Our Moon launches in Nelson this summer

Image: NASA

Prepare for a close encounter with the Moon this summer. Literally! The Nelson Provincial Museum is excited to launch its latest major exhibition into the Nelson Tasman orbit on Friday, 20 December. And it boasts one of the rarest objects on Earth - a genuine piece of Moon rock from Apollo 11’s historic Moon landing!

Our Moon: Then, Now & Beyond, is presented in partnership with Rātā Foundation, Cawthron Institute and the Embassy of the USA, and offers visitors an out-of-this-world experience of epic proportions. The exhibition features British artist Luke Jerram’s spectacular MOON installation. This glowing, four-metre diameter orb is wrapped in high-definition NASA lunar surface imagery – it’s sure to send you spinning. You’ll then be swept along in the story of our people’s long relationship with the Moon, our present understanding and our visions of the future.

Historic objects, such as the Victorian Atkinson Cooke Telescope, are displayed alongside a hands-on, mechanical interactive describing the Moon's orbit around the Earth. You can also take a whiff of the Moon at a scent station, 'weigh yourself on the Moon' with a set of adjusted scales, and transport yourself between exhibition areas with Christchurch artist Hannah Beehre's Tunnel – a velvet wormhole of crystal-encrusted nebula.

Aspiring rocket-scientists will be inspired by New Zealand’s rapidly growing rocket launch business: Rocket Lab. They can also engage with a hands-on interactive that aims to “build-your-own-lunar-habitation”. Others will be enthralled by plans to build a Deep Space Gateway and captivated by the intensity of our Moon’s influence on our world. And, if that’s not enough, you can soak up the soothing Moon beams of this rich and fascinating exhibition.

The associated public programme of events offers a range of academic, rhythmic, athletic and esoteric opportunities to enjoy the Moon. Lunar flow yoga, Moon soundscapes, collective singing, torch-lit storytelling, silent reading, and an array of musical events, workshops and talks are waiting to be explored. “This exhibition has something that will connect at some level with everyone in the community and this is reflected in the broad and dynamic public programme we’ve devised”, says Nelson Provincial Museum CEO Lucinda Blackley-Jimson.

Our Moon will be beaming down on Nelson from Friday 20 December 2019.