Visitors to Memorial University’s Johnson Geo Centre are looking up – waaay up – to learn more about space and our place in the universe.

Deep beneath the ancient rock of Signal Hill, staff are putting the final touches on a refresh of the centre’s upcoming exhibit, Our Future and Space.

“We can’t wait to welcome everyone to check out what we’ve been working on and be starstruck!” said Kate Murphy (BA’10), a science interpreter who led the refurbishments. “We’re celebrating all sorts of connections to space.”

Local space knowledge

The refresh, which focuses on Memorial University and local astronomers, includes a new video series showcasing Memorial researchers and their space-related expertise and projects; an antique telescope from the St. John’s Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada; and updated graphics and details to spark the curiosity of visitors.

New tablets equipped with a game developed by a Memorial computer science student will be added to the exhibit this fall.

The work was made possible thanks in part to a longstanding partnership between the Geo Centre and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, with support from Memorial.

“Our partnership with the St. John’s RASC has always been so special to us at Geo, and we’re so excited to cultivate it further by developing a section of this exhibit together,” said Ms. Murphy. “With support from an Accelerator Fund from Memorial’s Office of Public Engagement, we’re not only getting the opportunity to give our exhibit some much-needed updates, but also to focus on Memorial and local knowledge.”

What’s happening

To celebrate, the Geo Centre is hosting a variety of events on Tuesday, June 3, from 5-10 p.m.

Everyone is invited to Celestial Conversations: Our Future and Space, which includes a panel discussion with three Memorial researchers; a special guest lecture with a leading space expert who is also a Memorial graduate; and a moon viewing.

Admission is free; no registration required.

Here’s the rundown:

• From 5-7 p.m., people can view the updates
• Beginning at 7 p.m., Mission Memorial: A Q&A Panel with Faculty of Science members Drs. Ivan Booth (B.Sc.’95), Penny Morrill and Hilding Neilson, will take place. The faculty members will talk about their research on space
• From 7:45-8:45 p.m., Dr. Susan Redmond (B.Eng.’15) will give a lecture about her work. The title of her talk is To the Stratosphere and Beyond: Chasing Cosmic Clues with Balloon-borne Telescopes. Originally from Portugal Cove-St. Phillip’s, N.L., Dr. Redmond is currently a David and Ellen Lee post-doctoral scholar research associate in astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. She has launched and operated balloon-borne astronomical telescopes from bases in Canada, the U.S., New Zealand and Antarctica
• At 8:50 p.m., there’ll be a moon viewing with the St. John’s Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (weather permitting).

‘Local stories and research’

Ms. Murphy says the updates will help showcase some of the amazing space-related research by Memorial researchers and the wider community.

The video series is a partnership with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and features researchers from a variety of disciplines across both St. John’s and Grenfell Campuses, including Dr. Liam Morrissey (B.Eng.’14, M.Sc.’16, PhD’21) from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science; Drs. Terrence Tricco (B.Sc.’05, M.Sc.’10), Ivan Booth, Penny Morrill and Hilding Neilson from the Faculty of Science; and Dr. Svetlana Barkanova from the School of Science and the Environment, Grenfell Campus.

Ms. Murphy says the Geo Centre gets about 50,000 visitations a year, with thousands of school children and local families, as well as visitors from all over the world coming through its doors.

“All of these visitors are interested in knowing what’s special about Newfoundland and Labrador and, with these updates, we’re thrilled to be sharing local stories and research about space with our audience.”

To learn more about Our Future and Space, check out the Johnson Geo Centre website.

Learn more about research at Memorial and check out Research Strategy 2023-28 to learn how we’re moving ideas forward.