This July marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, and to help celebrate, NYSCI is presenting a new exhibition Imaging Women in the Space Age, curated by Dr. Julie Wosk, Professor Emerita at SUNY Maritime College and author of Women and the Machine. The exhibit runs from July 13 – March 29, 2020.

The exhibition showcases the achievements of America’s pioneering female astronauts and highlights the fascination with space women in movies, television, advertising, fashion design and today’s toys. From the earliest moon goddesses to today’s galactic fashions, visions of females in space have sparked the creative imagination.

On display in the museum’s gallery are vintage and current images of female space travelers in television shows like Lost in Space and Star Trek, photographs of space-inspired fashions including Pucci’s designs for Braniff Airlines flight attendants and Chanel’s 2017 futuristic dresses, and screenshots from films like Barbarella, which starred Jane Fonda and Gravity, which starred Sandra Bullock.

The exhibition reminds us of the groundbreaking achievements of pioneering astronauts with photographs of Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, Mae Jemison, America’s first African-American female astronaut, and Ellen Ochoa, America’s first Hispanic woman to go into space. Also on view are photographs of astronaut Dr. Ellen K. Baker, who grew up in Queens and is the daughter of former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman.

The exhibition also reflects a world where important changes are underway as more and more women are participating in NASA’s space program as astronauts and as astronautical engineers. It reveals innovative new developments in space suits specifically designed for women.

Imaging Women in the Space Age is part of the museum’s Space Out Summer, a season filled with flight and space-themed exhibits, workshops, demonstrations, installations and a new film, all to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

Imaging Women in the Space Age is open during regular museum hours: Monday – Friday, 9:30 am – 5 pm and weekends, 10 am – 6 pm. The exhibition is free with general museum admission ($16 adults; $13 children ages 2 – 17, college students with valid ID, and seniors ages 62 and older.

The mission of the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers and active citizens through an approach called Design, Make, Play. Design, Make, Play emphasizes open-ended exploration, imaginative learning and personal relevance, resulting in deep engagement and delight in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. NYSCI was founded at the 1964-65 World’s Fair and has evolved into New York’s center for interactive science.

For more information, visit nysci.org or call 718-699-0005.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Mary Record, New York Hall of Science
mrecord@nysci.org
718-595-9123

Julie Wosk, Exhibit Curator and Professor Emerita at SUNY Maritime College
jwosk@sunymaritime.edu