National Air & Space Museum
February 24, 2024
Exhibit 1: One World Connected
The One World Connected gallery presented the evolution of technologies that have led to globalization and an overall more integrated world. A variety of different eras of technology were represented in this exhibit, ranging from the start of the global phone network, to the beginnings of the satellite radio, to the physical machineries such as computers and cameras that allowed these things to happen. Information about these topics were primarily conveyed through signs posted around each exhibit, where both general background information and more topic-specific information was covered. For example, in the global phone network display, a variety of graphics and world maps were used to teach about satellites and cellular systems, as well as physical artifacts from the time to allow the viewer to gain visuals of how different technologies evolved. Additionally, in the satellite radio display, diagrams of a satellite were shown to allow the viewer to understand how they function, and replicas of parts of the machinery could be touched to allow for a better feel of how the technology was created. I believe that this hall was aimed at any education level, where children could appreciate the interactive elements and adults could appreciate the actual information presented. In terms of the actual knowledge provided, however, I believe the exhibit was aimed towards adults, since some of the plaques were a little hard for children to understand. However, the exhibit does include quite a few interactive components, which could suggest that it was aimed towards children to keep them more engaged. Some of these interactive components included a model of an old styled radio, where the knobs could be turned to hear the news of different historical events. Additionally, there were a variety of interactive touch-screen displays which allowed for a viewer to watch a video on the subject or to explore different parts of the world. I believe that all of the interactive components were effective at conveying the information, since they helped both children and adults stay engaged in the information, and better understand what the times were like. I know personally that I had never used an old style radio before, so I feel that by turning the knobs I was able to better understand the evolution of this technology and how it was able to connect the world.
Exhibit 2: Exploring the Planets
The Exploring the Planets gallery focused on how our solar system was formed, and presented general information on the planets and how they are characterized. This gallery covered a vast range of topics, from the specific features of each planet in our solar system, to the different categories of planets as a whole, to the technologies used to observe and explore the different planets. This gallery mostly uses dioramas to convey its information, where models of planets were used to explain different features of planets such as orbital patterns and the rings of Saturn. Additionally, specific artifacts and models of the artifacts such as the Mars rovers and radars were used to allow viewers to visualize the technologies used in space exploration. I believe that this exhibit was aimed more towards adults, where a lot of the topics were more information-heavy, and a lot of the information was conveyed through signs on the walls. That being said, I found that this exhibit was the most aesthetically pleasing and “cool,” which I feel that kids would appreciate. Still, I feel that this exhibit included less interactive components, but still had a decent amount to observe. For example, one of the exhibits included rock samples of our solar system, which you were able to touch to get a better understanding of the materials minerals in outer space. Additionally, there was a model you could spin in order to observe the orbit patterns of the moons around different planets. While these are interactive components, kids are not able to appreciate these as much without actually reading and understanding what they represent. Still, I found that these interactive components were very effective at conveying the information, since they allowed you to better visualize and understand the makings of our solar system and what lies within it.
Exhibit 3: Destination Moon
The last gallery we visited was Destination Moon, which presented humanity’s visits to the moon, what we learned, and how we achieved it. Specifically, this gallery delved into the Apollo missions and the data they collected, the technologies they used such as the machinery and the spacesuits, and what went wrong with the Apollo 13 mission that caused the mission to almost fail. This gallery mostly conveys the information by labeling specific artifacts that were used in the missions. For example, to portray the technologies they used in the missions, the different space-suits used were set up in display cases, and the glass surrounding them labeled and pointed out the different parts of the suits. Additionally, a similar system was used to describe the data that was collected, where different artifacts such as rocks from the moon were set up and described on the glass surrounding them. I believe that the education level this hall is aimed at is almost entirely for adults. While children could marvel at the cool space-suits and the rockets around them, there was no way for them to really understand what they were looking at without reading the plaques and signs around them. Additionally, there were not many interactive components in this exhibit, besides a few interactive touch-screen displays which allowed for the viewer to learn more about topics they were interested in, and some life-size replicas of the hands of the space-suits. While the touch-screen displays were effective at conveying the information, they honestly weren’t that different from just reading off of a sign, which isn’t very good for educating children. However, I thought that the comparing hand sizes was a clever addition to keep children interested, since they would be able to imagine themselves as an astronaut and therefore learn a bit about the different types of suits.
I felt that the exhibit designers portrayed astronomical concepts very well, considering how much of the exhibits were focused on these types of content. They were able to make the information both interesting and engaging, and stepping into the exhibits really felt like you were stepping into space and the solar system. I felt that the planets floating around and all of the displays really made the astronomical concepts fun to learn. However, I feel that the organization of these exhibits would make it difficult to make updated information available to visitors, because a lot of the exhibits were organized in a very particular order, such as chronological or by specific planet. Still, I feel that they will find a way, and I really enjoyed how the astronomical topics were portrayed as a whole.
