EPAA Celebrates World Space Week At Desert Park

The Environment and Protected Areas Authority, EPAA, recently joined the rest of the world in celebrating the start of World Space Week with a programme entitled "Space Unites the World," which took place at the Natural History and Botanical Museum at Desert Park.

SHARJAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 16th Oct, 2018) The Environment and Protected Areas Authority, EPAA, recently joined the rest of the world in celebrating the start of World Space Week with a programme entitled "Space Unites the World," which took place at the Natural History and Botanical Museum at Desert Park.

The celebration was held in the presence of Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, EPAA Chairwoman; Rashed Abdullah Al Mehyan, Chairman of the Parents’ Council in the Central Region, and Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Bin Huaiden Al Ketbi, Chairman of the Al Dhaid City Council. Brigadier Ahmed bin Darwish, Director of the Central Region Police Department, and Azza Al Harmody, Science Museum Director, along with a number of directors and staff from government departments in Sharjah.

This year’s theme, "Space Unites the World," is about the countries and organisations that are interested in space and how space brings the peoples of the world together. The International Space Agency chose this theme to encourage cooperation and the sharing of experience and information.

The World Space Week programme, which took place in different halls of the museum, included a variety of space-related exhibits and activities for different age groups. There was also an exhibition featuring the UAE’s space-related achievements, from the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s meeting with a delegation from NASA in 1976 to the UAE’s deal with NASA to cooperate on human spaceflight, which was signed this year.

The Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences also participated in the celebration by displaying some of its collections, while the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation showcased astronomical and space-related inventions by Muslim scholars.

Speaking about the participation, Al Suwaidi said, "On the first day of the programme, there was a huge turnout. Employees and visitors expressed their appreciation for the programme, activities, and events. There is an exhibition about the scientific miracles in the Holy Quran and the Solar System, presentations about space and the role that the UAE has played in space exploration, and a gallery with photographs of space. Children will learn about the Emirates Mars Mission project, which involves sending the first Arab and Islamic probe – the Hope Probe – to Mars."

Hisa Al Shamsi, who is in charge of the Natural History and Botanical Museum, commented, "Visitors will be able to enjoy a variety of offerings, including a puppet show about the sun, the moon, and the earth, and a workshop about the Solar System held in cooperation with the Museum of Islamic Civilisation. Aimed at children aged 7 to 12, this workshop includes simplified explanations of the Solar System and the planets with a focus on Planet Earth, and children will have the chance to arrange models of the planets."