[meteorite-list] Apollo Moon Rocks, Meteorites on Display At Rhode Island Museum

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:52:04 2004
Message-ID: <200208011635.JAA18499_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.projo.com/yourlife/content/projo_20020801_moonrox.6d89e.html

Moon rocks flying over this weekend
BY BILL VAN SICLEN
projo.com (Rhode Island)
August 1, 2002

PROVIDENCE -- Five years ago, scores of people showed up for an exhibit
of NASA-owned moon rocks and soil samples at the Museum of Natural History
and Planetarium in Roger Williams Park. Now, like Mini-Me versions of
Halley's Comet, the hunks of lunar landscape are back again.

"People really loved them the first time, so we decided to bring them
back," says museum director Tracy Keough. "There's something about seeing
pieces of another planet that's really fascinating."

And fleeting. The exhibit, "Rocks from Space," will be visible for two
days only -- Saturday and Sunday -- before zooming off to parts unknown.
Exhibit hours are noon to 3 p.m. each day.

On display will be six different lunar rocks and soil samples, as well as
six meteorites. All are on loan from the National Aeronautics & Space
Administration, better known as NASA, and all are encased in a protective
coating of transparent acrylic.

"People can actually handle the samples," says exhibit coordinator Renee
Gamba. "That wouldn't be possible if they weren't protected."

Visitors will also find a selection of rocks and minerals from the museum's
own collection, including several meteorites. These specimens, which are not
encased in acrylic, can also be handled.

The Museum of National History and Planetarium is located in Roger Williams
Park, off Elmwood Avenue, Providence. Admission is $2, or $1 for children
under 8. For more information, call 785-9450.
Received on Thu 01 Aug 2002 12:35:11 PM PDT