Cincinnati may not be the biggest urban metropolis, but our humble city is on the map for so many reasons. This fall, Cincinnati is part of history — in a big way. The Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) have joined forces, making the Queen City the fifth and final stop on the national tour of the Smithsonian’s traveling Destination Moon exhibition.
Destination Moon has landed at CMC — and this is one out-of-this-world exhibit you must see.
Running daily through Feb. 17, 2020, Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission celebrates the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission and explores the birth and development of the American space program and space race. This epic exhibit features more than 20 original artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission, including the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia — the only portion of the spacecraft that survived the epic journey to the moon. This vessel weighs over 9,000 pounds and is definitely the star of the show.
Destination Moon explores and honors Apollo 11’s great achievement using genuine flown artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission on loan from the National Air and Space Museum. You’ll get to see Buzz Aldrin’s gold-plated extravehicular helmet visor and thermal-insulated gloves (pictured below), the star chart that helped guide the astronauts on their travels and the survival kit that was onboard the spacecraft.
Destination Moon also celebrates Ohio’s contributions to aerospace. In addition to Armstrong’s connection to the Buckeye State (he was born here and later taught at UC), the Apollo 11 heat shield was manufactured right here — in Middletown!
If your kids can’t get enough of all things space, CMC has you covered. The Neil Armstrong Space Exploration Gallery is a permanent, included-with-admission experience that literally puts you on the moon, and the OMNIMAX is currently showing Apollo 11: First Steps Edition as an accompaniment to the Destination Moon exhibit.
Destination Moon is an enthusiastic celebration of the greatness mankind can achieve through collaboration, cooperation and curiosity. Destination Moon is a must-visit experience for all Cincy kids, and will definitely inspire the next generation of doers and dreamers.
Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission is open daily through Feb. 17, 2020. This once-in-a-lifetime experience requires a timed ticket: admission is $10.50 for CMC member adults, $7.50 for CMC member children and free for kids 2 and under (for nonmembers, adults are $16.50 and children are $10.50). For more information, visit cincymuseum.org/.