DISCOVERY CHANNEL TO LAUNCH NATIONWIDE TOUR OF LIBERTY BELL 7 SPACE CAPSULE EXHIBIT

State-of-the-art, Interactive Exhibit to Touch Down at the Nation’s Finest Science Centers and Museums over Three Years

Bethesda, MD – “The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered,” a new interactive 6,000-square-foot traveling exhibit of the 1961 Mercury space capsule recovered in July 1999 during a Discovery Channel expedition, recently began its three-year journey across the nation at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The second manned space mission for the United States, Liberty Bell 7 was flown by astronaut and U.S. Air Force Captain Virgil “Gus” Grissom on a mission that lasted 15 minutes and 37 seconds before sinking to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean where it lay undetected for nearly four decades. Now the newly restored capsule is traveling with this new exhibit from Discovery Channel to science museums in 12 cities throughout the United States.

Created in partnership with Evergreen Exhibitions, of San Antonio, Texas, “Liberty Bell 7 Recovered” takes museum visitors on a virtual ride with U.S. Air Force Capt. Virgil “Gus” Grissom 118 miles into space and then 3 miles below the ocean’s surface where the capsule sat untouched. “Liberty Bell 7 Recovered” engages visitors in astronaut training, spacecraft technology and launch sequences circa 1961. It then fast-forwards to 1999 to follow the exciting events surrounding the rescue of the spacecraft, including the personal triumph by deep-sea search and recovery expert Curt Newport and his expedition team.

“Discovery Channel is proud to be a part of this next step with the Liberty Bell 7 space capsule and to present this historical exhibit to families across the country,” says Mike Quattrone, executive vice president and general manager, Discovery Channel. “Those who lived during the period when the world stood still to watch a Mercury launch will marvel at the memories the exhibit evokes, while people of all ages will be fascinated with this engaging piece of history.”

“Evergreen Exhibitions has married theater with interactivity to create an experiential environment that emulates a real situation,” says Mark Greenberg, president and CEO of Evergreen Exhibitions, which designed and built “Liberty Bell 7 Recovered.” The company created icon pieces with a memorable look and feel that is not only interesting but also calls for visitors to use gross and fine motor skills to enhance learning. “It’s not themeing for the sake of themeing,” Greenberg added. “We develop educational experiences that give you content and context.”

The restoration of Liberty Bell 7 was conducted by the Smithsonian-affiliated Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas, which will serve as the permanent home of the capsule after its three-year, nationwide tour.

For more information on the traveling exhibit visit www.discovery.com.

Evergreen Exhibitions, based in San Antonio, Texas, is a world leader in providing high quality, state-of-the-art, family educational experiences, and serves as a major development partner with more than 200 leading museums and research institutions. Evergreen Exhibitions is proud to work with Fortune 500 corporations such as Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Inc, IBM, TIME and others to bring blockbuster exhibits and events to people around the globe. In addition to the “The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered,” current exhibits include the award-winning The Robot Zoo; Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss; Theme Park: The Art & Science of Universal’s Islands of Adventure; Microbes: Invisible Invaders … Amazing Allies; Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats; and AFRICA: One Continent. Many Worlds.
Discovery Channel is one of the United States’ two largest cable television networks, serving 78 million households across the nation with the finest in informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery People, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery Civilization Channel, Discovery Wings Channel, and Discovery en Español. The unit also markets and distributes BBC America.

 

For additional information on this Lost Spacecraft article, please contact:

Mike Kempf
(210) 599-0045
mike@evergreenexhibitions.com

Source: Evergreen Exhibitions
http://www.mikekempf.wpengine.com