Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Keith McCord Reporting ...When the Hansen Planetarium shut down at the end of last year, Salt Lake County's moon rock needed a temporary home. It was stored in a bank vault until a new display was built.
Well, the brand new Clark Planetarium is ready to open and the rock is back in a brand new exhibit!
School children got an up close look at rare object from space -- a piece of the moon -- 3.7 billion years old.
The rock was picked up from the surface of the moon in 1971, by Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott.
In 1978, NASA "permanently" loaned a piece of the rock to Salt Lake County.
Last December, when the Hansen Planetarium shut down, the rock was boxed up in its origional case and taken by armored vehicle to Zion's Bank -- which locked it in a vault.
Today, with a police escort, the rock came back -- again in an armored truck.
Zion's Bank President Scott Anderson and County Mayor Nancy Workman unpacked it, and carried it upstairs to its new home.
It'll sit on a specially-built lighted pedistal.
Seth Jarvis, Clark Planetarium Dir.: "WE'RE ABOUT TO SECURE IT WITH A VERY SPECIAL VAULT-LIKE HOUSING THAT'S GOT ALL KINDS OF ALARMS AND THINGS ON IT."
Planetarium Director Seth Jarvis explains that the rock will be part of a soon-to-be-completed Moon and Mars exhibit.
Seth Jarvis, Clark Planetarium Dir.: "OVER HERE YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE SIMULATED PART OF THE LUNAR LANDSCAPE, AND THERE WILL BE A PICTURE ON THE WALL AND IT WILL LOOK AND FEEL LIKE YOU'RE PART OF THE APOLLO 15 ASTRONAUTS COLLECTING THE MOONROCK."
As with any construction project, work isn't complete until the last minute. The planetarium opens to the public tomorrow night -- and then, the moonrock exhibit will be done!
By the way, speaking of space: A special treat tonight about 8:55pm, you'll be able to see the International Space Station fly over. It'll travel from the northwest to the southeast both tonight and Saturday night. Look for the shiny moving object!
