Children's Museum Space Science Exhibits

Space Science Programs! We keep adding to our 100's of interactive exhibits and Educational Enrichment field trip programs to accompany them. Our Space Exploration and Science programs are taught on our 4th floor where our exhibits are housed. View our 4th floor NASA opening. Read Congressman Boehlert's 2006 Press Release announcing funding to finish our 4th floor!

Dept. of Energy's Office of Science Director Dr. Raymond Orbach announce adoption of Children's Museum in Utica NY

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe "pins" Director Marlene Brown as her grandchildren look on

Above Left: Dec, 2002: Dr. Ray Orbach, Director of the Dept. of Energy's Office of Science, at 4th floor grand opening, with Congressman Sherry Boehlert & Museum Director Marlene Brown. Above Right: March 2003, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe "pins" Marlene prior to our March 29th, 2003 Museum Ceremony on our Museum's new 4th floor. View event pictures.

Improve life here; Extend life to there; Find life beyond *The International Space Station - Research and Technology*	L to R: Front Row: Trevor & Rachel Caron; Second Row: Nick Rotundo, Shawn McCool, Museum Director Marlene Brown, Congressman Sherry Boehlert, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe; NASA Office of Educ. Assoc. Admin. Dr. Adena Loston; and Astronaut Leland Melvin participate in the opening Ceremony event.	NASA's Mission: to understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe, and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers. *The Mars Rover making history*
Above & Far Right: 2-04 Director Marlene Brown & Princeton Plasma Lab's John DeLooper view "Jacob's Ladder," a hands-on science exhibit created for the Children's Museum. Inside the display, you see a form of plasma (the 4th state of matter) similar to lightning. 15,000 volts of electricity are placed between the copper electrodes. This energy ionizes some air atoms creating the plasma arc. The plasma rises to the top, where there isn't enough energy to maintain the arc and the plasma is extinguished. The process then starts over again.	Artist's concept of Mars Exploration Rover using its Rock Abrasion Tool, nicknamed the RAT. The Mars Rover, Spirit, is one of the new exhibits that are at our Children's Museum from NASA.

Above: the "Exploration of Flight" exhibit arrived at our museum June 10th, 2005. Right: NASA's International Space Station trailers were at our Children's Museum for a week!

Continuing the important scientific space journeys, we look to the future. NASA's exciting Starship 2040 made the Children's Museum part of its nationwide tour on March 27th-31st. We enthusiastically welcomed back NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, and welcomed for the first time Marshall Space Flight Center Director Art Stephenson, Astronaut Leland Melvin, & Assoc. Admin. of NASA Educ. Dr Adena William Loston, to our Children's Museum. The public met them Sat. March 29th at our 2:30pm NASA Ceremony as we Travel the Highway to Space, Paying Tribute & Exploring the Future. Visitors toured Starship 2040; tried on a space suit, viewed NASA exhibits, took part in exciting NASA presentations. View itinerary. Read OD article. Read NASA press release. View the Children's Museum 4th Floor

Feb. 21st Congressman Sherry Boehlert & County Exec Griffo & Utica Mayor Julian & Rome Mayor Brown helped Exec Director Marlene Brown honor the Columbia crew & our extended NASA family. After the ceremony, visitors viewed exhibits & signed our Book of Condolences for the Columbia, their families & our NASA friends. All week, there were several neat programs. Read OD coverage & NASA's Message to Youth. View Space Science2 page.

In honor of all the brave NASA teams, we look to the future.

Above: "Live" shots from the International Space Station & Columbia patch.

