Event name: Trip to National Air and Space Museum for Planet Science Exhibits

Event time and place: Washington DC, Feb. 24 10:45 AM


Me next to the replica Voyager probe.
Destination Moon is an exhibit designed to showcase various aspects of the US’ lunar programs. It includes both replicas and genuine articles of various elements of the Apollo program, including a command module, spacesuit, and rover. It uses plaques to explain how these elements fit into the Apollo missions at large and what purpose they serve for landing on the moon. The command module features a cutaway showing the intricacy of the controls that the astronauts had to manipulate to execute their mission, and a full sized rover to show what kind of technology they had access to, both at the time and within limitations of weight. The hall seems to be aimed mostly at inspiring interest at lower educational levels because of the focus on imagery and capturing interest rather than providing more technical or scientific info, but the exhibits are interesting to anyone with interest in space or technology. The interactive element, a large table with embedded television, seemed to attract the attention of several younger visitors, meaning it was quite effective as far as the intended demographic of the exhibit was concerned.

One World Connected aimed to show the development of telecommunications technology and how it relates to space. It showed off things like supercomputing, the advent of the Internet and high speed data, and a section about the ISS and how it brought perspective to the place of Earth among the cosmos. It included a cutaway of a supercomputer to show its intricacies, and a replica of the ISS cupola to display how it looked to gaze down upon Earth from orbit. This hall felt like it was aimed at a slightly higher education level than Destination Moon, maybe more at a high school level, because it featured things that took slightly more comprehension to find impressive compared to the more obviously interesting moon exhibits. Its interactive exhibits are a spherical globe projection screen and the aforementioned replica of the ISS cupola. I thought the sphere was good at holding people’s attention and providing a short show, and while the cupola was impressive, I think it could have been both more central to the exhibit, and greatly improved upon by connecting to the ISS live feed of the cupola rather than an obviously pre-recorded video.

Exploring the Planets shows various more abstract models of astronomy data, mostly focusing on the planets within our solar system, but also some of those outside of it. It shows a series of glass panels depicting discovered stars, a model of the Voyager spacecraft, and scale models of the planets. This exhibit, focusing more on general interest but with a heavier focus on text and less visually impressive artifacts, is probably similarly aimed at a high school education level. The exhibit includes several interactive elements, including a central domed-ceiling projection room with multiple screens on the walls displaying information and renders of the surface of various planets. There was also a simple mechanical orrery with a laser line that showed how eclipses lined up on Jupiter with one of its moons. I thought the orrery was a good model, as it was truly hands-on and displayed a seemingly complex principle, eclipses, in an easy to understand format. The dome screen was, in my opinion, good but not as much so, and bore similarity to the central attraction of Connected Earth, though I think it was the stronger of the two. It could have been improved by displaying either itself or Connected Earth in a different format than projection onto something, and I think the Voyager probe would have made an excellent centerpiece due to its importance in space exploration.

Astronomy, while possibly difficult to portray due to the true scale of the universe, is the study of something both undeniably beautiful and everyday- the night sky. Despite its location in light-polluted Washington DC, the Air and Space museum does an excellent job at conveying mankind’s unending curiosity into the mysteries that lie among the stars. Though they did have some more up to date information, like the recent black hole picture being displayed in the Exploring the Planets exhibit, I don’t think giving the most up to date and cutting edge information is the goal of the Air and Space Museum- unless it contradicts something they have on display, I think that could be regarded as secondary to their main goals. None of the exhibits had a focus on ultra-technical or specific knowledge, other than the occasional text panel- most of the information was on broader facts. I believe that the Air and Space museum more so aims to share with the public the fruits of the unending curiosity of the night sky- and perhaps impart it onto the younger generation.