ITaP helps bring the space program, Indiana’s role in it, to the State Fair
Commemorations related to the 40th Anniversary of the initial Apollo moon landing July 20, 1969—featuring Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon—and a high-profile Space Shuttle mission with two Purdue alumni presenting a “Go Boilers!” greeting from orbit have made space the place much of the summer.
Space also promises to be the place at the Indiana State Fair, which runs through Aug. 23 in Indianapolis, and two ITaP units are helping the Purdue-based Indiana Space Grant Consortium bring it there.
The consortium’s Indiana Space Travels exhibit, sponsored by the consortium and the State Fair, is expected to draw up to 250,000 visitors to see a real rocket and a replica of the Hubble Space Telescope, operate a Mars rover by remote control, check out a space capsule simulator, and a host of other educational and hands-on activities.
The exhibit, in a prime location at the State Fairgrounds Grand Hall, highlights often overlooked contributions the state of Indiana has made to NASA and U.S. space exploration and to aeronautics generally, dating back to 1859 with the nation’s first airmail delivery originating by hot air balloon in Lafayette.
The exhibit also highlights all 32 astronauts with Indiana ties, 23 of them from Purdue, including Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the last man to leave the moon on the final Apollo mission. “In the exhibit, we have several interactive items and unique artifacts from various space missions,” said Barrett Caldwell, director of the consortium, which includes Purdue and 11 other Indiana schools, along with institutional and corporate affiliates.
The Indiana Space Grant Consortium contacted ITaP for help with large-screen video monitors, computers and a sound system, said Steve Dunlop of ITaP’s data visualization facility and Phil Knobloch of ITaP audio-visual services. While the focus of those units is classroom and research technology at Purdue, they have broad experience and expertise, including design and construction of Purdue’s booth at events such as the annual SuperComputing conference.
ITaP provided and installed six large screens, integrating them into the materials the Indiana Space Grant Consortium arranged from NASA and its other partners, such as IMAX Indianapolis.
Three of the screens will work at the entrance to display material designed to draw people into the exhibit and to entertain visitors waiting in line to enter. Others will be used to present information in the exhibit’s media area and to show IMAX footage from Space Shuttle missions and more. Knobloch said ITaP audio-visual also will be on call to troubleshoot technical problems during the State Fair’s run.
More information:
www.in.gov/statefair
www.insgc.org
Writer: Greg Kline, science and technology writer, Information Technology at Purdue, (765) 494-8167, gkline@purdue.edu
Last updated: Aug. 6, 2009
Space also promises to be the place at the Indiana State Fair, which runs through Aug. 23 in Indianapolis, and two ITaP units are helping the Purdue-based Indiana Space Grant Consortium bring it there.
The consortium’s Indiana Space Travels exhibit, sponsored by the consortium and the State Fair, is expected to draw up to 250,000 visitors to see a real rocket and a replica of the Hubble Space Telescope, operate a Mars rover by remote control, check out a space capsule simulator, and a host of other educational and hands-on activities.
The exhibit, in a prime location at the State Fairgrounds Grand Hall, highlights often overlooked contributions the state of Indiana has made to NASA and U.S. space exploration and to aeronautics generally, dating back to 1859 with the nation’s first airmail delivery originating by hot air balloon in Lafayette.
The exhibit also highlights all 32 astronauts with Indiana ties, 23 of them from Purdue, including Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the last man to leave the moon on the final Apollo mission. “In the exhibit, we have several interactive items and unique artifacts from various space missions,” said Barrett Caldwell, director of the consortium, which includes Purdue and 11 other Indiana schools, along with institutional and corporate affiliates.
The Indiana Space Grant Consortium contacted ITaP for help with large-screen video monitors, computers and a sound system, said Steve Dunlop of ITaP’s data visualization facility and Phil Knobloch of ITaP audio-visual services. While the focus of those units is classroom and research technology at Purdue, they have broad experience and expertise, including design and construction of Purdue’s booth at events such as the annual SuperComputing conference.
ITaP provided and installed six large screens, integrating them into the materials the Indiana Space Grant Consortium arranged from NASA and its other partners, such as IMAX Indianapolis.
Three of the screens will work at the entrance to display material designed to draw people into the exhibit and to entertain visitors waiting in line to enter. Others will be used to present information in the exhibit’s media area and to show IMAX footage from Space Shuttle missions and more. Knobloch said ITaP audio-visual also will be on call to troubleshoot technical problems during the State Fair’s run.
More information:
www.in.gov/statefair
www.insgc.org
Writer: Greg Kline, science and technology writer, Information Technology at Purdue, (765) 494-8167, gkline@purdue.edu
Last updated: Aug. 6, 2009
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