By Keliann Laconte
The Lunar and Planetary Institute is bringing the art of interpretation to science through nonpersonal media: images, text, exhibits, and stories. As you can probably guess from our name, we love the moon! Our education department brings the universal concepts of our origins, violent history, and pioneering explorations to life through the lenses of geology, astronomy, chemistry, and physics. Our goal is to provoke visitors into viewing the moon (and other planets) in new ways and reveal personal connections with a dominant feature of the sky that is a source for personal, cultural, and scientific inspiration worldwide. We invite you to bring a resource that we all share—our beautiful night sky and Earth’s own history—to your own communities through these resources, available for free on our website.
Interpretation makes a great tool for bringing the wonders of the universe to people who might not be in the habit of learning about science. The moon’s story is rich in universal concepts that everyone can relate to in their own unique ways. The moon’s birth occurred during a time more violent than any epic battle experienced by humans. When the solar system was still young, 4.5 billion years ago, debris littered the orbits of the earth and other planets and caused frequent collisions. A small, planet-sized object collided with the early earth and the ejected rubble, dust, and vapor from that collision coalesced into our moon. Dark circles remain etched on its surface from the continued violence of our early solar system, when comets and asteroids impacted the moon and—although the rock cycle has destroyed the evidence—Earth. The moon’s ancient rocks and cratered surface record its long, shared history with Earth. By understanding the moon, we piece together that ancient story of Earth’s infancy.
Every meal was a space picnic. Dehydrated bite-sized morsels and puréed foods were rehydrated with water and eaten.
The moon’s continued friendly presence in the sky is immortalized in cultural references. The fall full moon’s label of “Harvest Moon” recalls the moon’s helpful nighttime light. Cultural tales highlight different stages of the lunar cycle. The Apollo missions to the moon represent not only a patriotic triumph for the United States and a historical turning point for our world’s political landscape, but tell a tale of human survival in a hostile environment.
We develop the stories of the physics of the moon’s origins, chemical analyses of lunar rocks, and observations of the moon’s surface and changing phase under thematic statements that relate science to personal experience. We provide online interpretive albums, which are a product of the Lunar and Planetary Institute/Johnson Space Center team of the NASA Lunar Science Institute, at www.lpi.usra.edu/nlsi/education. Images are accompanied by interpretive text and links to download the files. Interpreters can create their own exhibits with high-resolution, poster-size images or print the lower-resolution files for educational and personal uses. The album “Camping Trip to the Moon” is intended to highlight the connections between a common recreational activity and a remarkable engineering and physiological feat: sending people to the moon and bringing them safely home. Our gallery of interpretive albums will continue to grow and explore topics such as lunar exploration and the moon’s formation and evolution, including “Treasure Hunt in Earth’s Attic.”
Are we there yet? It took a long trip—three days—in a cramped vehicle to get to the moon. Astronauts (from left to right) Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin performed pre-flight checks.
Each of our growing collection of traveling exhibits consists of three pop-up panels that are available for institutions to borrow. They highlight the stories of the moon’s birth from catastrophe, the violent history that pockmarked its surface with impact craters to create the familiar patterns we see in its face, and the untold stories it holds for the next explorers. Place one of these small exhibits in an atrium, visitor center, or hallway and engage your visitors with related hands-on activities.
Bring science and culture to your campfire programs with our SkyTellers (listen to one free story or purchase the DVD at www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers) and “World Tales of the Moon” (available for free at www.lpi.usra.edu/mymoon/?p=tales), collections of cultural stories recorded by professional storytellers. Adapt these products to your site’s unique resources, message, and audience!
Keliann LaConte is the education specialist with the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Reach her at laconte@lpi.usra.edu.
