Event 5: Lives of Perfect Creatures. Dogs of the Soviet Space Program at the Museum of Jurassic Technology

My experience at the Museum of Jurassic technology was unlike that of any other museum experience I have ever been on. Much of the collections and exhibits seem unrelated to each other and the atmosphere of the museum seems very homey and almost wonderfully haunting. The collection of most interest to me was that concerning the Soviet Space program. I was expecting to find detailed history about the Soviet Space program, which I did, however it was told completely through the perspective of the dogs of the program. Unfortunately, the museum did not allow the use of photography.

My entrance ticket

Myself posing outside
of the museum.

           

Because of Professor Vesna’s lecture on Space and Art, I was ecstatic to realize that I would already recognize one of the names in the exhibit: Laika! Upon entering the room, one immediately notices a quote painted on the wall by Constantine Tsiolkovski, the first advocate for human space exploration- “All the universe is full of the lives of perfect creatures”. Tsiolkovski believed in the philosophy of panpsychism, which states the mind is a universal feature of all things.

Belka and Strelka- The first dogs to go into
space and return alive.
<http://americangirlsinmoscow.blogspot.com
/2010/05/belka-and-strelka.html>

            The exhibit mentions other dogs that were launched into space after Laika, many of which returned living and even bore pups after their return from space.

Veterok and Ugolyok- The first dogs to go past the Van Allen radiation
belt and return alive with no signs of damage from radiation.
<http://www.zoomroomonline.com/dogs-in-space.html>

            Overall, my experience at the museum helped me understand the important desire for space exploration, and how important these dogs were in serving as initial trials of sending life into an unknown world. I would recommend this museum to anyone interesting in learning about the Soviet Space program from a different perspective. At the end of the exhibit, the curator’s dog welcomes and greets you, and you have the opportunity to have tea and cookies! This museum is definitely a different, yet fun experience.