HARRISBURG, Pa. — A new exhibit at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg is allowing visitors to travel through space and see firsthand what it’s like to be a NASA astronaut.
SPACE: AN OUT-OF-GRAVITY EXPERIENCE is a 10,000-square-foot exhibit developed in partnership with the International Space Station Office of NASA's Johnson Space Center.
“This all about what it take to be an astronaut,” said Kristin James, the STEAM curriculum manager at the Whitaker Center. “From training on Earth to (leaving our Earth’s atmosphere), going to the Space Station, living on the Space Station and working there and being able to survive all doing that.”
With hands-on exhibits, you’ll get the chance to experience the sights, sounds and smells on board an orbiting space station. There is even a full-scale, rotating mock-up of the International Space Station's Destiny Lab.
“I think everyone's got a little bit of wonder when it comes to space. What's it like to live outside of our planet? What's it like to live in space?” said James. “The nice part about this exhibit, guests actually come and experience those things. They get to test the food that astronauts eat. They get to see exactly, and hear from astronauts through all the videos throughout the exhibit, on how they did it, and how they enjoyed it, and love living and working in space.”
SPACE: AN OUT-OF-GRAVITY EXPERIENCE will be at the Whitaker Center through Dec. 31. On Saturday, Oct. 21, they will celebrate Space Day with a keynote speaker, local NASA astronaut Bob Hines, sharing his experience in space.