Minnesota’s Science Museum Receives $14.5M From NASA For Space Education Project

The world still has a lot to learn about space and what lies beyond, so any new programs promoting space research is always exciting. Needless to say, people were genuinely thrilled when National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) elected to provide the Science Museum of Minnesota with a whopping $14.5 million to promote new discoveries about space as well as Earth science.

According to Star Tribune, NASA's donation is part of a five-year contract that will fund SMM's project called Space and Earth Informal STEM Education. The SEISE project is expected to make use of NASA's resources, making learning about science more fun with interactive exhibits, videos and other related materials.

SMM president Alison Rempel Brown has spoken about the contract with NASA, praising the agency for their contributions to the world. "NASA's programs are exciting and critical to our nation's future for space exploration and scientific learning," Brown stated.

Science Museum of Minnesota lands big NASA contract https://t.co/td9p5lum45 pic.twitter.com/S4zcbpXLCa

— Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) April 28, 2016

The SMM president also claimed that the union between NASA and the Science Museum makes complete sense. "The Science Museum is a proven leader at making science concepts inspirational and easy-to-understand through programs and activities," she said. "We are a perfect match."

This is no mere boast. The Science Museum of Minnesota has resident exhibits like Dinosaurs and Fossils, The Big Back Yard as well as Science Buzz. In 2015, SMM hosted a special exhibit called Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience, which featured rotating labs designed to emulate the International Space Station Destiny module.

SMM is one of several organizations that have worked with NASA in the effort to promote knowledge about space and Earth sciences. NASA has previously funded the University of California, Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science and Space Sciences Laboratory, Arizona State University as well as the Museum of Science in Boston.

The first installment of NASA's donation has been given to SMM in January. It will be provided to the museum for the next five years.