This page will serve as a resource to Museums, planetaria, and other informal education settings. Not only will information on the IBEX mission and its background science be presented, but also materials and activities appropriate for use on the museum floor. These activities will be geared toward casual museum-goers, to inspire interest in the IBEX mission. Also included on this page will be information on the Adler-created Planetarium show focusing on the IBEX mission. Activities and demonstrations to supplement the show will be highlighted on this page, as well.

The Adler Planetarium is pleased to announce the release of a new fulldome show IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System. This production is part of NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer's (IBEX) Education and Public Outreach Program, led by Adler Planetarium and with visualizations from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

The show is available to planetaria at no charge.

Find out more about obtaining IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System!

IBEX: An electronic resource for museum educators, in Powerpoint format and IBEX: An electronic resource for museum educators, in pdf format
This powerpoint is a comprehensive educational resource for museum educators highlighting the major mission information and science background for the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, a Small Explorer Earth-orbiting spacecraft that is designed to map the distant boundary between the solar wind from our Sun and the interstellar medium. It can also be modified to use with museum visitors. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Try these activities on the museum floor! Use one at a time, or several together to support learning about the IBEX mission and science.

Four of the States of Matter (1.7 MB; PDF)
This kinesthetic science demonstration introduces museum visitors to four of the states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. It also demonstrates how the addition of energy can transform matter from one state to another, and gives an overview of NASA’s IBEX mission. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Mystery Matter (1.7 MB; PDF)
This interactive museum demonstration reintroduces participants to three of the five states of matter (solid, liquid, gas), and introduces them to a fourth state of matter, plasma, and its connection to the Sun. It also provides an overview of the IBEX mission to explore the boundary of the Solar System. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Achieving Orbit (943 KB; PDF)
In this Engineering Design Challenge activity, museum visitors will use balloons to investigate how a multi-stage rocket, like that used in the IBEX mission, can propel a satellite to a specific orbit. Participants will construct a two-stage balloon rocket that will be required to reach a particular location on the balloon track, simulating the proper orbit to be reached by the IBEX satellite. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Postcards from Space (1.6 MB; PDF)
Using information from the My Place in Space lithograph, participants will write and/or draw a postcard to friends and family as if they had gone beyond the interstellar boundary of our Solar System, into the Milky Way Galaxy. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Postcard for Activity

Particle Detection (601 KB; PDF)
This educator-led activity introduces museum visitors to the IBEX mission and the techniques it will use to collect and count particles called Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs). If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Exploring the Edge of the Solar System (poster) (7.1 MB; PDF)
This poster outlines the major mission highlights of the IBEX mission. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The Edge of the Solar System (poster) (22.2 MB; PDF)
This poster outlines the components of our Solar System's Heliosphere. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The Heliosphere (lithograph) (3.1 MB; PDF)
This lithograph outlines the components of the Solar System's Heliosphere. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Mission Overview (lithograph) (745 KB; PDF)
This lithograph outlines the details of the IBEX mission. If you need an audio version of this material, the file is compatible with screen reading software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

IBEX Spacecraft Tactile

This tactile product includes a diagram of the IBEX spacecraft.
To request a copy, please email: ibexepo@swri.org
Audio Walkthrough of the IBEX spacecraft Tactile (2.6 MB; mp3)
Text version of audio walkthrough

IBEX Heliosphere Tactile

This tactile product includes a diagram of the Heliosphere.
To request a copy, please email: ibexepo@swri.org
Audio Walkthrough of the Heliosphere Tactile (2.8 MB; mp3)
Text version of audio walkthrough

Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum with NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) have created a short planetarium show segment as part of Adler's current TimeSpace show.

In this futuristic TimeSpace module, viewers are transported to the IBEX-Voyager, a captured comet used as an outpost at edge of the solar system. As NASA spaceships prepare to cross the interstellar boundary, the crew takes time to recognize the IBEX mission which, from Earth orbit, mapped the boundary of the solar system for the first time. The IBEX module for TimeSpace will be available for all digital domes through Evans & Sutherland and Sky-Skan.