Ambassador Hoekstra unveils moon rock at the Museon Science Museum in The Hague

Unveiling of a Moon rock in at the Museon science museum in The Hague
Unveiling of a Moon rock in at the Museon science museum in The Hague
Unveiling of a Moon rock in at the Museon science museum in The Hague

Together with Dutch astronaut  André Kuipers,  Ms. Christine van der Sman, director of Museon, and former Deputy Mayor of The Hague Karsten Klein, unveiled a special moon rock in the Museon science museum in The Hague.

The moon rock was collected by NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. The stone is 3.8 billion years old and weighs 25 grams. It will be displayed in a special open container and can be touched by visitors.

Former Deputy Mayor of The Hague Karsten Klein and Ambassador Hoekstra
Former Deputy Mayor of The Hague Karsten Klein and Ambassador Hoekstra

There are more moon rocks on display in museums, but there are only 10 moon rocks in the world that are allowed to be touched. They can be admired in the Western Hemisphere and this is the only one in Europe.  The stone will become part of a special exhibition at the Museon.

Dutch astronaut André Kuipers and Ambassador Hoekstra
Dutch astronaut André Kuipers and Ambassador Hoekstra

The festive handing-over of the stone was done in the presence of students of the Nutsschool “Zorgvliet” and singer “Maan” who gave a performance before the opening.

The students were the first to touch the moonrock.

The Museon is a family museum for science and culture in The Hague. It has geology, biology, archaeology, history, science, and ethnology collections. In 2017, 230,000 people visited the museum.

Photo gallery of the event.