2024 A Space Odyssey — Wardlaw's Alien Worlds Exhibit

This exhibit does not start with the creation of the universe, but rather a dot. It's tinged yellow, with hints of orange only visible when blown up to a large low-resolution image, and without the aid of modern computers looks rather like the first poke of a tattoo needle. However, this dot is deceptively important, and is the central premise of Wardlaw Museum's newest temporary exhibit: Alien Worlds.

HIP 65426 b. Credit: NASA.

Meet HIP 65426 b, an exo-planet (or a planet that lives outside our solar system) that is 2,263,000,000,000,000 miles from earth. Whilst planets within the solar system are relatively close, that being, close enough to photograph, this grainy photograph of HIP is the best one we have of this exo-planet, which begs the question— how on earth (pun intended) did we discover this planet? Well, as Wardlaw so easily explains to the persons-of-a-scientifically-confused-nature (ie. myself), with sound. There is a video explaining this in layman’s terms, simple enough for a young child to understand, that as the planets pass the sun they’re orbiting, the light-turned-to-sound changes noise. There are a few challenges to see if you can recognise exo-planet or the transits (times the planet passed the sun) which I failed horrendously—clearly data analysis, is not my calling.

Fortunately, for the more artistic minds, Wardlaw had some incredible artefacts to accompany the science: a book that Galileo wrote in, defending his thesis, and a notebook that Copernicus tried to cover up for his controversial claim that the earth orbits the sun (and not vice versa). Hand drawn stars accompany transit telescopes highlighting the range of this exhibit, it is not merely the science, but rather the relationship between science and literature. Back in ancient times, the title of Philosopher encompassed both philosophical and scientific enquiry, as these two aspects of humanity have been so closely intertwined. Personally, although the final frontier has always fascinated me, I struggle with the physics of it all, and so have been relegated to enjoying space through sci-fi, but this exhibit explained everything so clearly and concisely that it was incredibly easy to follow- easy enough that I almost reconsidered my choice to ditch science at GCSE!

Once I knew how to find an exo-planet-- if I’m ever bored and happen to get my hands on a transit telescope-- the natural progression was to ask, what’s an exo-planet like? Short answer: scientists don’t know, but they sure can guess. From meteorites to rocks found on earth, humanity is constantly surrounded by star dust. Following a series of rocks, both earth-based and space-based, that explained how scientists make educated guesses about the contents of distant planets (thank you to any astro-biologists who have this challenge), I was allowed to touch martian rocks. Well, a 3D printed version of the land on Mars. This interactive element of the exhibit I especially appreciated, as I find tactile learning to be incredibly fun and accessible. Whilst there were a fair few screens within the exhibit, playing scientific videos or silent movies (a new trend, it seems, in museum exhibits), it was not exclusively visual. This is great for anyone going with children or who, like me, just want to poke things.

Living out my sci-fi dreams. Credit: Minnie.

The second half of the exhibit was a love-letter to the imaginative power of science-fiction. For the little ones, there was a retro spaceship console out of my star trek dreams. Full of buttons, switches, and joysticks, this was a playground for children to let their imaginations run wild, which I naturally tested out-- for the sake of journalism. This play area was accompanied by a reading corner, packed to the brim with sci-fi books for all ages. There was a range of books from le petit prince to manga to modern sci-fi, clearly asking people of all ages to take a break, have a seat, and enjoy some literature.

For those already familiar with sci-fi this part of the exhibit was like heaven. My Dr Who, Star Wars, Dune nerd heart grew three sizes as I walked past a full-size dalek to look at a model of an X-Wing. Science-Fiction has influenced modern technology, with iPads being inspired by Star Trek's PADDs, so it is no wonder that this genre is now also inspiring science.

My new best friend. Credit: Minnie.

The central focus of this section was not the exoplanets, but rather, the earth. It is difficult to attend any modern scientific exhibit without at least one mention of climate change, and Alien Worlds was no exception. Whilst the bounds of sci-fi often explore a post-earth setting, this exhibit decided to loop back to the familiar. Whilst often the appearance of climate change is predictable, especially to myself as a jaded Gen-Z who has spent the past decade doing a daily doom-scroll, Wardlaw made an argument that I found to be fascinating. Whilst there was a short section explaining what climate change is and why it's important to preserve the planet clearly aimed at young children, Wardlaw presented paintings that depicted the horrors of colonisation and compared the destruction of lands in the name of Empire to that of humanity destroying the Earth in the name of Capitalism. As someone who has studied the British Empire in depth (for those who want a short and quite rude summary, I'd strongly recommend reading 52 Times Britain was a B*llend by James Felton) I personally had never made that link or considered comparing these two things, so especially enjoyed this new take on something that is often a predictable end to an exhibit.

Finally, there was a short game, a choose-your-own-adventure vibe in which you had to decide between Saving the Earth or Finding A New Planet, which outlined all the issues with finding a Planet-B in case the Earth goes caput. For those who ended with an optimistic we can save the earth! ending, there were four little cards which explored ways to reduce environmental impact, whereas for those who went for Planet-B despite all the warnings not to (disease, alien life, etc.) there was the option of making up your own ending. I had a nosy through the cards that had been filled in, and they were decidedly pessimistic-- apparently even five-year-olds think humanity would fall apart when meeting alien life!-- and filled in my own ending for humanity, in which we were space-orcs.

All in all, the exhibit took around half an hour to complete, though I didn't stop in the reading corner. It was completely free to enter, and I found it to be way more fun than I'd expected. The entire exhibit is squished into a rather small room, so it was never going to be huge, but it is quite dense with cabinets every few steps, videos, challenges, a playlist, and an entire reading corner that invites you to 'visit another world' through the books you pick up. I'd expected the entire space to be sciencey and I was sorely mistaken as it embraced all perspectives of the solar system and alien worlds, and seeing Galileo's handwriting was an incredible surprise. If you ever have half an hour between classes, I'd definitely recommend stopping by the museum and having a look around-- or, if you're just a Dr Who nerd, I'd recommend stopping by for the dalek!

Alien Worlds is in the Wardlaw Museum until the 5th January.