{"id":156309,"date":"2026-10-26T14:22:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T18:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=156309"},"modified":"2026-10-26T14:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T18:22:52","slug":"space-history-meets-the-future-in-interactive-ucf-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/space-history-meets-the-future-in-interactive-ucf-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"Space History Meets the Future in Interactive UCF Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>L<em>anding humans on the moon was just a dream when UCF was founded in 1963. But we dared to believe \u2014 developing the talent and inventing the technologies to make it reality. That same spirit still drives us today.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We are America\u2019s Space University. And we celebrate UCF Space Week to honor our origin as we dare to build what\u2019s next.<\/em><br>\n\t\t<\/p><section class=\"ucf-section ucf-section-space-week \" style>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"bg-inverse text-inverse\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\" col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"media-background-container h-100\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Image-810x400-1.jpg\" alt=\"UCF student adjusts equipment on a large telescope at night, surrounded by cables and machinery, with a starry sky in the background.\" class=\"w-100\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"UCF student adjusts equipment on a large telescope at night, surrounded by cables and machinery, with a starry sky in the background.\" class=\"w-100 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Image-810x400-1.jpg\"><br>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\" col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"media-background-container h-100 d-flex flex-column align-items-center justify-content-center text-center\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-BG-800x400-1.jpg\" alt class=\" media-background object-fit-cover\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt class=\" media-background object-fit-cover lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-BG-800x400-1.jpg\">\n<div class=\"w-75 mx-auto pt-3\">\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Lockup.png\" alt=\"UCF Space Week Oct. 25-30, 2026\" class=\"w-100\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"UCF Space Week Oct. 25-30, 2026\" class=\"w-100 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Lockup.png\">\n<p class=\"text-center pt-4 line-height-1 font-size-sm\">Where Global Leaders Unite to Forge the Future of Space<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n<hr>\n<p>The John C. Hitt Library is likely the only place where you can find odes to Citronaut, space mice, sports and human spaceflight together in one room.<\/p>\n<p>A new, interactive exhibit, debuts this week in the Immersion Studio on the fourth floor of the library\u2019s Digital Exploration Center.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibit brings six decades of UCF, United States and international space history and culture beyond the archives and into visitors\u2019 hands. It draws on digital assets from UCF\u2019s former student newspaper, <em>Central Florida Future<\/em>, NASA, UCF Athletics and the university.<\/p>\n<p>UCF Libraries graduate research assistant <strong>Eric Thompson \u201919<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/history-ba\/\">history<\/a> alum pursuing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/texts-and-technology-phd\/\">doctorate in texts and technology<\/a>, is the mind and heart behind the project. He set out to maximize the studio\u2019s potential through its 270-degree immersive projection and interactive touch capabilities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_156314\" style=\"max-width: 1200px;\" class=\"figure float-left\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img size-full wp-image-156314 img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1.jpg\" alt=\"Man wearing glasses and longsleeve collar shirt stands with arms crossed in front of light blue wall with signage that reads Digital Exploration Center\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-360x240.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img size-full wp-image-156314 img-fluid lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Man wearing glasses and longsleeve collar shirt stands with arms crossed in front of light blue wall with signage that reads Digital Exploration Center\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1-360x240.jpg 360w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/UCF-DEC-Eric-Thompson-Space-1.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Eric Thompson \u201919, a history alum pursuing a doctorate in texts and technology, enjoys bringing history to life beyond the classroom, in places like museums, parks monuments and the UCF Libraries&#8217; Immersion Studio. (Photo by Brooke Morris &#8217;22)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Over the past two months, he meticulously selected every image and wrote nearly 7,000 words for the exhibit\u2019s text boxes, bringing the experience together through an iterative process that used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/artificial-intelligence\/\">artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) to generate code.<\/p>\n<p>The Cocoa Beach, Florida, native worked as a bicycle mechanic for nearly a decade before enrolling through <a href=\"https:\/\/directconnect.ucf.edu\/\">DirectConnect to UCF<\/a> to pursue a more fulfilling career as a public historian. He wants to bring history to life beyond the classroom, in places like museums, parks, and monuments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was giving tours of a Civil War painting at the Atlanta History Center, and when you\u2019re doing programming like that it\u2019s exciting because it\u2019s different every single time depending on the makeup of whoever comes through,\u201d he says. \u201cI think the best public history exhibits make some sort of argument. We\u2019re not just saying, \u2018Hey, look at this neat thing from 100 years ago.\u2019 We\u2019re also saying what that meant back then, and how it ties to our society today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here, Thompson explains how the exhibit came together, what visitors can expect and the stellar result when the humanities collide with technology.