Offering ‘New Views of the Universe’

On Friday, October 5,
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will open its doors to a new special
exhibit, “Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe.” The exhibit was
brought to the Visitor Complex by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling
Exhibition Service (SITES) and will be on display in the west wing of the
Visitor Complex’s IMAX® Theater through April 2002.

“New Views of the Universe” makes it possible for the general public to
see and understand for the very first time the extraordinary discoveries made
by Hubble since its launch in April 1990.

The exhibit immerses visitors in a deep space experience, allowing them to
explore the cosmos through the eye of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
Through vivid Hubble images, interactive activities, video and artifacts,
guests can learn more about the telescope’s history, design and purpose, as
well as planets, stars, galaxies and intergalactic space.

In addition to an 8 foot, 1:5 scale model of the telescope orbiting the
earth, the exhibit contains more than a dozen hands-on activities including
“Cosmic Collisions,” at which guests can create a crash course between Jupiter
and a comet and view animated results. Other activities enable visitors to
learn how astronauts replace equipment in the HST, how the telescope uses
“guide stars” to steer into position and how scientists use color to determine
the age of stars.

“With the third Hubble Servicing Mission scheduled to launch in January
2002, there couldn’t be a better time for us to share with the public the
amazing discoveries this telescope has made,” said Rick Abramson, president
and COO of Delaware North Parks Services of Spaceport, Inc., operator of the
Visitor Complex for NASA. “The colorful, hands-on nature of this exhibit
enables us to not only tell the NASA story, but to show the NASA story.”

“Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe” has been organized by
the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service and the Space Telescope
Science Institute, operated for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,
Inc.
The exhibition and its educational programs have been made possible
through the generous support of NASA’s Offices of Space Science and Education
and Lockheed Martin.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is located 45 minutes east of
Orlando, Florida. Regular daily admission is $25 for adults and $15 for
children ages 3-11, and includes access to all exhibits including “New Views
of the Universe,” the KSC Tour, Astronaut Encounter, Mad Mission to Mars 2025
and IMAX® space films. The Visitor Complex is open from 9 a.m. to
approximately dusk every day except December 25 and certain launch days. For
more information, call 321-449-4444 or visit
http://www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.

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