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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Dear Colleagues,

For the past five years we've had a 2000 sq. ft. museum exhibit called
"Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe" touring the USA under
the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
(SITES). The tour is coming to an end and we are now faced with the question
of what to do with the exhibition.

One idea is to renovate the exhibit with some updated content and inaugurate
a new tour, perhaps managing it ourselves. Under this scenario, the exhibit
would be offered "at cost," meaning that the user pays...

a) shipping and insurance (varies with destination), and
b) the cost of an installation/dismantle/packing supervisor (~$5K total)

...but without any profit or amortization of the development cost built into
the rental fee. The exhibit comes in ~60-80 crates and fills 2-3 semi
trailers. (Forgive me for not having the exact figures.)

Given the facts as I've sketched them above, plus the basic description of
the exhibit shown here...

http://hubblesource.stsci.edu/exhibits/traveling/index_02.php

...I'd be grateful for as many answers as I could get from institutions that
host exhibits of this magnitude to the following questions:

1) Would you be interested in hosting the updated 2000 sq. ft. Hubble
exhibit?

2) Does a fee that covers only shipping/insurance and
installation/dismantling supervision enhance the attractiveness of the
exhibit?

3) Would the exhibit be more attractive to you if NASA formalizes plans to
service Hubble, which will likely extend Hubble's mission through the
decade? (The NASA administrator has indicated that this will happen if they
can accomplish two successful shuttle flights.)

Your considered opinions, posted to the list or just directly to me at your
earliest convenience, will be gratefully received. This week, please!

(Note: There was also a 5000 sq. ft. version of the exhibit; it is now
permanently installed in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center
in Greenbelt, Maryland, and we are not contemplating touring it.)

Sincerely,

John Stoke

John M. Stoke
Manager, Informal Science Education
E/PO Lead, James Webb Space Telescope
Office of Public Outreach
Space Telescope Science Institute
3700 San Martin Drive
Baltimore MD 21228 USA
T +1 410 338 4394
F +1 410 338 4579
[log in to unmask]
http://hubblesource.stsci.edu
http://jwstsite.stsci.edu/

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