Be the Astronaut
is an exciting new exhibition at the Grand Rapids Public Museum that seeks to provide an exciting experience all the while exposing kids (and adult kids) to STEM-infused content via the marriage of an physical exhibit with cutting edge video game technology.
Guiding the visitors on this journey is a crew of virtual experts who help deepen the space exploration experience throughout every stage of the exhibit.
Guests learn what it takes to fly a spaceship, pilot a lander, or drive a surface rover. After this brief training, you are ready to jump into a simulator that takes you on a virtual journey of the universe.
“Through STEM based hands-on activities that are scientifically verified by NASA experts, this exhibit lets our community travel to space from right here at the Grand Rapids Public Museum,” said Dr. Stephanie Ogren, Director of Science at the GRPM.
In each space capsule, a monitor serves as the ‘windshield,’ giving visitors a first-person view of their adventures. Touch-screens and an industrial-quality joystick put visitors in command.
According to the museum, the entire cockpit comes alive with animated lighting effects, game visuals, and sounds that make visitors believe they are astronauts. To add more excitement to the event, special companion robots move about the hall and interact with guests.
This traveling exhibition seeks to recreate those concepts common to all space flights, inviting patrons to imagine themselves in this futuristic storyline.
And lest you think the experience is reflecting the imaginary space of a software designer with no real space experience, then you’ll be happy to learn that the cockpit is scientifically verified by experts at NASA for accuracy and feasibility.
And as we learned from the staff at the museum who have already tried their hand at landing the capsule, this is challenging stuff to navigate.
Be the Astronaut opens on June 16 and runs through September 16, 2018. Tickets to the exhibition can be purchased
here.