Science fiction meets space exploration in new Dixon exhibit

DIXON – The revamped exhibit is “Earth from Space.”

That it was unveiled on May the Fourth, is no coincidence.

The conjunction of science fiction and real science often is a touchpoint for learning, said Jake Wallin, the executive director of the Northwest Territory Historic Center.

For the debut, Wallin put “Star Wars” (“May the Force Be With You” ) and the real-life science of orbital exploration together.

“I’m a huge sci-fi nerd,” Wallin said. “We have a small section up there called ‘What sci-fi can teach us about real science.’ … ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Dune,’ ‘Star Wars,’ all those cool things really can teach us a lot of stuff, or at least, get kids excited.”

So as part of the new exhibit’s opening, the museum is including showings of the “Star Wars” film trilogies Thursdays over the next few weeks. For the opener, Wallin said they had 15 in attendance.

“‘Star Trek, ‘Dune,’ ‘Star Wars,’ all those cool things really can teach us a lot of stuff, or at least, get kids excited.”

—  Jake Wallin, executive director of the Northwest Territory Historic Center

But the heart of the revised “Earth from Space” exhibit are its displays – many provided by the German animation studio Kurzgesagt – informational graphic art, videos of private and public space launches and an immersive room that puts visitors amid the stars and planets.

The original exhibit was photographs of Earth from a satellite. “We kind of took that and enhanced that,” Wallin said.

There now are rare Lego space-themed models on display and a distance-scale model of the solar system. Even the flooring makes it feel like you’re walking on the moon, he said.

“The idea of the exhibit is just to get people excited about coming in and seeing and exploring” all the center has to offer.

The center at 205 W. Fifth St., is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the former South Central School that Ronald Reagan attended as a sixth and seventh grader.

Wallin’s Top 5 exhibits

Wallin, who has been executive director since December, literally grew up among the exhibits because of his family’s long association with the Northwest Territory Historic Center. His grandfather provided maintenance there for a quarter of a century. These are Wallin’s five favorites.

1. “Earth from Space”: The first exhibit Wallin put a stamp on as executive director.

2. The building: The old school was reconstructed using 92% of original materials, is an example of period architecture, and is designated as an historical landmark by the Dixon Historical Preservation Commission. “We literally put the floor back together from splinters,” he said.

3. Miniatures of a Ferris wheel and the Eiffel tower created using toothpicks: Wallin restored them using vintage toothpicks provided by the models’ original donors and using vintage blueprints the toothpick manufacturer sold to hobbyists.

4. “Diorama of Dixon from 1846″: It shows the town as it was in the time of its founder, John Dixon.

5. “Restored Third Floor Gymnasium”: The restored gymnasium includes vintage movie posters from the film career of Ronald Reagan.

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Northwest Territory Historic Center director Jake Wallin gestures while speaking about the new center’s “Earth from Space” exhibit on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. The exhibit takes the viewer through informational posters, models and interactive screens about space and space travel. (Alex T. Paschal - apaschal@shawmedia.com/credit)