RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Have you ever had a fascination with extraterrestrial, or maybe you enjoy the occasional sci-fi movie? Maybe you want to stay a little bit closer to home and learn about robots on the blue planet? Aliens and Androids at the Science Museum is this Kid’s Corner feature.
As we learn more about androids and how they work, we’ve changed our understanding of how they should look on the big screen.
It’s no secret that Star Wars is getting a lot of attention recently, introducing a whole new generation to the phenomenon. You can take your picture with C3PO, and even control R2D2. Fans of “Iron Man” and “Terminator” will also be drawn to the exhibit with replicas on display.
Aside from the sci-fi aspect, you’ll also be interested to see how robots and androids are being used in the real world by NASA and other groups.
You can pretend you’re an astronaut doing important work with a robot arm in space. “Can you imagine trying to control one of these remote control arms from another planet? Knowing that the communication is a little bit delayed, but you have to be good enough to be able to control this. To be able to move rocks, to be able to do different scientific investigations” states Chuck English, Director of Playful Learning at the museum.
Ever wonder how long it would take to drive to the moon? Take a train to Saturn or hop on a plane to get to mars? A fun interactive game helps us understand how far away these objects really are. “What’s incredible is thinking that some of the people that are going to be going through this exhibit are going to be some of the people developing some of the technologies that are going to get us there,” English muses.
From androids in the movies to NASA’s newest technology, and the microscopic ‘aliens’ that live in our bodies, Alien Worlds and Androids will be at the Science Museum of Virginia through February 21.
