To Infinity and Beyond
Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas
The Cosmosphere is a place to learn about all things space through all different types of experiences. The first time I visited the Cosmosphere I just went down to see the exhibits and did not do any of the “extras”. The second time I went I did all the “extras” and I was there at the same time as a school group who was there on a field trip, so I got to see how students responded to different parts of the museum. To do everything that the cosmosphere has to offer, it would definitely take a full day.
Resources
Most children series have a version of the book where the main character goes to space. Also, there are many, many, many non fiction books for all grade levels about space. Two books that I came across when I was in the Cosmosphere are about a mouse who goes to space. It is written by astronaut Mark Kelly.
Activities
The activities below are going to focus on the activities offered by the Cosmosphere.
The Dr. Goddard Lab was one of the coolest activities at the Cosmosphere. The scientist teacher in Dr. Goodard’s lab did a phenomenal job of engaging the students. Her goal was to explain the different experiments that Dr. Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, did to create the modern rocket. She also tried to bring home the point that Dr. Goodard kept trying even though people said he was never going to be able to create the modern rocket. There was humor, fire, and explosions- by far the best presentation I have seen in a museum setting.
The Carey Digital Dome Theatre makes the viewer feel like they are in the middle of all the action. The movie I watched was “Space Junk”, which showed all the space junk that has been left in space from all the technology that we have sent into space like satellites. It was interesting, and I learned a lot. The “Space Junk” movie was available because I was there at the same time as a field trip.
The CosmoKids area is a hands on area where kids can build a habitat on Mars, explore inside a spacecraft, experiment with a wind tunnel, experiment with gravity, and create and launch a rocket. This is a fun area for kids to explore, build, and experiment.
There are also several hands on exhibits through the Hall of Space Museum. There is a rocket that people can stand under and look up at, a bomber ejection seat that people can sit on, a Google map projection that allows people to zoom in to anywhere around the world, and an Apollo white room that kids can stand in and explore.
A tip from someone who has been there.
There is a planetarium called the Justice Planetarium at the Cosmosphere where people can look at a projection of the stars while someone talks about the different constellations. My time was limited, so I did not stay for the whole planetarium presentation, but I am sure it is very interesting for someone who is fascinated by the stars.
On my way out, I saw that the students on the field trip were participating in a guided tour by someone from the museum. If I was taking a group on a field trip, I would definitely take advantage of this.
