Photo: Attendees to the Carnegie Science Center’s new exhibit, titled Mars: The Next Giant Leap, use joysticks to control Mars rovers. The exhibit was unveiled at a press event on Nov. 17, and opened to the public on Nov. 19. A focus group made up of Northsiders helped inform the design of the exhibit. Photo by Sean P. Ray

By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

The Carnegie Science Center’s newest exhibit, Mars: The Next Giant Leap, may deal with a planet millions of miles away, but one of the central aspects of the exhibit was shaped right here in the Northside.

One major feature of Mars: The Next Giant Leap is a model of a theoretical Martian colony. Ringed around the model are pieces of text offering various perspectives on colonizing Mars and examinations of what building such a colony could involve. Photo by Sean P. Ray

During a press event on Nov. 17 showing off the new exhibit, Carnegie Science Center Director Jason Brown said the museum began planning the exhibit by reaching out to local business leaders, students and the Center’s own “Northside neighbors.”

“So this guidance from students and from others drove our plans to develop what you’re about to see, this 7,400-square-foot exhibit experience,” Brown said. “It helped us realize that what makes space exploration relevant to our community here is ultimately the same set of issues that will enable us to thrive right here in Pittsburgh.”

Marcus Harshaw, Senior Director of Museum Experiences, elaborated more on how the Northside helped shape the exhibit in an interview with The Chronicle.

Harshaw said the Science Center assembled a focus group of Northside residents while planning for the exhibit was still in its early stages.

“What we were most surprised about is our Northside group really wanted to know ‘Why Mars?’” Harshaw said.

“That one question is the bigger kernel that really bloomed into what you see here today,” he said later.

Members of the Northside group asked why spend money and energy going to Mars when there were issues right here on Earth still to be solved. The focus group discussed problems like food insecurity, poverty and man-made climate change.

In addition to the Northside focus group, there was also a focus group of Pittsburgh students. This younger group, Harshaw explained, raised concerns about the socio-economic issues of sending people to Mars, such as how to form a new society on the planet or the difference between private space travel, such as those undertaken by companies like SpaceX, versus ones done by government agencies like NASA.

One part of the exhibit shows how plants might be grown on Mars. Photo by Sean P. Ray

These perspectives helped shape and transform Mars: The Next Giant Leap. Rather than just giving science facts, Harshaw said the exhibit attempts to answer why going to Mars is important and how space travel to the red planet can affect things here back on Earth.

For example, the exhibit discusses the Martian climate, and how observing it might just teach humanity about the Earth’s climate changes.

The exhibit also looks at popular culture’s view of Mars, with references to science-fiction works from “War of the Worlds” to “Star Trek.” The entrance to the space also has a clock which keeps track of how many Earth days and Martian Sols, the equivalent of a day on Mars, have passed since the exhibit opened.

As a new permanent exhibit, Mars: The Next Giant leap will be worked into the Science Center’s educational programming. Hannah Powell, STEM Education Coordinator at the Center, said summer camps and career-oriented field trips focused around the exhibit are in the works. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

The potential for the exhibit to help promote scientific education for the next generation is a source of great excitement for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who gave a speech during the press event.

“I was sharing with somebody when I came in, I wish when I was younger, that this would have been here for me,” Gainey said. “Think how many minds we’re going to educate. Think about how much knowledge we’re going to deposit. Thank you for what we’re going to do for the next generation.”

Mars: The Next Giant Leap opened to the general public on Nov. 18, with a grand opening on Nov. 19. The exhibit is available with general admission to the Carnegie Science Center.