Lunar Exhibit At Peabody Essex Museum Captures Fascination With The Moon
SALEM (CBS) -- The moon has fascinated us ever since humans existed. It's always in the sky, and nowadays it's predictable.
Now, a new exhibit titled Lunar Attraction at the Peabody Essex Museum is capturing that fascination.
"To explore the idea of the moon and our connection to the moon, both as a physical body, but also as an inspiration for artists," Jane Winchell, director of the Dottie Brown Nature Center at the museum, said of the exhibit that opened on Oct. 15.
There are many different sections to the exhibit, like famous artwork, sculptures by local artists and an actual moon rock.
In the Earth's Partner section you get to see the secret, dark side of the moon.
"We are really looking at the moon as a physical body here," says Winchell. "We never get to see this side of the moon."
Visitors can interact with the moon landscape as they touch a scale model of the moon's surface, and they can also check out 3D images or a puppet display that represent the different faces of the moon.
A large piece of art sits in the middle of the room representing the tides.
"Here we are getting to see visible evidence of how the moon influences our planet every day. The artist is actually representing the tidal cycle, it's following a lunar month. You get to see how the water level goes up, and then down," Winchell said. "Us as humans from our earliest days have always been trying to figure things out. And then came this notion of, 'wow, what if we could go there?'"
The sections also take you through the moon's evolution with regards to human life. The past, present and the future of perhaps living there.
The Lunar Attraction exhibit runs until September 4th 2017 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.