Exhibits and Events at the UM Exhibit Museum
The UM Exhibit Museum once again has a great set of learning opportunities for students of all ages this summer. Check out some of the events and shows listed below:
Apollo 11: 40 Years Later
July 20th marks the 40th anniversary of the landing of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module on the Moon, and the first time humans stepped onto the Moon. The Exhibit Museum commemorates the event with an exhibit, on the Museum’s 4th floor across from the Planetarium. The exhibit includes a model of the Saturn V rocket that lifted the Columbia Command Module and the Eagle Lunar Module into space, a model of the Lunar Rover, and articles about the mission published in 1969. The exhibit will be on view through September. In addition, a five-minute movie about the Apollo missions and the NASA space program will accompany all Museum Planetarium shows in July, August, and September.
The Apollo 11 mission fulfilled President Kennedy’s 1961 goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” within the decade. Mission Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above. Six and a half hours after landing on the Moon, Armstrong stepped onto the surface, saying, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The command module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, and Gemini 4.
Ida: Darwinius masillae
“Ida,” a new exhibit in the Exhibit Museum’s Rotunda, displays a high-resolution cast of an extremely rare fossil discovered in 1983 near Messel, Germany, but only recently made available for study. The fossil has proven to be a “link” between the prosimian and simian (”anthropoid”) primate lineages. It has “advanced” front teeth (incisors and canines) and second toes like those of monkeys, and is broadly representative of what human primate ancestors may have looked like during the Eocene epoch 47 million years ago.
Ida (prounded “eeda”) is named after after the daughter of Dr Jørn Hurum, the Norwegian vertebrate paleontologist who secured one section of the fossil from an anonymous owner, and led the research. Ida was about eight months old, or the equivalent of a six-year-old human.
Publication of a paper on the discovery was accompanied by a book, The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestors by Colin Tudge, and a documentary shown on the History Channel (US), BBC One (UK),and various stations in Germany and Norway.
U-M paleontologist Philip Gingerich and U-M anthropologist B. Holly Smith were two members of the “dream team” invited to study Ida. The exhibit will be on display through May 2010.
Free Dinosaur Tours! Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm
Attention dinosaur fans! Join us at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays for a free, 30-minute docent-led tour of the dinosaur exhibits. Sign up on the day of the tour. Limit: 15 people.
Planetarium Shows
The Sky Tonight: Star Talk
Monday-Friday at 1:30 & 3:30
Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 at 1:30 & 3:30
Sundays, August 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 at 1:30 & 3:30
Bright stars, constellations, planets, and telescopic objects in the current night sky will be discussed in this live “star talk.” Then leave Earth and “fly” out into space to examine the planets in the current sky.
Origins of Life
Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 at 2:30
Starting with the Big Bang, learn about the prebiotic chemistry in the Universe, the formation of stars and solar systems, and the first life on Earth, as well as the great extinctions and our search for life beyond planet Earth.
Little Star
Monday-Friday at 12:30
Little Star, an average yellow star, searches for planets of his own to protect and warm. Along the way, he meets other stars, learns what makes each star special and discovers that stars combine to form clusters and galaxies. Little Star also learns about planets and our Solar System.
MarsQuest
Monday-Friday at 2:30
Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 at 12:30
With recorded narration by Patrick Stewart, MarsQuest chronicles humanity’s cultural and scientific fascination with the planet Mars, from early observations of its “canals” to stories like War of the Worlds. Spacecraft mission findings are used to compare Mars’ weather, climate, and geology to Earth’s. We learn where on Earth we can prepare to live on Mars, what will be needed to get crewed missions there, and what the first landing may be like.
All ages admitted. Planetarium prices are $4.75 for adults, seniors, & children.
About the Museum
The University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History is open Monday through Saturday, 9 am-5 pm, and Sunday 12-5 pm. The Museum is located at 1109 Geddes Avenue in Ann Arbor; the main entrance is one block west of Washtenaw Avenue.
Admission to the Museum is free for individuals and families; groups of 10 or more must call to make a reservation. For more information, call (734) 764-0478. Visit our website – www. lsa.umich.edu/exhibitmuseum
Professional Development
Are you looking for a chance to broaden your horizons this summer and learn something new to support your teaching? Here are a number of professional learning opportunities posted by our colleagues around the state: