Satellite: First Step to Space (Exhibition)

Exist Dates

1958 March 21 - 1958, approximately

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract

Exhibition. Opened March 21, 1958 and closed approximately 1958. Located on the first floor of the Roosevelt Memorial Building at the American Museum of Natural History. Satellite: First Step to Space was a pictorial exhibition designed to answer frequently asked questions about man-made satellites.

Summary

Satellite: First Step to Space was a pictorial exhibition designed to answer frequently asked questions about man-made satellites. The exhibition featured a "scoreboard" panel to compare relative sizes, types of orbit, kinds of instrumentation, and similar data on four artificial satellites, Sputniks I and II, Explorer I, and Vanguard I. Preceding the artificial satellites display was a panel on Earth's moon. As more satellites were launched, the Museum planned to add to the "scoreboard" (1, p. 1). Eleven common questions were answered on additional panels in non-technical language with illustrations. Suspended above the center of the display was a full-scale model of a 20-inch spherical satellite, one of the types the United States planned to launch during the International Geophysical Year (1, p. 1). The exhibition included illustrations by Helmut Wimmer, American Museum-Hayden Planetarium staff artist, and the text for the illustrations was prepared by Franklyn M. Branley, associate astronomer at the Hayden Planetarium (1, p. 2).

This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.

Sources

(1) American Museum of Natural History. Press Release. "Man-Made Satellites Explained in Pictorial Question-Answer Exhibit." March 21, 1958. Departmental Records, DR 101. American Museum of Natural History Library.

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Astronomy 1924-1999.
Related department (1)

Branley, Franklyn Mansfield 1915-2002
Provided text for Helmet Wimmer's illustrations (1, p. 2)

Hayden Planetarium
Related department (1)

New York State Roosevelt Memorial
Location of exhibition (First floor, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall) 1958 March 21 – 1958, approximately (1, p. 1)

Wimmer, Helmut K.
Artist, illustrations in exhibition (1, p. 2)

Related Resources

American Museum of Natural History. Annual Report. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1957-1958: 50.

American Museum of Natural History press releases, 1933-1990s.
"Man-Made Satellites Explained in Pictorial Question-Answer Exhibit." March 21, 1958.

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