Gaia
On view July 19–August 14
Join us for Gaia, a touring installation by UK artist Luke Jerram, July 19–August 14.
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. The work includes a surround sound composition by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones.
The installation evokes the overview effect, a shift in awareness experienced by some astronauts during space flight. It’s an experience of awe, interconnection, and renewed responsibility to care for the planet.
We have extended hours! We’ll be open all day on Thursdays, 10 am–10 pm, throughout Gaia’s run!
About the artist
Luke Jerram’s multidisciplinary practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations, and live arts projects. Living in the UK but working internationally since 1997, Jerram has created a number of extraordinary art projects which have excited and inspired people around the globe. Jerram has a set of different narratives that make up his practice which are developing in parallel with one another. He is known worldwide for his large-scale public artworks. More at: http://my-earth.org/
Photo by Phil Longfoot
Photo by Roy Riley
Photo by Brent Jones
Activities & Special Programming
- Dive in and learn more about the Earth with a scavenger hunt for kids (and fun-loving adults).
- Explore the world of maps with a special display in Collections Cove.
- Stop by for a live Gaia Story Time for children and families on Thursdays at 10:30 am.
- Join us for telescope viewing in our Big Rivers Garden on Thursday, August 4, 9-10 pm.
Resources
- Update your book collection using a special list of Earth-related books curated by Lisa Von Drasek, Curator of The Kerlan Collection,
University of Minnesota Libraries.
- Join Bell Director of Public Engagement and Science Learning Holly Menninger as she interviews Dr. Stephanie Schuttler author of the book, My First Book of Earth.
Special Planetarium Show
Atlas of a Changing Earth
Ages 10+
The University of Minnesota’s Polar Geospatial Center is featured in this stunning film visualizing the processes affecting our warming planet. Using latest-generation imagery from space, “Atlas of a Changing Earth” takes viewers into the dynamics causing coastal glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica to melt, and explores how rising seas could threaten coastlines the world over. These striking new images are produced by the confluence of satellites and supercomputers, revealing Earth in a degree of precise detail scarcely imagined a generation ago.
Learn more about our special planetarium shows and find showtimes at: https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/planetariumshows/
Gaia has been created in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Bluedot, and the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres, with supporting partners Culture Liverpool and Liverpool Cathedral.