Stardust Lab Astronomy Gallery
Stardust Lab Astronomy Gallery
Ponder your place in the universe.
The Stardust Lab offers unique, thought-provoking, and accessible exhibits that encourage visitors to reflect on their place in the universe while exploring the many planets and solar systems being discovered in our galaxy. Each exhibit features visual, audio, and touch components to ensure that all visitors are included in experiencing them. Guests can also send recorded messages into the cosmos through a digital interface and listen to messages left by others. The gallery’s central theme is the idea that we are all made of stardust. One exhibit even engages the senses by letting visitors experience the scents of the universe!
Location: Astronomy Discovery Center, 1st Floor
Exhibit Highlights
Interactive Light Display
Step into the glow of a 13-foot column of light that blends science and art. Choose from vibrant, spinning patterns on a touchscreen, turning this mesmerizing display into an interactive experience.
Message to the Cosmos
If you could talk to intelligent beings from another world, what would you tell them? This exhibit gives you a chance to beam your message into space. You can also listen to messages from scientists, Indigenous elders, children, and more.
Where Have Your Atoms Been?
What if the atoms in your body came from a star? In this immersive exhibit, a full-body projection lets you choose an atom from within yourself and trace its cosmic journey—billions of years back through time. Discover how the matter that makes you may have once lit up the universe.
Transit Detection
Set planets into motion around a star in this model solar system! A sensor attached to a monitor will display the change in brightness when an object passes in front of the star, exactly as astronomers do as they hunt for new exoplanets.
Martian Meteorites
Did Martian meteorites bring life with them? Get an up-close look at real meteorites that originated from the surface of Mars. Slide the magnifying glass over the samples to see if you can detect signs of microscopic Martian life!
Meteor Tracker
Sometimes the smallest things burn the most brightly. The interactive Meteor Tracker is updated daily with data gathered by video cameras across Arizona, including the Lowell Observatory LO-CAMS project led by astronomer Nick Moskovitz. Track a variety of real near-Earth objects like meteoroids, meteor showers, and comets.
Omniglobe
Explore any sphere in our solar system! This captivating projection sphere lets you explore Earth, journey through the solar system, and dive into topographical and data-driven maps, all in one stunning interactive display.
Gravity Grid
Gravity brought atoms together to create our solar system. Step on an interactive gravity map projected onto the floor to see how your mass affects the movement of colorful particles moving around the grid!