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_156311\" style=\"max-width: 1200px;\" class=\"figure float-left\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img size-full wp-image-156311 img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini.jpeg\" alt=\"split screen of UCF Mission X Space Game patch and NASA&apos;s Gemini Patch of 166 \" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-360x240.jpeg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img size-full wp-image-156311 img-fluid lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"split screen of UCF Mission X Space Game patch and NASA&apos;s Gemini Patch of 166 \" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini-360x240.jpeg 360w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/Mission-Patch-X-UCF-Gemini.jpeg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Thompson&#8217;s exhibit showcases the inspiration of UCF&#8217;s Mission X Space Game against the 1966 Gemini X patch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>What inspired this exhibit?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of this semester, the <a href=\"https:\/\/library.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-libraries-ready-to-celebrate-space-week\/\">library was discussing its programming<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/your-guide-to-ucf-space-week-2026-discovery-connection-and-spaceu-pride\/\">UCF Space Week 2026<\/a> and my supervisor asked if I wanted to propose something specifically for the Immersion Studio. I started with just a wall \u2014 I built a very, very bare-bones prototype that was basically just the mission patches from the space games. Can I make this work? What does it look like from there? How do we do some more history or scholarship along with that?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where some of the other elements \u2014 old newspaper articles, actual NASA mission patches, UCF\u2019s space origins \u2014 started to come in. One advantage of a digital exhibit is that you&#8217;re not constrained by what fits in a 4-foot-wide glass case. Nearly all images are clickable with a tap of your finger so you can read more information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The texts and technology program has been recognized as <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-selected-for-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-project-on-ai-in-education\/\"><strong>a leader in digital humanities education<\/strong><\/a><strong>. How did you apply what you\u2019ve been studying to this project?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the research methods that texts and technology students use a lot is something called critical making. It\u2019s a way of building something, thinking and writing through that process very deliberately, and iterating on it. That\u2019s what this process was.<\/p>\n<p>Another key element was <em>how<\/em> I used AI. I wrote all of the content. I picked all of the images and even hand-sketched the layout, but I don&#8217;t know how to code. I didn&#8217;t write the programming that made boxes be boxes. I would prefer a human whose job is to program and get paid for it, but I didn\u2019t have that opportunity in this case.<\/p>\n<p>So the code work on this was done with a generative AI tool, Claude. I had a leg up through coursework that was explicitly about using AI like this, including a significant manual review process. It has to be really deliberate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you hope this exhibition adds to campus culture?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As a university, we don&#8217;t have the same generations of history that other places do because we were founded just 63 years ago. So we have an opportunity, all of us, to take a more active role in shaping it. I hope somebody will learn something about our campus history and use that to build positive change here on campus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you highlight the humanity of this tech-forward exhibit?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I very intentionally wrote the names of the people on the mission patches with crews. There are people at home who designed these, who thought through these experiments and these projects. Most of these patches are human-forward designs, and people made choices to symbolize our values and what\u2019s important to us.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why should people come visit this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Immersion Studio opened in February, and we want to show what the space is capable of. My hope is that faculty will come in and realize they can bring a class here or design a presentation. Student organizations can hold meetings here. I plan to do my dissertation defense in this space one day.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe want to show what the space is capable of.\u201d \u2014 <strong>Eric Thompson \u201919<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Digital Exploration Center is a really interesting space on campus. People who aren&#8217;t necessarily in something tech-focused are still going to need to learn how to use more modern tools and need workstations and equipment that their departments may or may not have.<\/p>\n<p>So this is a really high-powered space that&#8217;s open to anybody on campus. I would love it if somebody found this space because of this exhibit; that would be a win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Built by a humanities doctoral student, a new immersive, 270-degree experience invites visitors to explore six decades of space history \u2014 and UCF\u2019s place in it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":156323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,3,5],"tags":[18104,54138,781,17023,1323,2175,54398,40871,4361,15007,4857,4901,55095,10526],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-156309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-arts","category-colleges","tag-academic-excellence","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-central-florida-future","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-direct-connect-to-ucf","tag-history","tag-nasa","tag-operational-excellence","tag-space","tag-texts-and-technology","tag-ucf-athletics","tag-ucf-libraries","tag-ucf-space-week","tag-ucf-special-collections"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v28.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Space History Meets the Future in Interactive UCF Exhibit | University of Central Florida News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Built by a humanities doctoral student, a new immersive, 270-degree experience invites visitors to explore six decades of space history \u2014 and UCF\u2019s place in it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/space-history-meets-the-future-in-interactive-ucf-exhibit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Space History Meets the Future in Interactive UCF Exhibit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Built by a humanities doctoral student, a new immersive, 270-degree 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