Exhibition View of Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition Since 2022
On December 17, 2020, 1,731-gram lunar soil samples were successfully brought back to Earth by the Chang'e-5 returner. Hereafter, scientists have conducted systematic research on the lunar soil samples and accomplished many major discoveries that were successively published in top international scientific journals. These achievements not only reflect the progress of the country's science and technology, but also demonstrate its comprehensive national strength.
Scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences used the most advanced technology to study the lunar soil sample of Chang'e-5 (CE5C0600YJFM00402, provided by the National Space Administration). At the beginning of scientific exploration, artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts participated in the process, observed, filmed and recorded the process and results, and presented scientific research data artistically. "Enjoy the Lunar Soil—Art Expo of Lunar Soil Research Achievements"was successfully presented at the West Hall, History Museum of CAFA in 2022.
Exhibition View of Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition Since 2022
Themed on "Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition", a latest exhibition of science popularization was unveiled at Chengdu National History Museum in early 2026. It provides a productive site with cultural significance by the qualified science popularization environment of the Chengdu Natural History Museum. Cutting-edge technologies such as AR, VR, micron CT scanning imaging, and microscopic stack photography, are used to transform advanced scientific research results into a tangible visual feast. Centered around "scientific vision and artistic expression," it has accomplished an exploration of scenographic reconstruction combining science popularization, aesthetic education, and the functions of a science museum.
Exhibition View of Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition Since 2022
The exhibition, through one of its two major areas—the popular science exhibition area—features the core sections of "Inquiry: The Scientific Unveiling of Lunar Soil," "Insight: The True Appearance of Lunar Soil," and "Revelation: The Infinite Value of Lunar Soil," displaying simulated lunar soil specimens, microscopic images, and interactive installations. This "microscopic narrative" constructs a unique way of science communication. When visitors use AR technology to "cut open" and "see through" the internal structure of a lunar soil particle, they are not only acquiring knowledge but also experiencing the perspective and emotions of scientists at the moment of discovering new insights. Knowledge is internalized through embodied experience.
Exhibition View of Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition Since 2022
In the immersive section, the "Moon Palace Project" VR program transforms the narrator into a virtual "Star of Myriad Phenomena," which, based on scientific research and popular science, develops a science fiction that appeals to knowledge dissemination. During the 25-minute virtual journey, visitors act as "lunar explorers," strolling through the Mare Tranquillitatis, touching lunar soil, and driving lunar rovers through meteor showers. This is no longer passive observation, but in-depth situational learning driven by role-playing and tasks. The hardships and romance of deep space exploration, as well as the uniqueness and desolation of the lunar environment, become extraordinarily vivid through the "simulated firsthand experience."
Exhibition View of Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition Since 2022
"Popular science and aesthetic education" is precisely about building such a community: here, scientists seek truth, artists seek beauty, and the integration of the two jointly serves the public's understanding of the world and their perception of beauty. Benefiting from the "Science and Art Universe" platform behind the exhibition, "Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition" intends to use a co-creation model of "scientists and artists," as well as a curatorial paradigm that combines "scientific rigor, artistic perception, and technological immersion," to make an exhibition replicable and adaptable to more themes, allowing more cutting-edge scientific achievements from various countries to be seen by the public in a vivid way, thereby achieving a "growing cultural IP."
Exhibition View of Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition Since 2022
When visitors gaze at the dust from the ancient deep space through this meticulously constructed scene, they are not only reading the secrets of the Moon, but also the relentless human spirit of exploration, the beauty of cognition where reason and emotion intertwine. "Enjoy the Lunar Soil: Immersive Science Exhibition" presents an immersive experiment with science and art, showcasing the power of constructing cultural scenarios through a carefully built multi-dimensional scene that can be entered, perceived, and reflected upon...It makes cutting-edge science "accessible" and profound knowledge "comprehensible," planting a seed of longing for the stars and a love for science in every visitor who steps inside.
Courtesy of the Organizer, edited (EN) by CAFA ART INFO.
