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Hutchinson, Kansas -
Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS), the Kansas Cosmosphere will be
updating its museum over the next two years to take guests from the past to
the present and even glimpse the future of space exploration. The $137,000
grant will allow the Cosmosphere to add several
new interactive simulators throughout the museum, and to extend the
exhibits to include much more on the shuttle era, the International Space
Station, Mars exploration and a peek at the new moon mars and beyond
project, Constellation. The Cosmosphere
will be actively searching for funds to match this grant award over the
next 6 to 12 months and will begin construction on these improvements this
winter.
"This grant will greatly increase the interactivity of
the museum and bring our exhibits beyond the Apollo era and into the
present and future of space exploration, which is what many visitors want
to know more about." - Marisa Honomichl,
Vice President of Marketing and Development.
"As repositories of our nation's treasures and our
nation's history, museums are positioned to play an integral role in the
education of their communities. Museums for America grants support projects
and ongoing activities that build museums' capacities and help these
institutions serve their diverse constituencies to the best of their
abilities. I am delighted that IMLS is able to provide support for this
project. "- Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice,
Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Museums for America is the Institute's largest grant program
for museums, providing more than $19 million in grants to support the role
of museums in American society to sustain cultural heritage, to support
lifelong learning; and to be centers of community engagement. Museums for
America grants strengthen a museum's ability to serve the public more
effectively by supporting high-priority activities that advance the
institution's mission and strategic goals. This year 433 applications were
received by IMLS and 167 projects were selected.
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The Institute of
Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for
the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission
is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to
information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in
coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage,
culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support
professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
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The
Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is a
non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing patrons' knowledge of space
exploration. Educating people from around the globe, the Cosmosphere boasts the Hall of Space museum, one of the
most significant collections of U.S. and Russian space artifacts in the
world; the Justice Planetarium, a dome-shaped classroom where attendees
learn about astronomy; Dr. Goddard's Lab, a live demonstration of early
rocket technology; the Carey IMAX® Dome Theater, the 12th IMAX® theater
built in the world; and summer astronaut training camps. For more
information visit www.cosmo.org.
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