WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- NASA Administrator Bill
Nelson joined the director of the Smithsonian's National
Museum of Natural History in Washington and agency leadership to unveil the
new Earth Information Center exhibit during an early preview on
Monday.
"NASA has studied Earth and our changing climate for more than
60 years. The Earth Information Center at the Smithsonian Museum of
Natural History will expand access to NASA's data and our decades
of Earth observation to even more people," said Nelson. "Together
with the Smithsonian, we are providing detailed, usable, and
scalable information to enable the public to better understand the
climate crisis and take action in their community."
The exhibit includes a 32-foot-long, 12-foot-high video wall
displaying Earth science data visualizations and videos,
interpretive panels showing Earth's connected systems, information
on our changing world, and an overview of how NASA and the
Smithsonian study our home planet. It opens to the public Tuesday,
Oct. 8.
"The new Earth Information Center at the National Museum of
Natural History will bring Smithsonian and NASA data on the Earth's
environment and climate to thousands of museum visitors every
year," said Kirk Johnson, the
museum's Sant director. "It is an honor to partner with NASA to
bring this dynamic view of Earth to museumgoers and connect people
more deeply with their home planet."
Visitors also can explore Earth observing missions, changes in
Earth's landscape over time, and how climate is expected to change
regionally through multiple interactive experiences. The exhibit
will remain on display through 2028.
"The Earth Information Center allows people to see our planet as
we at NASA see it – an awe-inspiring and complex system of oceans,
land, ice, atmosphere, and the life they support," said
Karen St. Germain, division
director, Earth Sciences Division at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "We are thrilled that
this collaboration puts NASA's Earth science at the fingertips of
Smithsonian visitors for the benefit of all."
With more than two dozen missions in orbit, NASA observes our
planet's oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere, and measure how a
change in one drives change in others. NASA develops new ways to
build long-term data records of how our planet evolves. The agency
freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions
around the world.
As part of NASA's ongoing mission to better understand our home
planet, NASA created the Earth Information Center which draws
insights from across all NASA centers and its federal partners –
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for
International Development, Environmental Protection Agency, and
Federal Emergency Management Administration. It allows viewers to
see how our home planet is changing and gives decision makers
information to develop the tools they need to mitigate, adapt, and
respond to those changes.
NASA's Earth Information Center is a virtual and physical space
designed to aid people to make informed decisions on Earth's
environment and climate. It provides easily accessible Earth
information, enabling global understanding of our changing
planet.
The expansion of the physical Earth Information Center at the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History makes it the second
location in the Washington area.
The first is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington at 300 E St., SW.
To learn more about the Earth Information Center, visit:
https://earth.gov
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-smithsonian-open-new-exhibit-to-showcase-our-dynamic-earth-302269103.html
SOURCE NASA