Visitors Anderson and Geoff Horn from San Mateo watch as their “rockets” launch in the new "Our Cosmic Coast" exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. They first pumped up the pressure, then measured the height that the rocket attained in a 16-foot-tall clear plastic tube. Four launchers are available in the exhibit.
Visitors Anderson and Geoff Horn from San Mateo watch as their “rockets” launch in the new "Our Cosmic Coast" exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. They first pumped up the pressure, then measured the height that the rocket attained in a 16-foot-tall clear plastic tube. Four launchers are available in the exhibit. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

It may “take a village” to raise a child, as the saying goes, but that can also apply to outer space — specifically, to create an exhibit to celebrate the cosmos.

It took an in-house team, local businesses and experts — even NASA — to produce “Our Cosmic Coast,” the newly opened permanent Space Sciences exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.  

Next door is the Gladwin Planetarium, which recently had upgrades including a state-of-the-art 4K dual-projection system in 2023 and a new roof in 2024.

Daily live shows, solar viewings at the Palmer Observatory (through Aug. 1), and exhibit admission are all free with museum admission. Free nighttime star parties are usually held on the second Saturday of each month.

Rather than hiring an all-inclusive firm to design and build the new exhibit, the museum chose to have its staff take the lead. 

Heading that team was Melinda Morgan-Stowell, who oversaw the temporary exhibit “Fashion Fatale” (now on view) and renovation of the “Wet Deck” at the museum’s Sea Center (its tidepool area is next to get renovated).  

“This job is the most fun I’ve had in my professional career,” Morgan-Stowell said. “A lot of that is due to our wonderful staff and expert collaborators.”

Melinda Morgan-Stowell headed the in-house team that created the new exhibit, down to the custom-designed peanut cans that are used to compare how gravity is felt on different planets in Earth’s solar system. It references a NASA tradition of having peanuts during critical missions.
Melinda Morgan-Stowell headed the in-house team that created the new exhibit, down to the custom-designed peanut cans that are used to compare how gravity is felt on different planets in Earth’s solar system. It references a NASA tradition of having peanuts during critical missions. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

The stellar (pun intended) collaborators include Islay Events, which had technicians on site finishing the final lighting details before the exhibit opened for the next day’s Members Party. 

“They can do everything you want, and anything you didn’t know you needed,” she said. “What a fantastic partner, especially for this exhibit, as we want it to look dark but actually not be dark.”

The 900-square-foot exhibit area, which is divided into two rooms, has no windows. Jenna Savage Davis, the museum’s exhibit designer, proposed that they go in a new direction from previous exhibits in that location.

“No more black!” Morgan-Stowell announced happily. “Jenna felt she could push the envelope and give space a blast of color. We wanted to offer translucence and light.”

It takes a minute for the eyes of entering visitors to adjust, but once they do, it is as if one is floating in space, wafting between engaging activities denoted by glowing red and pink panels.

Two meteorites, one weighing 100 pounds and the other 50 pounds, can be touched by visitors at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s newly opened permanent Space Sciences exhibit. A box isolator, left, allows lunar minerals to be handled and examined by guests using built-in gloves.
Two meteorites, one weighing 100 pounds and the other 50 pounds, can be touched by visitors at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s newly opened exhibit. A box isolator, left, allows lunar minerals to be handled and examined by guests using built-in gloves. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

A deep yet vibrant ultramarine blue covers the walls, and a clever lighting scheme makes the interactive areas and exhibits pop. Image Source in Ventura printed the panels and countertops on metal, which gives them a dynamic appearance. Two of the largest graphics are printed on SEG, a material made from recycled water bottles. 

In the large Lunar Room, guests can spin wheels to demonstrate the astronomical forces behind the tides, follow the shadow of the moon to see its phases as it circles the Earth, discover why Earth has seasons, and hear Martian winds and other celestial sounds.

