Exploring the universe
At Sandoz Center’s Sun, Earth, Universe exhibit, CDC kids go where few have gone before
Visitors can shoot for the stars at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center with their newest exhibit Sun, Earth, Universe.
The first group of visitors to the new exhibit were the children with the CSC Child Development Center (CDC). Children were able to explore space and learn about technology used by NASA.
Students are welcome to visit the exhibit where they can build model spaceships and test them using the exhibit. The exhibit also includes activities that help teach about satellites, telescopes and other topics in outer space.
“The exhibit is designed to be fun,” Mike Leite, CSC physical & life sciences professor said. “It gives people (not just kids) a place to explore things like the NASA Mars rovers, studying compositions of stars, Earth observation with satellites, how to build a spacecraft, and there are lots of books to read. Visitors will be excited because they will learn something new probably something they did not expect to learn.”
According to Leite, Sun, Earth, Universe was originally planned to premier in the Elanor Barbour Cook Museum in the Math Science Building of Innovative Learning.
“Turns out, the Sandoz space is ideal for this exhibit and offers lots more for people to do while there,” Leite said.
This exhibit was produced by the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was sent to museums using funding from the National Science Foundation, according to Leite.
The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., Friday’s 10 a.m. to noon. Jan. 29, Feb. 12, March 19 and April 23 will have special visiting hours from 10 a.m. to noon.
“Good museum exhibits like this one should be fun and accessible and visitors should come away having learned something,” Leite said. “It’s almost as good as taking field trips to NASA labs or up in a balloon; people will be able to learn in a non-threatening setting. Best yet, they won’t think they are learning because they are having so much fun.”