Most of us will never know the experience of space travel, so for those curious about what it’s like to explore amongst the stars, an immersive experience here on Earth could be the best next thing.
While one might first be curious about what happens outside the rocket, at IMSS, we were curious about what happens inside – and not only inside the rocket, but what happens inside the astronaut! That’s why this year, we brought you the traveling immersive exhibit, Health in Space: Daring to Explore carefully curated by Ingenium, Canada’s Aviation and Space Museum.
Housed on the museum’s fourth floor from June 2024 to Jan 5, 2025, museum visitors explored the effects of variable gravity, radiation, and isolation on the mental and physical health of astronauts.
Specific highlights of the exhibit include:
- – A profile of David Saint-Jaques, a Canadian doctor and astronaut, and his mission to the International Space Station.
- – Interactive zero gravity displays where you can feel space’s impact on bone density, see its impact on the eye, and experience its topsy-turvy nature at the disorientation station.
- – Authentic artifacts of space travel including garments worn by astronauts and science experimentation equipment.
- – Video interviews with Canadian astronauts who discuss the health related challenges they face while living and working in space.
Not only does Health In Space explore what it’s like to be in orbit, but it also provides essential information on some of the physical changes to the body while in zero-gravity. Understanding these unique health challenges can help scientists make longer duration space travel a possibility – perhaps even long enough to get to Mars – and also help us make leaps and bounds here on Earth.
Ingenium is thrilled for Health in Space: Daring to Explore to make its international debut at the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago (IMSS). Ingenium’s traveling exhibitions are a gateway to explore Canada’s unique histories of scientific and technological ingenuity, and bridging the gap between science, technology and society. We are thrilled that the IMSS is host to this amazing exhibition – one that ignites curiosity and inspires the next generation of innovators. Working with the IMSS has been seamless and we are delighted that their creativity, enthusiasm, and efforts continue to enhance the exhibition experience for visitors.
– Christina Tessier, President and CEO of Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
From our collaboration with the Japanese Culture Center highlighting the practice of Akido in space, to our NASA Family Day in July, Health In Space at IMSS brought us many opportunities to collaborate and gather as a community this year. We are also incredibly grateful to be able to host temporary exhibits like this as they allow us to offer new, different, and exciting perspectives on health, the body, and surgical science, augmenting the stories told by our permanent collection.
We hope that Health In Space has enriched your lives as much as it has enriched ours and we thank you, our guests, for your continued support which allows us to continue to host exhibits like this!
Special thank you to Christina Tessier, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, The Japanese Culture Center of Chicago, the NASA Glenn Research Center, Michelle Rinard – Director of Operations at the International Museum of Surgical Science, and everyone who made this exhibit possible!
Isabella De Soriano is the Fall 2024 Marketing Intern at the IMSS. She is a medical history and oddities enthusiast with a love of taxidermy. Based in Chicago with an education in anthropology and public health from the University of Iowa, she’s interested in how medical narratives reflect understandings of society.