The Aquarium of the Pacific has won a large grant from NASA to coordinate new exhibits called "Our Instrumented Earth" at its facility and at two other aquariums in Oregon and Maryland, officials announced this week.
A $331,000 NASA grant will fund creation of the exhibits at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Goddard Visitor Center near Washington D.C. next year, aquarium officials said.
Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena and UC Irvine will also help build the technologically-advanced exhibits.
"The story of 'Our Instrumented Earth' will be illustrated on a six-foot diameter global display that combines NASA satellite images and multimedia technology to take visitors on a journey around Earth," a NASA official said.
"Visitors to the three institutions will be transported into space as they view this rotating globe and see how NASA satellites and other Earth monitoring systems help us prepare for changes happening to our planet."