Space to play

This article is about how there are many ways to play in the children’s new permanent exhibit Beyond Spaceship earth. Kids that are starters, stuff a flight bag. You can do space suit. You can use to horse to clean up floating droplets of spilled grape juice. If you are younger or shorter, you can crawl into a confined area and tightened some bolts. There are also plenty of interesting artifacts to contemplate as well: notebooks, a NASA selection letter, a flag from the Gemini 8, and everyday items they use. Of course, pop culture is also given its due, with displays featuring an actual Chris Pine/”Star Trek”. The international Space Station in kid friendly form is at its most   impactful in a subtle pairing that beautifully captures humanity’s desire for flight, our ongoing quest to reach out to what’s next and the appeal of both science and art that should be fostered in young people. It is impressive enough to have astronaut Roger Chaffee Apollo inflight suit behind glass. There is a simple airplane with wings, clearly not fight ready and a colorful star surrounded by ripples of color. In the Children’s museum, “Beyond Spaceship Earth there is a display in the Schaefer planetarium and space object theater. It shows that combines planetarium projected images and video footage a live actor, and the capsule itself on a rotating/rising stage. It’s one of two shows performed throughout the day. Kids and adults were both confused by a not-very intuitive Bioreactive interactive area. The exhibit also includes an Indiana Astronaut wall of fame with interactive screens to learn more about these local connections that it makes an effective advertisement for Purdue University where many studied. 

Harry, L. (2016). Space to play. Indianapolis Business Journal, 37(22), 37-38.