Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, is set to open The Space Vault Exhibition on Saturday 14 June 2025. The exhibition will showcase one of the UK’s largest private collections of space artefacts, containing rare and historic objects brought back to Earth from human space exploration.
The announcement of the exhibition coincides with the 60th anniversary of the first ever human spacewalk, which was carried out by cosmonaut Alexey Leonov on 18 March 1965. The exhibition will feature objects from NASA’s Apollo missions, the Soviet space era, American and Russian space shuttle programmes, International Space Station, and SpaceX.
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to experience 12 curated stories of human space exploration through immersive visuals and unique artefacts. This includes objects such as the mission checklists that saved the crew of Apollo 13, Commander Dave Scott’s spacesuit umbilical from his first steps on the Moon, and lunar dust from the Hadley Rille landing site of Apollo 15.
The Space Vault Exhibition will also feature a program of space lates, using the museum’s planetarium to explore the stories behind the objects and showcasing the greatest space movies in a ‘cinema in the stars’ experience.
General admission to Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum will include entry to The Space Vault Exhibition. Zak Mensah and Sara Wajid, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums, expressed their excitement for the exhibition, stating, “This unique exhibition offers an unparalleled opportunity for our visitors to experience the awe-inspiring history and future of space exploration.”
Dr Michael Warner, director of The Space Vault Exhibition, also shared his enthusiasm for the exhibition, saying, “Following its inaugural run at the European Space Agency, I am delighted that Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum is now to host The Space Vault Exhibition, providing an opportunity for the general public to explore these thrilling artefacts.”
The Space Vault Exhibition was previously displayed at the European Space Agency and is now making its way to Birmingham, offering a one-of-a-kind experience for visitors to delve into the history and future of space exploration.
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