In honor of our new art piece “Dreamer” by Matt Shurtleff, the Orem Library is pleased to present “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission Poster Exhibition.” This exhibit is created by the National Air and Space Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The exhibit will be on display until March 15, 2021 and is located on the bridge between the north and south wings of the library.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued the challenge of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” That challenge was met just eight years later on July 24, 1969. It was a momentous day and many older Americans remember where they witnessed the moon landing.
Destination Moon chronicles the work of nearly 400,000 NASA scientists and engineers who worked through twenty space missions to achieve the moon landing. Recruiting the most brilliant minds of the generation, including top aerospace companies, numerous challenges were explored including clothing, fuel, how to eat, and how to design equipment that would function in outer space, how to design rovers that would be able to travel on a surface no one had previously experienced. Many items we use everyday came from the space program including Velcro, scratch-resistant lenses, ear thermometers, invisalign braces for teeth, cordless drills, tap water filters, GPS navigation, smoke detectors, memory foam and more.
The moon landing was truly one of the great achievements of United States history. It is our hope that this exhibit and our new art piece will cultivate curiosity and inspire a new generation of engineers, scientists, and astronauts. To find out more about the NASA space program and films about space, check out the 629.4 area in books and documentaries and the many terrific feature films about space travel.
More information can be found at sites.si.edu #DestinationMoon @sitesExhibits
Written by Lori, Outreach Librarian
