Current Exhibit

January 19, 2013 -- January 12, 2014

Get Ready to Rocket into Space Quest!

One of the most popular of the Museum’s rotating exhibits, Space Quest! returns on January 19^th, 2013. Some visitor favorites will return as well, including – by popular request!-- the Rocketship play area  from Habitot in Berkeley, complete with astronaut costumes and helmets. Little visitors will also be happy to know that the Cosmic Café play space is back, too!

What’s new?  Aspiring astronauts will enjoy “pulling some G’s” on the bicycle gyroscope and rotation chair, using the spectral and velocity tube apparatuses, or trying out the re-designed glove boxes.  There are hands-on tables simulating Venus, Mars, and our very own Moon. Don’t miss the Ecozone System mini-display, demonstrating how a Moon or Mars base might operate.

More interactive family fun includes a lab with radiometer, polarizing sheets, magnets, and puzzles. The newly-designed Light & Color Corner includes a light-mixing device, light wave and fiber boxes, and light table with color paddles and cylinders. This part of the exhibit is also home to plasma balls and a Jacob’s Ladder. 

Who knew the Periodic Table of Elements could be so much fun!  Presented in an engaging, hands-on way, visitors can build their own molecules to match the elements, learning about the various atoms that create our world.

The Space Quest! exhibition will run through 2013, with some exciting change-outs every few months. Thank you to IKEA, Randy & Heidi Doyle, PASCO, and NASCO for sponsoring the exhibit, helping us provide hands-on science experiences to Museum visitors.