Frost Science's New Exhibition Preps Visitors on How to Live in Space

Zedis lapedis! In line with the stellar film Asteroid: Mission Extreme being shown in the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science's state-of-the-art planetarium, the new museum is opening "Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience," an exhibit that takes a deeper look into the out-of-this-world field of space exploration and the science that makes it possible.

The array of multimedia installations, which were developed in part by brainiacs at NASA, promises to give visitors a glimpse of the challenges and triumphs of being an astronaut via touch-screen graphics, historic videos, and rare spacesuit objects such as the gloves Neil Armstrong wore during Apollo 11 — artifacts of a bygone era (though only 50 years ago), when the nation was excited about reaching for, and propelling through, the stars.

"People have always imagined what it would be like to be in space. During the second half of the last century, we finally started this journey, a journey closely linked to Florida's Space Coast, and set to change our understanding of the world," says Jorge Perez-Gallego, Frost Science's curator of astronomy. "'Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience' allows visitors a chance to experience what astronauts go through while on their journeys in space."

Perhaps the new exhibition will help reinvigorate locals with a passion to support space exploration efforts or even inspire them to become a part of the an "out-of-gravity experience" someday. Among the exhibit's many displays is one that teaches visitors about weightlessness and its long-term affects on those living in space.
The exhibition also helps visitors experience what kinds smells, sights, and sounds are common while living in an orbiting space station such as the International Space Station. Among the videos interwoven throughout the exhibition are ones that offer footage of astronauts living and working in space, as well as interviews with them about what lies ahead for space flight. It's long overdue for Starbucks to open a location on the moon, right?

Among the hands-on activities are "drop towers," which show how familiar objects behave differently in weightless environments, and water rockets, which explore the physics of a rocket launch. If you're interested in learning where we are as a species in terms of colonizing the stars, this exhibition might be just what you've been looking for.

"This [exhibition] is yet another reason for both locals and visitors to discover Frost Science for the first time or to visit again for a unique experience around the wonders of space exploration," Perez-Gallego says. "We are continuously striving to provide our guests with the best educational contents and programs available.”

Many locals voiced their concerns that there weren't enough exhibitions at Frost Science, so "Space" seems to be a small step in the right direction for the museum and giant leap in terms of giving Miamians more science-related offerings.

"Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience"
Saturday, June 24, through September 10 at the Frost Museum of Science, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-434-9600; frostscience.org. Admission costs $28; $23.80 for Miami-Dade residents; $20 for youth; and $17 for Miami-Dade youth residents. Museum members and children aged 2 or younger get in free.

New Times' Best of Miami party will take place at the new Frost Museum of Science this Thursday, June 22, from 8 to 11 p.m. Visit newtimesbestofmiami.com.