		*The Children's Museum once again welcomed our NASA friends back, with NASA's Starship 2040 on March 27th-30th. What an exciting event!*

Congressman Sherwood Boehlert - Chairman of the House Science Committee, Children's Museum Executive Director Marlene Brown, & Marshall Space Flight Director Art Stephenson at Utica Rotary prior to touring the museum.		***Aug. 2002: NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe (L.) & Congressman* Sherry Boehlert (R.) pose w/youngster in front of Mars Rover.**
*John DeLooper, Princeton Lab (c.), showing display he donated to CM in Feb. '03, to Secretary of Energy Abraham & Director Dr. Orbach*		*Inside of Starship 2040, at CM March 2003.*

Read About Starship 2040 * Download Starship Logo

To pictures * To top * To text

*Feb. 21, 2003 Civil Air Patrol Cadets open ceremony*		*Feb. 21, 2003 Congressman Sherry Boehlert and Executive Director Marlene Brown at Ceremony Honoring the Columbia Crew & our NASA family*
*C ongressman greets visitors attending ceremony*		*Our Columbia exhibit proudly displayed*
*Fermi Lab's Yvonne Twomey (L.) & Princeton Lab's John DeLooper (R.) with Director & Congressman*		*Visitors line up to sign the Children's Museum Columbia Memorial Book of Condolences*
*Civil Air Patrol Cadets folding flag flown over the U.S. capital*		*Utica Mayor Tim Julian accepts the flag on behalf of the Museum*
		*Feb. 1, 2003 Families & groups sign the Children's Museum Columbia Condolence book, and view the space exhibits, rockets & lunar lander.*
"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings. Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds--and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence, hov'ring there. I've chased the shouting wind along, And flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious burning blue, I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, Where never lark, or even eagle flew . And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God". by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr.		Members of the space shuttle Columbia crew head to the launch site on January 16, 2003. Leading the way are Pilot William "Willie" McCool, left, and Commander Rick Husband, right. Following in the second row are Kalpana Chawla, left, and Laurel Clark; in the rear are Ilan Ramon, Michael Anderson and David Brown.
*Columbia lifts off from Cape Canaveral*		*Feb. 1, 2003, a young visitor walks around the Children's Museum Columbia Shuttle Orbiter* *Columbia Shuttle orbiting the earth* *Utica O-D article SST Columbia**

To pictures * To top * To text

NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia news * NASA's Message to our Youth

SST Columbia * Utica O-D 2/1/03 article * Utica O-D 2/21/03 article

To pictures * To top * To text

At a visit to the Children's Museum in August of 2002, Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, Chairman of the House Science Committee and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced that NASA had adopted the Children's Museum and established a long term relationship with both exhibits and educational materials. In December of 2002, Congressman Boehlert and Dr. Ray Orbach, Director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science, announced that the DOE's OS had also adopted the Children's Museum, the first time, Dr. Orbach said, that they had adopted a children's museum. Our 4th floor's Grand Opening took place on Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 with dignitaries, guests, elected officials, corporate sponsors, the media, and the board of directors. Included were Congressman Boehlert, Dr. Orbach, Scientists from Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in CA, Fermi National Accelerator Lab in IL, and Princeton Plasma Physics Lab in NJ.

NASA & DOE's Office of Science have adopted the Children's Museum in Utica, NY! Exhibits unveiled include NASA, DOE, Airplane, Fire & Police Dept's, Flags, Stamps, our airplane, 4th Floor Charter members plaque. At present, our 4th floor is open to the public from 11:30am to 12:30pm and again from 2:00pm to 3:30pm Monday through Saturday, and for field trip space science programs booked. We are looking for adults to serve as Guides for this floor. If interested, email Director Marlene. View our beginnings, view an awesome panaromic picture of the world from space, and track the International Space Station's orbit.

To pictures * To top * To text

Visitors enjoy our newly opened 4th floor exhibits

*The Dept of Energy's Science particles exhibit*	*The Utica Police Dept exhibit*
*Discovering how plasma & science interact*	*Viewing the video in the NASA exhibit*
*Hey, I'm piloting the airplane!*	*That looks like fun!*
*Another Utica Fire Dept exhibit*	*Fun with science & space*
*Hey, look at me!*	*Whoa, viewing the video is cool!*
*The Utica Fire Dept exhibits*	*The Lunar Landing Module*
*The Mercury Capsule*	*Shuttle Orbiter Columbia*
UPD's Joe Ruggerio mans the Police Dept exhibit while President/Director Marlene Brown looks on. R: *The Space Capsule*
	*NASA Space Shuttle exhibits*
*Excited youngsters pose w/NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe (L.) & Congressman* Sherry Boehlert (R.) in front of Cornell Univ's Mars Rover.** To pix * Top * To text	Aug. '02 Congressman Boehlert w/ NASA Admin. O'Keefe & CM Director Marlene announcing an ongoing partnership with NASA & CM.

