National Space Exhibit Blasts Off

Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington September 16, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-0836)

Libby D. Tilley
Clear Channel Exhibitions, San Antonio
(Phone: 210/599-0045)

RELEASE: 03-294

NATIONAL SPACE EXHIBIT BLASTS OFF

NASA and other officials introduce an unprecedented
traveling educational space exhibition today at 12 p.m. EDT
at the National Press Club in Washington.

Former NASA astronaut Gene Cernan; Dr. Adena Williams Loston,
NASA Associate Administrator for Education; Larry Burns,
General Motors Vice President for Research, Development and
Planning; and Douglas R. King, St. Louis Science Center
president, introduce the new exhibition as an educational
tool to inspire young people and raise public awareness about
space exploration.

The exhibition, "SPACE: A Journey to Our Future," touches
down at Seattle's Pacific Science Center on Saturday,
November 22. Created in collaboration between NASA and the
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the SPACE
exhibition is produced by Clear Channel Exhibitions. It was
made possible by General Motors (GM) with additional support
from the Space Day Foundation and Lockheed Martin.

The 12,000-square-foot exhibition, one of the largest touring
space exhibits ever developed, will be on display in Seattle
through May 9, 2004. It will travel to other museums and
science centers in several U.S. cities over the next five
years.

We hope this exciting exhibit will help to inspire the next
generation of explorers," Loston said. "We want to fuel the
imagination and ignite the desire for discovery in the youth
who will be our nation's next pioneers of air, space and
Earth," she said.

SPACE immerses the visitor in past discoveries and
explorations. It introduces visitors to today's explorers who
are shaping our destiny in the universe. The sights and
sounds of space exploration envelop the visitor through live
performances, easy-to-use interactives, state-of-the-art
projection and audio technology that brings this epic story
to life.

Highlights include opportunities to ride a lunar module
simulator to a surface facsimile of the moon and a visit to a
simulated scientific base camp on Mars.

This first-of-its-kind educational exhibit is geared toward
young people ages nine to 17. Representatives from NASA, NSTA
and GM served on an educational committee with specialists
from leading science centers across the country, including
the St. Louis Science Center, Maryland Science Center,
Pacific Science Center and the California Science Center, to
consult on the content of the exhibition. A teacher's guide
complements the exhibit and is available on the Internet at:

http://www.spaceevent.com

Over the next five years, the SPACE exhibition will visit
Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit,
Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York,
Philadelphia, San Francisco and St. Louis.

For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

For information about NASA Education programs on the
Internet, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov

For information about Clear Channel Exhibitions and the SPACE
exhibition, visit:

http://www.clearchannelexhibitions.com


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