A scale model of the moon will be filling the Painted Hall in Greenwich for the next couple of months.
This is UK artist Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon, a large scale model of the moon based on NASA photographs of the surface, and is a travelling attraction hovering above people’s heads in venues across the UK.
Mock up of the display (c) ORNC
Visitors can stand beneath the seven metre, to-scale Moon as it hangs in the Baroque Painted Hall. The imagery features minute detail of the lunar surface, taking the viewer right around to the dark side of the moon. The internally-lit installation features a surround sound composition by composer Dan Jones.
You can also expect lots of people to be standing around looking rather odd with their hands above their heads — getting a photo of them appearing to hold the moon.
The Museum of the Moon will be at the Old Royal Naval College until Sunday 5th February 2023.
It’s part of the standard entry to the Painted Hall, and tickets are cheaper if booked online from here.
- Adult: £12.50
- Children: Free
- Concessions: £7.50
- National Art Pass: £6.75
- Royal Navy serving personnel: Free
I wish curators would stop putting things like this everywhere. It’s getting tedious. This has nothing to do with the Painted Hall which is a wonderful and astonishing thing in itself. It doesn’t need to give a publicity puff to Luke Jerram Ltd or have irrelevant objects bloocking the view of the ceiling painting.
Considering that ‘Gaia’, Luke Jerram’s sun piece sold out the Painted Hall in 2021, I’m going to say that you are probably a minority voice here. The Old Royal Naval College have likely decided that lots of people paying to visit and therefore support the hall is a good thing. There are plenty of opportunities to see the hall sans moon throughout the year, should you wish to.
Delighted to see Luke Jerram’s work again on display – having organised a school trip to his more meaningful GAIA in Cobh Cathedral, Co. Cork – all the way from our Dublin school.
However the author of this item might like to know there is no “dark side” of the Moon (except as Pink Floyd album?). Rather the Moon has its near side, always facing the earth, and its far side – never seen from the Earth.
Even the far side changes a bit due to a wobble called libration. This is a result of the fact that the Moon’s orbit is not circular so its speed is not constant.
Thank you and congratulations on your previous success with GAIA which has inspired many adults and students to further reflect on the state of our precious home planet.
Michael. Teacher of Science and Climate Action courses. Dublin.
So people wanting to see The Painted Hall for itself will have to dodge around a big fake moon, and all the lookie looes posing with their hands above their heads. I like the idea of seeing an illuminated moon — but I want to see the Painted Hall for itself also. Not sure this is a match made in heaven.
You’ll still have several hundred other months that you can visit the Painted Hall and see it sans moon though.