(Minneapolis/St Paul, MN) — July 19th, 2022 – The Bell Museum invites visitors to experience Gaia, a touring installation by UK artist Luke Jerram. Gaia is an internally-lit sculpture of the Earth featuring imagery from NASA’s Visible Earth project.
At 23 feet in diameter, it presents the Earth at a scale 1.8 million times smaller than its real size and encourages viewers to take a closer look at the place we all call home. The installation also invites viewers to experience the overview effect, a shift in awareness endured by some astronauts during space flight. Gaia is an experience of awe, interconnection, and renewed responsibility to care for the planet.
Visitors are also invited to engage with several activities throughout the museum including a scavenger hunt that helps seekers learn more about the Earth, a special display in Collections Cove exploring the world of maps, and more.
In addition to witnessing the beauty of Gaia, guests can enjoy a special planetarium show, Atlas of a Changing Earth. The University of Minnesota’s Polar Geospatial Center is featured in this stunning film visualizing the processes affecting our warming planet. The audience is invited to observe striking new imagery from space that explores changing coastal glaciers and rising seas.