“We aimed to make this experience approachable to both children and adults,” Morgan-Stowell said. “There may be something new for adults to learn. I learned that the same minerals are found on Earth and the moon, but look entirely different due to the lack of wind, water and erosion on the moon.” 

Those minerals are inside a box isolator (or glove box) similar to those used by scientists to handle sensitive specimens. Visitors place their hands into the gloves inside the box and use a special light to examine various minerals and rocks. Some glow.  

“The samples came from a company that makes replica moon dust for use in testing lunar equipment like rovers,” Morgan-Stowell said.

NASA provided a simulation showing the newest theory about how the moon formed — that a small planetoid struck the molten Earth and pulled material out into space, which solidified into the moon.

Scale-model planets jut out of the walls to dominate the “Room of Planets” in “Our Cosmic Coast.” They were hand-painted by collaborators Gizmo Art Productions from the Bay Area. Saturn’s rings are illuminated by LEDs.
Scale-model planets jut out of the walls to dominate the “Room of Planets” in “Our Cosmic Coast.” They were hand-painted by collaborators Gizmo Art Productions from the Bay Area. Saturn’s rings are illuminated by LEDs. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

“It looks like taffy being pulled,” she added, pointing at the video projected on a wall. 

The local astronomy club, the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (which hosts the monthly star parties), gave input on the new exhibit’s content, as did experts from the Las Cumbres Observatory, a network of observatories in the northern and southern hemispheres, headquartered in Goleta.  

The exhibit furnishings, such as cases and display materials, were built by museum exhibit team members Dawson Escamilla and Charles Mitchell, whom Morgan-Stowell calls “my stalwarts.” 

The two were on hand to do some heavy lifting, enthusiastically wrestling a bowling-ball-sized meteorite onto a pedestal. It wasn’t easy, as it is composed of metal and dense minerals and weighs more than 100 pounds.

The lighting inside the new exhibit “Our Cosmic Coast” is purposely dim, with the walls painted a deep yet vibrant ultramarine blue. It allows the interactive exhibits, such as Stony Storytellers, to pop with color.
The lighting inside the new exhibit “Our Cosmic Coast” is purposely dim, with the walls painted a deep yet vibrant ultramarine blue. It allows the interactive exhibits, such as Stony Storytellers, to pop with color. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

“I can lift the smaller 50-pound one myself, but it’s very awkward,” Mitchell with a laugh. His magnetic nametag was knocked upside-down. 

The smaller “Room of Planets” is dominated by eye-popping scale-model planets that jut out of the walls in 3-D and are painted in swirling radiant colors. Saturn’s rings are illuminated by LEDs. 

“Jupiter is my favorite,” she said of the largest orb, its swirling bands depicted in shades of dusty pink and maroon. They were hand-painted by Gizmo Art Production from the Bay Area.

A technician from Islay Events puts the final touches on the lighting scheme before last Friday’s opening of the new “Our Cosmic Coast” exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
A technician from Islay Events puts the final touches on the lighting scheme before the opening of the new “Our Cosmic Coast” exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

Beneath each planet, visitors are invited to lift a can of peanuts calibrated to duplicate the gravity of that planet — the less gravity, the lighter it feels; the more gravity, the heavier.

Why peanuts? It stems from a NASA tradition, started with early moon probe launches in the 1960s, to have peanuts at critical missions to serve as salty good luck charms.

Labeled “Cosmic Crunch,” the cans also feature facts about each planet, where “Nutrition Facts” are usually shown. The small but meaningful detail highlights the care that went into “Our Cosmic Coast.”

Nearby, a cozy nook invites visitors to lie back and gaze at the night sky, as illustrated with constellations visible from Santa Barbara. 

It can be tough to relax, because the room’s four “rocket launchers” are almost always in use. Visitors pump up the pressure, push a button to release a “rocket,” then measure how high it flies in a 16-foot-tall clear plastic tube. 

“I’d like people to come away with a greater sense of wonder about the Earth, moon and our planet neighbors,” Morgan-Stowell said. “It’s also a bunch of fun.”