CONTACTS:
Bryton Sampson, The Leonardo, 801.244.8852, bsampson@theleonardo.org
Ciandra Jackson, Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-2924, ciandra.t.jackson@nasa.gov
FREEE: Touch the Moon this Weekend at The Leonardo
SALT LAKE CITY—May, 23, 2012—Utahns will have the rare chance to touch a nearly 4-billion-year-old piece of moon rock at NASA’s Driven to Explore traveling exhibit, a multimedia experience that immerses visitors in the story of NASA. The exhibit will be at The Leonardo at 209 East 500 South in downtown Salt Lake City on Friday, May 25 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday, May 26, 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.
FRIDAY -- Local Astronaut Shares His Experience: On Friday, May 25 Utah’s own astronaut and former U.S. senator Jake Garn will be at The Leo to talk to visitors about his space flight, and sign autographs between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sen. Garn flew as a payload specialist on Space Shuttle Discovery (April 12-19, 1985). At the conclusion of the mission, Sen. Garn had traveled over 2.5 million miles in 108 Earth orbits, logging over 167 hours in space. He was the first member of congress to fly in space.
The centerpiece of the NASA exhibit is the opportunity to touch a lunar rock sample brought to Earth by the astronauts of Apollo 17 in 1972, America's last human mission to the moon. The rock is one of only eight lunar samples made available for the public to touch.
Driven to Explore allows visitors to learn why we explore, discover the challenges of human space exploration and how NASA provides critical technological advances to improve life on Earth. The exhibit also details the accomplishments of the space shuttle and the International Space Station.
Once visitors have enjoyed the NASA outside on the plaza, The Leonardo invites them to come inside and continue their “drive to explore” with a variety of hands-on activities, including Magic Planet projections, constructing prototype, and more.
SATURDAY -- Guest Expert, Tomas Quayle, Clark Planetarium: On Friday May 25th at 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., join Thomas Quayle from the Clark Planetarium for an exciting visual journey through space in Exploring our Solar System featuring beautiful photos from NASA’s latest missions.
The NASA experience is free to the public. Hands-on activities and Exploring our Solar System are free with museum admission.
The Leonardo is a contemporary museum in downtown Salt Lake City connecting science, technology and creativity. For more information, visit www.theleonardo.org.
NASA is investing in the building blocks of a more capable approach to space exploration, including research and development to increase space travel capabilities. In support of these efforts, NASA is performing field tests, designing surface systems and conducting advanced human research to ensure that future missions are safe, sustainable and affordable.
For more information about NASA exploration, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration.
