NASA Anchor: Portable Moon Museum Exhibit
Space Sciences and Engineering Mobile Interactive Exhibit for Rural Areas: Earth to Moon is a three-part display being built by Saint Francis University’s faculty, staff, and students for children and their families in rural communities of the Appalachian Mountains in Central Pennsylvania.
The NASA-funded exhibit is grounded in the history of humankind's ingenuity and envisages our future endeavors. The exhibit is a portable mobile museum that travels from library to library in the rural region enabling local youth to learn and experience great discoveries and mysteries of space. The theme of this exhibit, titled Earth to Moon, consists of three interrelated displays: (1) The Earth-Moon system, (2) Living on the Moon, and (3) Radio telescopes on the far side of the Moon. Each display includes high-resolution images, 3D fabricated models of the lunar surface and human-engineered constructions, learning materials, and hands-on activities.
The Earth to Moon exhibit aims to inspire children’s natural curiosity about the world around them, excite the Artemis generation about space exploration, and engage them in creative thinking and problem-solving. Local libraries host the exhibit for a few weeks before moving to its next destination.
Team Members
SFU Faculty & Staff
- Dr. Lanika Ruzhitskaya – Principal Investigator
- Dr. Qin He
- Dr. Timothy Miller
- Dr. Guochang Wang
- Mr. Michael Sell
SFU Students
- Jacob Garrity
- Mark Koskinen
- Jonah Royer
- Kevin Salmon
- Anna Belle Stover
Project Partners
- Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8
- Claysburg Education Foundation
- Claysburg Area Public Library
- Hollidaysburg Area Public Library
- Patton Public Library
- Portage Public Library
For more information, contact:
Dr. Lanika Ruzhitskaya
814-472-3871
lruzhitskaya@francis.edu
