San Diego Air & Space Museum hosts 'Space" Exploration Exhibit

North County Times: Museum hosts 'Space' exploration exhibit
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

Most Americans are familiar with the words astronaut Neil Armstrong spoke as he stepped from the Lunar Module onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, but an exhibit opening Tuesday at the San Diego Air & Space Museum hopes to transition the public's consciousness about human space exploration from the past into the future.

"Space: A Journey to Our Future" is a large-scale traveling exhibition created in 2003 with the help of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Teachers Association. The family-friendly, hands-on exhibit helps visitors of all ages learn not only about past space travel but also about the machines and technology involved in modern space travel ---- which have come a long way from the rudimentary vehicles and computers that Armstrong and his colleagues depended on 40 years ago.

"Our exploration of space is an absolute necessity," former Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan (the last man to walk on the moon in 1972), said in a statement. "This exhibit could be the spark that lights the imagination of a future astronaut or a scientist in the space program."

The exhibit features interactive areas where children can see and touch rocks from the moon and Mars, ride a self-powered centrifuge (which simulates G-forces), tour a full-scale moon camp and lab, see the latest spacecrafts up close and use computers to plan a trip to Mars.

To celebrate the opening of "Space" on Tuesday, the museum has invited Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin (who was steps behind Armstrong on the moon in 1969). Aldrin will be on hand to sign copies of his memoir "Magnificent Desolation" and his two children's books "Look at the Stars" and "Reaching for the Moon," from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (Only books purchased at the museum on Feb. 1 will be signed.)

The 6,000-square-foot exhibit is divided into four sections: "Dare to Dream," "A Dream Come True," "Living the Dream" and "Dream of Tomorrow." The educational materials in the exhibit are especially geared toward ages 9 to 17, and were created with the help of experts from science centers around the country (as well as experts from tour sponsor General Motors, Lockheed Martin and other companies that make equipment used in space exploration).

Highlights include:

-- Actual rocks from the moon and Mars that visitors can touch.

-- Step on a "Moon Scale" where you can find out how much you would weigh on the low-gravity moon and take a spin on a centrifuge that visitors power like a bicycle.

-- Step in front of an infrared camera that sees your body's temperature by color on the screen.

-- Artifacts from the space program (past and present), including space suits, a lunar rover tire, an early fuel cell, tires from the Space Shuttle and recovered tiles from the Space Shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated on re-entry in 2003, killing all aboard.

-- Displays of articles, photographs, books and ephemera that show the public's fascination with space, such as Jules Verne's "Earth to the Moon" and Life magazine stories.

-- An interactive area where the public can learn about the International Space Station; NASA studies of robonauts (robot astronauts), deep-space probes, next-generation telescopes, living in space and space tourism.

-- A station where visitors can use a touch screen to switch through information coming from dozens of satellites now orbiting Earth. Another screen allows the visitor to look at the same star field through five different telescope setups.

-- A Mars rover model and Mars "experience area" where visitors can learn about current missions to the red planet.

-- The Constellation Program area lets visitors get an up-close look at the Orion, the new spacecraft that will take human explorers back to the Moon some day, and the Ares rocket, which will propel the Orion into space.

-- A "Mission to Mars" interactive area allows visitors to use computers and hands-on devices to create a spacecraft and stock it with the supplies needed for a manned mission to Mars.

-- A 360-degree "Future Theatre" where the public can learn about the future of space exploration and the mysteries of deep space.

"Space" is a ticketed exhibit that's not included in the regular museum admission price. "Space" ticket-holders receive free museum admission.

"Space: A Journey to Our Future"

When: Opens Feb. 1 for a limited engagement; museum hours, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily (last admissions at 4 p.m.)

Where: San Diego Air & Space Museum, Balboa Park, 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego

Tickets: $24, adults; $21, seniors; $12, children ages 3 to 11; $7.50, active-duty military; children 2 and under are free