HANDS IN SPACE—
Developing a Permanent Exhibit
Hands in Space was a huge success at the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. During a two-week period, the exhibit was experienced by over 10,000 people, including senior curators from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum (NASM). Their desire is to include a permanent astronaut glove exhibit just like Hands in Space.
Peter Homer and Peter Lord both received phone calls from the Curator of Human Space Flight, who shared staff evaluations with them and encouraged the further development of the exhibit. As the NASM is the world’s most popular museum, their permanent exhibits are required to be engaging and extremely robust. While all parties agree that refinements must be made to bring Hands in Space to such a world-class level, there is a shared sense of excitement over the public response thus far. The Institute's educational programs will directly benefit from the further development of Hands in Space. Maine schools and local museums will gain access to the unique hardware and educational materials created through this project. Development of Hands in Space now consists of: - Development of pilot classroom activities and outreach materials.
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- Installation, and maintenance of the first museum exhibit for the American Textle History Museum in Lowell, in May of 2009.
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- The portable suitcase "mini glove box" to refine the gloves and serve as a portable demonstration exhibit was introduced to the public on Space Day at the Challenger Learning Center of Maine, in May 2011.
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 Mini Glove Box Features
- Self-contained vacuum pump with regulators, pressure gauge, and power cord
- Clear Plexiglas construction
- One “Quick Change” Glove Port with wrist rotation
- One Flagsuit Signature Series glove
- Vacuum design capacity: 1 Atmosphere
- Continuous, one-switch table-top operation
- Rugged construction
- Museum-quality fit and finish
- Integrated display lighting
- Mirror base surface
- Tool/activity demonstration capability
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