The sky is not the limit: Mission Aerospace exhibit features interactive activities about space, aerodynamics

Take a winding journey through space without leaving the ground during Mission Aerospace.

The exhibit, created by Minotaur Mazes, runs through Oct. 6, at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, 601 Eubank Blvd. SE. Minotaur Mazes is a worldwide leader in interactive educational maze exhibits.

Mission Aerospace is a fun experience for all ages.

“Minotaur Mazes create fascinating exhibits,” said Bernadette Robin, director of communications at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. “... They’re a pretty incredible group and we are very excited to have Mission Aerospace here in our temporary exhibit.”

The exhibit is set up as a maze with interactive areas sprinkled throughout.

“Guests will go through the maze, but at each area, they’ll be learning something about aviation, exploration of space, different milestones,” Robin said. “It’s set up to really engage visitors and to keep younger folks really engaged in the exhibit.”

Some activities include making paper airplanes and learn about aerodynamics. Guests will test their paper airplanes for distance and air-dexterity in special launch zones that will simulate sending them off to Beijing and Paris or as far away as Saturn and Mars, according to the museum’s website. Visitors also will launch rockets and learn how gyroscopes are used in navigation, plot a course, and discover the connections between satellites and GPS.

A limited number of guests will receive a commemorative badge recognizing their roles as astronauts, scientists, technicians, pilots, engineers, or crew members, according to the website.

“It’s a fascinating exhibit, especially for people who might not have a real sense of aviation history,” Robin said. “There’s also that included and then the many different discoveries of NASA and how they affect our daily life.”

Robin said the purpose of Mission Aerospace is to encourage people to be curious about aviation and aviation history.

“Our last exhibit, da Vinci, was also interactive, but this has even more activities for people to engage in,” Robin said. “Our goal is always to provide an informal STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education for our visitors and guests. And we think that this exhibit truly fits within our mission as a museum.”