NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A traveling exhibit brings a taste of outer space to your community library

Coming soon to a library near you: a portal to outer space! It's not a wormhole or a Star Trek-style teleporter, of course. This "portal" is a brand-new interactive exhibit that begins a 2-year tour of U.S. libraries this month. Fun activities on flat-screen computers allow curious minds to puzzle over floating water droplets and spherical candle flames, marvel at the beauty of the Earth seen from orbit, and learn what living in space is really like.

Space buffs can put their knowledge to the test: Do people's spines "stretch out" without the compression of gravity, making them taller in orbit? How can you take a shower when the water droplets float around? What happens to boiling water in space, since the bubbles don't rise? And what can we learn about the environment by looking down at the Earth from space?

Above: This "NASA @ your library" exhibit-stand houses six flat-screen iMac computers for visitors to play with. Image courtesy American Library Association and NASA.

The goal of this new exhibit, called "NASA @ your library," is to use the "cool factor" of space to interest children in math and science, and to make people aware of the unique benefits of doing science in orbit. Interested libraries can still apply to host the exhibit by filling out this application to host "NASA @ your library".

"Space research plays an integral role in our daily lives," says Mary Kicza, NASA's Associate Administrator of Biological and Physical Research. "It affects many things around us including the foods we eat to everyday household products. This exhibit will educate everyone on the importance and opportunities in space research."

The exhibit consists of two stands: one houses six new flat-screen iMac computers for visitors to play with. The computers, supplied by Apple Computer, run an interactive, multimedia presentation featuring animated cartoon characters, which was specially designed for the exhibit. The other stand is a plasma-screen theater. It will show movies about NASA research.

The tour kicked off today at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Five exhibits will visit a total of 120 libraries around the U.S., staying a month at each one. The other four opening libraries are Johnson County Library, Overland Park, Kansas; Lakewood Library, Tacoma, Washington; Northwest Reno Library, Reno, Nevada; and Spartanburg County Public Libraries, Spartanburg, South Carolina. To find out where the NASA @ Your Library exhibit is now, please visit the American Library Association Web site's exhibit location page.

"The 'NASA @ your library' program is a wonderful example of how libraries have become modern community centers for information, education and entertainment," says American Library Association President Carla Hayden. Hayden adds that while not everyone can afford to have the information resources of the Internet in their homes, everyone in the community can utilize the local library.

It may not be the Space Station itself, but if this new exhibit inspires some young people to pursue careers in science, they just might find themselves conducting research in weightlessness some day!

Video Clips from the Exibit:
Transforming Tomorrow Today

So you can look up for the NASA Space Shuttle or in the International Space Station or look up to visualize an exciting new galaxy photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. But remember that NASA has many rolls in the universe ranging from planetary exploration to weather exploration to airplan improvement to the development of things in your own back yard. NASA's physics, chemistry and biology research is transforming tomorrow's health, as well as home, agriculture, and industry today. The following video clips show examples from the exhibit of how NASA is transforming tomorrow today.

Telescience High-resolution cameras are enabling telescience +View this Video	Healthy Hearts NASA Research is improving cardiac health +View this Video
LEDs NASA research with LEDs aids healing +View this Video	Hyperspectral Imaging NASA research is increasing food safety +View this Video
Cleaner Air NASA technology helps monitor air quality +View this Video	Liquid Metals This unique alloy has many uses in sporting equipment +View this Video
Zeolites Zeolites are used in the production of many common products +View this Video	Video Enhancement NASA technology is helping law enforcement +View this Video
Electronic Nose NASA technology helps find contaminants in the air +View this Video	Satellite Assistant Personal satellite assistants help space crews +View this Video
Organic Crops NASA research is helping increase organic crop yields +View this Video

Credits & Contacts:
Feature Author: Patrick L. Barry
Feature Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips
Feature Production Credit: Science@NASA
Video Clips: Office of Biological and Physical Research

Web Links

NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) supports research for the benefit of humans in space and on Earth. Participating libraries -- A list of libraries in the U.S. that will host the "NASA @ your library" exhibit Land a Space Station in your library -- information page for libraries interested in hosting the exhibit Application to host "NASA @ your library" -- in Adobe PDF format (download a free reader) American Library Association -- home page