Inside the International Space Station

We really enjoy the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, or as it’s called at our house the Airplane Museum. On a recent visit, we checked out a new exhibit "Living in Space" about life aboard the International Space Station. The exhibit starts with a tribute to Canada’s astronauts. If you place your hand in the astronauts hand print, an information card about them appears over a holographic globe.There’s also a display with Marc Garneau’s space uniform.

We explored displays on the impact of extended space living on the human body. The information was presented visually but the accompanying text was geared for an older audience, and my daughter found it difficult to understand.

She found the space suit dexterity display more interesting. Lego and space gloves, what fun!!

The last part of the exhibit we saw was about space food and the different diets required for each of the astronauts. The diets are geared to meet their specific nutritional requirements, and are quite controlled. My son might not have grasped those fine details, but he enjoyed moving the food items around on the table top touch screen computer.

We missed the Canada Arm training game. It looked like it would be very appealing to slightly older children or those who are comfortable with game controllers.

Overall, we found the Living in Space exhibit a great addition to the museum. If you go, the exhibit is located on the left side of the museum, outside the main hall. It can be easy to miss.