For all things space exploration, science and More, you can geek out at these museums across the globe
The world watched in astonishment as scientists produced the first-ever image of the black hole, unofficially named Powehi, from galaxy Messier 87. If you’re a science fiend that wants to know all about the expanse beyond earth’s atmosphere, here are some museums around the world that will satiate your hunger. From exhibits to the exploration of other planets, these will leave you awestruck.
1. Kennedy Space Center, Florida
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It arguably doesn’t get bigger and better than the ‘Greatest Space Adventure on Earth’, which is one of the 10 NASA field centres. Here, you will know all about USA’s space programmes, attractions and buildings such as Heroes & Legends featuring the US Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Rocket Garden that has eight real rockets, Apollo Moon Landings, the largest rocket: Saturn V and reliving the first human landing on the moon and a lot more. Make sure you start early to take it all in.
2. The Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong
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This museum of astronomy and space science is housed in Tsim Sha Tsui. It has an East wing that consists of an egg-shaped dome structure, which is the core of the planetarium. One can also go to the Stanley Ho Space Theatre, the Hall of Space Science and attend workshops. The West wing is home to the Hall of Astronomy and a lecture hall.
The dome is a whopping 8,000-sqm sprawling structure and the first planetarium in Hong Kong that popularised astronomy and space science. One can learn a lot about the Universe at the interactive and entertaining exhibits. Permanent exhibits, Hall of the Cosmos and Hall of Space Exploration, boast of a hundred showings, of which about 70 per cent are interactive. Advanced equipment, lighting effects and environmental decorations give the display a vivid approach.
3. Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow
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Located on the bank of River Clyde, this is one of the must-visit places in Scotland and boasts of hordes of activities to keep younger as well as older visitors engaged for hours. Glasgow Science Centre Planetarium here contains a Zeiss optical-mechanical projector that projects images of the night sky onto a 15m diameter dome. It also has an area specifically aimed at young children, called The Big Explorer. Do step on the Scotland Tower in the complex, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the tallest fully-rotating and freestanding structure in the world. The whole structure can rotate 360 degrees.
4. The City of Science and Industry, Paris
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This is said to be the largest science museum in Europe and has seen 70 million science enthusiasts since its opening. It promotes science and uses interactive ways to spread knowledge. One can explore some of the permanent exhibitions such as Light Games or The Great Story of the Universe. Incidentally, it was inaugurated on March 13, 1986, on the night of the passage of Halley’s Comet.
5. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC
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One of the most popular space museums in the world, it had a footfall of eight million-odd visitors in 2018. There are over 60,000 objects on display here — like a big piece of the Moon near the entrance. John H Glenn Jr became the first American to orbit the Earth in the Mercury Friendship 7 capsule, which can be seen here. You will also find Lunar Module 2, one of two remaining lunar landers built for the early Apollo missions.
6. Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, Moscow
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Russia boasts of a remarkable history in space exploration. The focus here is on the programmes that include themes such as Yuri Gagarin (the first person in space to orbit the Earth), Sergey Korolev (lead Soviet rocket engineer during the Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1950s-1960s), satellites, rockets, stations, etc. Do not miss the two taxidermied space dogs, Belka and Strelka, who were sent into space in 1960.
