, rather than an in-depth explanation, as there was limited additional information paired with the cupola or globe.

The Exploring the Planets exhibit focuses on planetary science, especially with but not limited to planets in our solar system. Some of the displays in the exhibit are scale replicas of the planets, a model of the Voyager spacecraft, and a series of panels with images of real stars. This seems to be aimed at a slightly higher education level than the others, as there are less images and strong visual appeals and more text-based information. However, there are still numerous interactive components, including a projection chamber that projects images and information onto the ceiling dome and an orrery that visitors could move to see how a laser light (representing sunlight) and models of Jupiter and its moon could simulate an eclipse. Both were effective in conveying information to visitors, with the projection chamber being more informative to adults and/or high schools but the orrery providing a hands-on way for younger visitors to understand what actually happens in eclipses without having to think too hard or comprehend long paragraphs.

Although astronomy is a difficult subject to portray in museums, and it is hard to stay up-to-date with all the rapid new discoveries that are happening in the field, the national air space Museum employs numerous strategies to communicate these complex concepts to visitors. Prime among these strategies is the use of interactive displays, especially touchscreen displays, and sometimes even mechanical displays that enable viewers to physically see, manipulate, and experiment with the display. Many planetary atmospheres, models, or simulations are displayed on touchscreens that can be manipulated by users. A benefit to many of these digital displays is that they can be updated quickly to show the latest astronomical images and data ensuring that the information is current and keeping up with the rapid advances in the field. Furthermore, the Museum features numerous actual artifacts or large-scale physical models, such as the space suit or model Mars rovers. Overall, the NASM exhibits effectively blend several different methods of conveying astronomical concepts in a way that is informative and up-to-date.