Boettcher Foundation Grant to Fund Visitors Center Expansion

A $15,000 capital funds grant from Denver-based Boettcher Foundation will enable the Space Foundation to continue development of our Visitors Center.

The grant will enable us to begin construction on the next phase of the Visitors Center, which currently features two main areas - the Northrop Grumman Science Center and the El Pomar Space Gallery. The Visitors Center opened to the public in October 2012.

The centerpiece of the Northrop Grumman Science Center is Science On a Sphere® (SOS), developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The world's first dynamic spherical projection system, SOS uses special software, satellite imagery and four projectors to render images onto the global surface that provide dramatic, full-motion views of the Earth, Sun, moons and planets in space.

The El Pomar Space Gallery's initial exhibit, Launch to the Moon, focuses on U.S. and Soviet lunar exploration, providing an interesting look at both history and the cultural dynamics of the early "race to the Moon."

The Launch to the Moon exhibit includes:

• An actual Soviet Lunokhod robotic Moon buggy identical to two that were secretly launched during the Cold War and recently re-discovered on the surface of the Moon
• An exhibit about the U.S. Lunar Module (LM) - the first manned vehicle to land on the Moon
• Scale models of rockets
• Soviet and U.S. space suits
• A display of astronaut food

The Visitors Center is open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and the first Saturday of each month. The Visitors Center is located at the Space Foundation world headquarters at 4425 Arrowswest Dr., near Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo. For details about fees and other information, visit www.spacefoundation.org/visit.

This article is part of Space Watch: January 2013 (Volume: 12, Issue: 1).