Become an astronaut and walk on the moon at new Waikato Museum exhibition

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a giant four-metre diameter orb made by British artist Luke Jerram, glowing with high-definition NASA lunar surface imagery. Photo / Supplied

If you always dreamed of space and the moon, your launch countdown has just started as the Waikato Museum opens its new exhibition Our Moon: Then, Now & Beyond on Saturday, March 19.

The free exhibition explores humankind's relationship with the Moon from perspectives of the past, present, and future, through lots of interactive stations.

Director museum & arts at Waikato Museum, Liz Cotton, says Our Moon: Then, Now & Beyond was unique in its use of art as a way of making science approachable.

"It really has something for everyone. This major exhibition tells a multi-faceted story and will provide our visitors with inspiration, information and lots of fun."

You can even smell the scent of the Moon at a scent station, role play the launch of a rocket at the NASA mission control desk and experience the historic achievement of the first Moon landing in the museum's retro 1960s lounge.

There is also a daily display of the Māori lunar calendar and a mechanical interactive model demonstrating the Moon's orbit around Earth.

Centrepiece of the exhibition is a giant four-metre diameter orb made by British artist Luke Jerram, glowing with high-definition NASA lunar surface imagery.

The exhibition is on tour from the Nelson Provincial Museum and presented in partnership with Rātā Foundation, Cawthron Institute and the Embassy of the USA.

Nelson Provincial Museum CEO Lucinda Blackley-Jimson says it was a pleasure to have Waikato Museum host Our Moon and share the experience even more widely.

"This exhibition has been devised to have something that will connect at some level with everyone in the community."

The exhibition will be open daily from 10am to 5pm, entry is free.