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ABOVE AND BEYOND
OPEN SOURCE
TRAVELLING
EXHIBITION

Above and Beyond: Making Sense Of The Universe For 100 Years exhibition is a humble attempt at navigating through some of the most important and spectacular achievements in modern astronomy bringing them closer to the public.

A journey through a century of scientific and technological advancements and an era of inspiration that expanded beyond previous imagination. Created in the framework of the International Astronomical Union’s 100th anniversary (1919-2019) the exhibition premiered at the IAU General Assembly in Vienna, August 2018.

The exhibition is also an example of a global, multicultural collaboration pursued in the spirit of open-science. The exhibition will be available in two versions. A full “travelling exhibition” version (150 sq meters, modular design) and an open-source toolkit based on the exhibition contents to be readapted in local communities at low-cost.

PREVIEW

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
THE STORY

The exhibition is a journey through some of the most significant and surprising breakthroughs that shaped the face of astronomical research, technology and culture over the last century. It is underpinned by three universal questions that seem equally inquisitive today, as they have a hundred years ago.

WHAT IS THE SIZE AND STRUCTURE
OF THE UNIVERSE?

For centuries we were only capable of perceiving the world through the lens of the human eye. But today, aided by increasingly elaborate instruments, we understand the Universe to be an immensely complex structure, home to hundreds of billions of galaxies that each contain billions of stars and planets. We can now peer into those far reaches of the observable Universe and look back into its origins. As we explore and go deeper, we unravel many new questions that we do not have an answer yet.

HOW DO STARS
FORM AND SHINE?

Looking up into the sky, we have always found inspiration in our daily companion and source of life, the Sun. Although special to us, we have learned that it is just one of billions that sparkle in the night sky. Research pursued in the last century revealed what stars are made of and what makes them shine, allowing us to investigate how they evolve and die. By studying the stars, we have developed a better understanding of how the elements are created, yet there still remains much more to be discovered.

IS THERE LIFE ELSEWHERE
IN THE UNIVERSE?

Unlike popular belief at the beginning of the century, we now have strong evidence that the conditions for life to arise do exist in some form beyond Earth itself. Perhaps life is hidden deep beneath the surface of Mars, in the underground oceans of some of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons, or elsewhere. Recent space missions are bringing us closer to verify this hypothesis, opening a completely new chapter in the history of humankind. The future might surprise us in unexpected ways.

THE EXHIBITION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT

Cork, Ireland

2019.09.2
— 10.18

UPCOMING VENUES

Munich

Germany
2019

Brussels

Belgium
2019

Leiden

the Netherlands
2019

Rome

Italy
2019

Paris

France
2019

GALLERY
SEE AT THE EXHIBITION

The exhibition was designed to bring beautiful and insightful astronomical storytelling to the general public in the spirit of open science. All of its content and designs are available under an open source license for adaptation and further reuse. The designs allow to reproduce the exhibition in its full scale as a standalone experience (150sq meters, modular design) as well as a low-cost version based on posters and community localization.

If you want to create your own version of the exhibition feel free to contact the IAU100 Office (rivero@strw.leidenuniv.nl) or Science Now (contact@sciencenow.studio).

Exhibition Manual
available in September

MEDIA

The Above & Beyond exhibition is a pilot project for new kinds of outreach activities by the International Astronomical Union to bring modern astronomy and space exploration closer to the public. Its intention is to inspire the general public and the next generation of space enthusiasts.

The exhibition has been developed jointly by the IAU and the science communication and strategic design studio Science Now to allow for a shared, global experience. The exhibition has been created in the framework of the International Astronomical Union’s 100th anniversary (1919-2019).

DOWNLOAD:

Press release

.pdf (55 Kb)

Video teaser

.mov (10.5MB)

Visual package

.zip (12.4MB)

Posters (B1)

.zip (2.3MB)

IAU 100
CELEBRATIONS 

In 2019 the IAU is celebrating its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU is organising a year-long celebration to increase awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development and diplomacy under the central theme “Under One Sky”.

The centennial celebrations will stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science and will reach out to the global astronomical community, national science organisations, societies, policy-makers, students, families and the general public.

More information at www.iau.org/iau100 

CREDITS

Executive Producers
Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden University, IAU)
Jan Pomierny (Science Now)
Pedro Russo (Leiden University, IAU)

 

Creative Producer
Łukasz Alwast (Science Now)

 

IAU100 Coordinator
Jorge Rivero González (Leiden University, IAU)

 

Creative Concept
Łukasz Alwast (Science Now)
Karolina Panasiuk (Science Now)
Jan Pomierny (Science Now)

 

Content Development
Łukasz Alwast (Science Now)
Kamil Deresz (Science Now)
Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden University, IAU)
Jorge Rivero González (Leiden University, IAU)
Jan Pomierny (Science Now)
Milena Ratajczak (Science Now)
Pedro Russo (Leiden University, IAU)

Content Support
Jarle Brinchmann
Dirk van Delft
Henk Hoekstra
Maksymilian Manko
Claudia Mignone
Frans Snik

 

with contributions from
European Southern Observatory
European Space Agency
Harvard University
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Jet Propulsion Lab
Leiden University
Nokia Corporation
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Roscosmos
Royal Astronomical Society
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory
The World At Night

Editing
Claudia Mignone
Bethany Downer

 

Visual Design
Lena Mitek (Leniva°)
Janek Mońka (Leniva°)
Neon Neonov (Leniva°)

 

Spatial Design
MADE Studio

 

Production Support
Joanna Trytek (Black Salt)

 

Production
Ryszard Zalewski (MONT-EXPO)

 

Special thanks
Michele Armano
David Baneke
Piero Benvenuti
Lars Lindberg Christensen
Maria Rosaria D’Antonio
Gerhard Hensler
Werner Z. Zellinger

CONTACT

The International Astronomical Union is an international association of professional astronomers active in professional research and education in astronomy. The mission of the International Astronomical Union is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects – including research, communication, education and development – through international cooperation.

INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Jorge Rivero / IAU 100 Coordinator

rivero@strw.leidenuniv.nl

Science Now is a multidisciplinary science & strategic design studio specializing in various forms of science & technology communication, R&D and new venture development. The team is composed of a group of experienced producers, scientists, artists and communicators that introduce an imaginative approach to science and innovation storytelling.

SCIENCE NOW
Łukasz Alwast / Creative Producer

lukasz.alwast@sciencenow.studio

The International Astronomical Union is an international association of professional astronomers active in professional research and education in astronomy. The mission of the International Astronomical Union is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects – including research, communication, education and development – through international cooperation.

www.iau.org

INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
rivero@strw.leidenuniv.nl

Science Now is a multidisciplinary science & strategic design studio specializing in various forms of science & technology communication, R&D and new venture development. The team is composed of a group of experienced producers, scientists, artists and communicators that introduce an imaginative approach to science and innovation storytelling.

 

SCIENCE NOW
Lukasz Alwast – Producer, Science Now
contact@sciencenow.studio