Space exploration is back in the public mind these days, thanks in large part to elected officials and tech titans who are pushing for a return trip to the Moon and then a voyage to Mars. But the subject has never gone out of style at Orlando Science Center, where most visiting youngsters (and their families) would be happy to follow the historic “one small step” of Neil Armstrong.
The tradition continues in Mission: Astronaut, OSC’s spring exhibition in which visitors will train for and execute a simulated assignment to a space station.
Introductory exercises will make sure that recruits have the right stuff. From there, interactive activities will replicate every challenge that might arise while in orbit, from operating a robotic arm to cooking a vacuum-packed meal.
While the technology is cutting-edge throughout, the exhibition’s focus will be squarely on human initiative: Like much of OSC’s educational fare, Mission: Astronaut is designed to stimulate critical STEM skills and to emphasize problem-solving strategies that are just as applicable in a child’s daily life as they are 250 miles above the Earth.
The exhibition’s content was devised by the San Antonio-based DoSeum, a children’s museum, in partnership with the Intrepid Museum, a military and maritime history museum located within the legendary aircraft carrier that’s docked in New York’s Hudson River. The traveling space adventure was built by Flying Fish, based in Australia.
And just as Mission: Astronaut will look forward to a renaissance of astronautics, it will also serve as a preview of things to come at OSC. In 2024, the facility received nearly $14 million in Orange County TDT (tourist-development tax) funds that will be spent turning the building’s fourth-floor terrace into an enclosed, 6,500-square-foot gallery.
The new area will be occupied by another exhibition about space exploration that’s set to debut in 2027. And this spring will see the grand opening of OSC’s renovated CineDome, now known as “The Dome,” which is being upgraded to 8K digital projection for use as a cutting-edge planetarium. That’s a lot of space for space, all right.
Orlando Science Center is located at 777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. For more information, call or visit the website.
