National Air & Space Museum
Event time and place: Washington D.C., 10:45 am- 3:00 pm
One World Connected
This exhibit focused on aviation and our exploration of other planets. In specifics, this exhibit displayed jet engines, satellites, and displayed how long distance communication worked.
The gallery had a map that showed where undersea cables were connected and had a cross section of the cables. It used texts and graphics to explain the evolution of long distance communication through satellites due to the aftermath of World War II. The museum also had several satellites on display with text explaining how and why they were used. The satellites can help observe Earth on a large scale and gauge our impact on climate change.
I think the hall is aimed at the general public. The text does not use any complicated terms that the average person would not understand and uses a lot of visuals. Where there is text, it is not an excessive amount and relatively readable for any age level.
The interactive components were fantastic. There were screens that you could use to explore areas that you thought were interesting and there were a variety of tactile displays as well. One screen was a large globe that you could use to see where endangered species were. I found this very effective at presenting information.
Exploring the Planets
This exhibit displayed a variety of planets in our solar system. The focuses of this display included the discovery of Pluto’s unstable atmosphere, the different climates/conditions on other planets, and Mars rovers.
To display the invention of Mars rovers, the exhibit had several of them on display and contained information in text form about what each one was used for. For example, the Marie Curie rover was used to measure the composition of rocks.When discussing the conditions of other planets, there were pictures and text that explained the conditions. Mars, Earth, and Venus all had a hefty atmosphere, as displayed in the exhibit.
Once again, I think that the education level was aimed at the general public. The text was not too complicated to understand and it heavily relied on pictures and diagrams instead of text.
I also enjoyed the interactive components. There was one display that allowed you to plan out your “own mission” and displayed how you may have to make tradeoffs when engaging in space exploration.
Destination Moon
This exhibit focused on moon exploration. There were displays that explained the moon composition, lunar rovers, and rocket engines.
To explain the moon composition, there were rocks and flip books that provided information. The rocks showed what was on the moon while the books explain how or why the rock was created on the moon. This included rocks like basalt, regolith, breccia, and anorthosite. The rocket engines were also on display. There was text that displayed the specs of the engine as well, including length, diameter, and weight.
Again, I think that this was targeted towards the general public as well. Text was simple, even when talking about literal rocket science. It was easily understandable and provided insightful information about the creation of rockets and space suits.
The interactives were great. There was one big screen that allowed for you to work through building a rocket. This screen shows where the rocket parts go and the different parts that make up each subsection.
Explaining Astronomy
The exhibit did a great job using visuals, instead of text to demonstrate astronomy concepts. One thing that I noticed was they had Pluto classified as a dwarf planet, demonstrating how they update their information. I remember growing up and being taught that Pluto was a planet, but is no longer identified as one. In addition to the evolution of astronomy, the exhibits display the shift from planets to actual worlds.