Space Is the Place: Nunez Cuts the Ribbon on New Scale Model Solar System
Nunez administrators and facilities staff join landscaping contractors installing the first stanchion for the Voyage Mark II scale model solar system walking exhibit on the Nunez Community College campus in June. Nunez held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the exhibit to the public in September.
Voyage Mark I & II are precise replicas of the Solar System, scaled down to one ten-billionth of its actual size. The Voyage National Program’s original purpose was to recreate and permanently showcase the Voyage Mark I Exhibition on the National Mall for folks to enjoy in various communities throughout the US.
These free and open-to-the-public exhibits are in four locations on the Gulf: Mark I at Space Center Houston, the visitor complex at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and along the bayfront seawall in Corpus Christi, Texas. New Mark II trails are located at the Lake Charles First Avenue Walking Trail and now at Nunez in Chalmette, Louisiana. – Editor
“This is an effort to welcome everyone onto our campus to learn about our solar system, our opportunities here at [NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility], and here at Nunez as well,” said Nunez Community College Chancellor, Dr. Tina Tinney. “Nunez’s desire is to be a destination in learning, both inside and outside the classroom.”
Outer space was the focus during a day-long event Sept. 6 on the campus of Nunez Community College.
In addition to Jobs for the Future (JFF) hosting its day-long ‘Space Industries Workforce Strategies’ event, a summit dedicated to expanding apprenticeship opportunities at local space-focused industries, Nunez also hosted the official ribbon cutting for its Voyage Mark II scale model solar system walking exhibit.
Visitors enjoy learning about the Solar System along the The Voyage Mark I trail on the Corpus Christi Bayfront in Texas
The Voyage Mark exhibit spans the entire Nunez campus, marking all major celestial objects in our solar system with stanchions representing the sun, the nine planets, the asteroid belt and the Voyager spacecraft. The educational attraction is spaced to scale to give visitors to the Nunez campus a tangible idea of the distance between objects in our solar system.
Nunez plans to add more interactive elements to the Voyage Mark exhibit in the future. This new trail is one of just 14 in the United States.