Take a look at the beginning of our renovation & the process that brought us to this opening.

View our very special 4th Floor Charter sponsors.

Track the International Space Station.

To pictures * To top * To text

Exhibits provided the Children's Museum from DOE & NASA

"Magnetic Levitation Technology", a neat activity featuring a small maglev car, a short track, ring magnets, a pole, poster and activities, provided by Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island.

"Kaleidoscope Chemistry", become chromatographers - study the science of color and how color can be used in the process of separating and analyzing mixtures of chemical substances, provided by Ames Laboratory in Iowa.

"Gravity Accelerator", explore the relationship between acceleration/velocity and energy, by racing a ball as it rolls around a "gravity accelerator" track, provided by Fermi National Laboratory in Illinois.

"Electromagnet Stands", add power to a hunk of metal wrapped in copper wire on a stand & turn it into an electromagnet that can pick up paper clips. "Tangram Activity" is used to demonstrate data analysis and problem solving, both provided by Jefferson Laboratory in Virginia.

"Science Display and Toys", scintillation detectors and associated electronics are commonly used in high energy particle physics experiments, provided by Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California.

"Plasma Display and Toys" primarily used to show the students what "plasma" is, by lighting a fluorescent light bulb without a perceived power supply, provided by Princeton University Physics Laboratory in New Jersey.

NASA exhibits provided by Glenn Research Center in Ohio.
A 1:15 scale Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia
A 1:3 scale Lunar Lander Module
A 1:3 scale Mercury Capsule
A 1:3 scale Gemini Capsule

NASA exhibits provided by Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama. A walk-through display of the U.S. and Russian MIR space stations, The exhibit spans the years of space science from Skylab, Spacelab, Space Station and Beyond. Features four locked display cabinets containing artifacts and models, plus four areas of space research are explored inside this exhibit - Life Sciences, Material Sciences, Mission From Planet Earth and Mission To Plant Earth. The walk-through portion of this exhibit contains photographs, text and hands-on items. Attached to the walk-thorough display is a 12-foot-tall theater with a TV/VCR combination, which plays a futures-theme video. Inside the theater, photographs and text show visitors what NASA plans in the way of future explorations.

To pictures * To top * To text

This map shows where the International Space Station is at this moment. Track its orbit with Marshall Space Flight Center's J-Track!

The image above is an absolutely awesome picture of the Earth taken from the Boeing-built Space Station last November, on a perfect night with no obscuring atmospheric conditions. A panoramic view of the world from the new space station, it is a night photo with the lights clearly indicating the populated areas. Note that Canada's population is almost exclusively along the U.S. border. Moving east, to Europe, there is a high population concentration along the Mediterranean Coast. It's easy to spot London, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna. Note the development of Israel compared to the rest of the Arab countries. Note the Nile River and the rest of the "Dark Continent". After the Nile, the lights don't come on again until Johannesburg. Look at the Australian Outback and the Trans-Siberian Rail Route. Moving east, the most striking observation is the difference between North and South Korea. Note the density of Japan.

Return to new stuff page * To open pdf files, download free Adobe Reader

To pictures * To top * To text

Go to new stuff page * Go to 4th floor page * Go to NASA Starship event page

New Stuff	About Us	Space Science	Programs
Birthdays	Calendar	Membership	Exhibits
Home	Links	Feedback	Sponsors

The Children's Museum of History, Living History, Science & Technology
311 Main Street, Utica, NY 13501
Tel: 315-724-6129 * Web: www.museum4kids.net

To top * Email Director * Children's Museum website * To open pdf files, download free Adobe Reader