“The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered,” a new interactive
6,000-square-foot traveling exhibit of the 1961 Mercury space capsule
recovered in July 1999 during a Discovery Channel expedition, begins
its three-year journey across the nation on June 17, 2000 at Kennedy
Space Center Visitor Complex in Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
The second manned space mission for the United States, Liberty
Bell 7 was flown in 1961 by astronaut and U.S. Air Force Captain
Virgil “Gus” Grissom on a mission that lasted 15 minutes and 37
seconds before sinking to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, where it
lay undetected for nearly four decades. Now, the newly restored
capsule will travel with this new Discovery Channel-sponsored exhibit
to science centers and museums in 12 cities throughout the United
States (see attached exhibit schedule).
Created in partnership with BBH, Inc. of San Antonio, TX, “Liberty
Bell 7 Recovered” will take science center and museum visitors on a
virtual ride with Grissom 118 miles into space and then 3 miles below
the ocean’s surface where the capsule sat untouched. “Liberty Bell 7
Recovered” will engage visitors in astronaut training, spacecraft
technology and launch sequences circa 1961. It then fast-forwards to
1999 to follow the exciting events surrounding the rescue of the
spacecraft and personal triumph by deep-sea search and recovery expert
Curt Newport and his expedition team.
“Discovery Channel is proud to be a part of this next step with
the Liberty Bell 7 space capsule and to present this historical
exhibit to families across the country,” says Mike Quattrone,
executive vice president and general manager, Discovery Channel.
“Those who remembered the period when the world stood still to watch a
Mercury launch will marvel at the memories the exhibit evokes, while
people of all ages will be fascinated with this engaging piece of
history.”
Interactive Elements Of the Exhibit
Several interactive stations make this museum experience on early
space flight something to remember.
- What’s it like to fly into space? A capsule simulator invites
visitors to climb in the pilot’s seat of this tiny spacecraft and
perform a pre-flight task. - Less than half of the test launches of early rockets were
successful. A rocket interactive allows visitors to look through a
periscope and select from a series of rocket launch videos and
discover each rocket’s fate. - Early astronauts were tested to determine their response to
powerful G-forces experienced during the mission. Adults and children
alike will climb into a real-life centrifuge and test themselves
against the grit of astronauts in a main attraction in the exhibit. - Through an interactive joystick control, visitors will maneuver
a small helicopter model and attempt to recover a miniature version of
the Liberty Bell 7.
Parents will be able to experience this exciting treasure hunt
with their children.
- The exhibit offers a remarkable re-creation of the recovery
ship Ocean Project’s deck, where they can peek into the recovery
team’s daily log as it appeared on the Internet during the expedition. - Another interactive feature allows visitors to conduct a
virtual interview with Newport to discover why he pursued this
adventure and what technology was necessary to achieve success. - The amazing interactive Remote Operated Vehicle element,
complete with robot arms and cameras, invites kids and parents to test
their underwater piloting skills just like the explorers who found the
Liberty Bell 7 on the ocean floor… more than 3 miles below the
surface. - Via computer, visitors can use custom software that was
developed to help identify sonar images of unknown objects miles
beneath the ocean’s surface. This high-tech software creates a video
image from the rough sonar data. The visitor may select one of a
number of images within a grid and then discover the object’s
identity.
A LESSON IN TIME AND SPACE
The story of Liberty Bell 7 and the adventure surrounding its
resurrection are part trip down memory lane, part lesson in
patriotism, a salute to technological achievement and an affirmation
of the strength of the human spirit. “Liberty Bell 7 Recovered”
plunges visitors into the Cold War era in which the United States
competed with the Soviet Union in a race to the moon and contrasts
that environment with the state-of-the-art technology that in 1999
enabled explorers to raise the capsule.
Most significantly, the Liberty Bell 7 space capsule itself will
be displayed. This symbol of American determination and ingenuity
greets the public after 38 years under water. Visitors see the
spacecraft as Grissom left it and as Newport and his team found it
after nearly four decades on the ocean floor.
The exhibit allows visitors to enter into lifelike environments
complete with the sights and sounds associated with:
- The era. A family living room circa 1961, just like the ones in
which millions of Americans sat riveted to their televisions as
astronauts rocketed into space, welcomes visitors as they enter. They
experience the sights, sounds and sociopolitical climate of the time
via video, vintage publications and period artifacts. - The flight of the Liberty Bell 7, featuring actual audio and
video accounts of Grissom and the other astronauts of the Mercury
Program and NASA footage. - Mission Control as it appeared in 1961.
- A splashdown theater complete with a partial replica of the
Sikorsky recovery helicopter, whose window provides a view of the
actual attempt to rescue the capsule. - A replica of the deck of the recovery expedition ship, Ocean
Project, where visitors will see the technology that made recovery
possible. - Listening, Looking, Locating and Lifting kiosks that take
visitors on a step-by-step tour of the technology that allowed the
recovery team to pinpoint the capsule’s location and raise it from its
38-year resting place on the ocean floor. - A tribute to Grissom, the man who many called “the astronaut’s
astronaut.”
Discovery Channel is one of the United States’ two largest cable
television networks, serving 78 million households across the nation
with the finest in informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, a
division of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages
Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery
Health Channel, Discovery People, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery
Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery
Civilization Channel, Discovery Wings Channel, and Discovery en
Espanol. The unit also markets and distributes BBC America. The
restoration was conducted by The Smithsonian affiliated Kansas
Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas, which will serve
as the permanent home for the capsule after its three-year nationwide
tour.
For more information visit www.discovery.com or for more
information on BBH, Inc. visit www.bbhinc.net.
The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered
Exhibit Schedule
The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered, an interactive,
traveling exhibit from Discovery Channel, will be presented at the
following venues (dates and venues are subject to change):
June 17, 2000 – September 17, 2000
Kennedy Space Center
Visitor Complex
Kennedy Space Center, Fla
October 7, 2000 – January 7, 2001
The Children’s Museum
Indianapolis, IN
January 27, 2001 – June 3, 2001
Liberty Science Center
Jersey City, NJ
June 23, 2001 – September 9, 2001
The St. Louis Science Center
St. Louis, MO
September 29, 2001 – January 6, 2002
The Tech Museum
San Jose, CA
January 26, 2002 – March 24, 2002
Boston Museum of Science
Boston, MA
April 13, 2002 – June 16, 2002
Kirkpatrick Science &
Air Museum (Omniplex)
Oklahoma City, OK
June 29, 2002 – September 15, 2002
California Science Center
Los Angeles, CA
October 5, 2002 – January 5, 2003
Denver Museum of Natural
History
Denver, CO
February 4, 2003 – May 26, 2003
ScienceCity
Kansas City, MO
June 14, 2003 – September 7, 2003
Museum of Science & History
Ft. Worth, TX
TBD
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC
Contact:
Lynette Nelson
BBH Exhibits, Inc.
210.599.0045
or
Lauren Leff/Amy Barone/Laura Goldberg
Trylon Communications
212.725.2295
or
Jennifer Sweeney
Discovery Channel
301.771.4437
