Lichfield Cathedral to host 'Museum of the Moon '

Lichfield Cathedral is set to host artwork by Luke Jerram called 'Museum of the moon '.

The artwork features detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface at an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of this sculpture represents 5km of the moon 's surface.

It will be shown at the nave of the cathedral from 21 September to 31 October. Visitors during the daytime will be able to view Museum of the Moon as part of their visit Monday-Saturday 10:00-17:00 and Sunday 12:00-17:00.

Over its lifetime, the Museum of the Moon will be presented in several different ways both indoors and outdoors by altering the experience and interpretation of the artwork. As it travels from place to place, it will gather new musical compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies, as well as highlighting the latest moon science.

Speaking about his artwork, Luke Jerram said: “As a child I always wanted a telescope so I could study the moon and the night 's sky. Now with my own Moon, I can fly there, study every detail and share this experience with the public. We also can explore the far side of the Moon which is never visible from Earth.

It 's great to witness the publics ' response to the artwork. Many people spend hours with the Moon exploring its every detail. Some visitors lie down and moon-bathe. One little girl even said to me “will you put the moon back afterwards? ” She thought I 'd stolen the real moon! ”

Dean of Lichfield, the Very Revd Adrian Dorber, said: “Luke Jerram 's work has won praise and acclamation wherever it has been seen. It is excellent to bring the 'Museum of the Moon ' to Lichfield.

Over the past few years, the Cathedral has been encouraging visitors to think about the universe and its origins and the role of humanity within God 's good creation. This is another opportunity not only to see something beautiful and eye-catching, but to be awed. I hope it will be a great autumn attraction. We look forward to making all age groups welcome. ”

Tickets are available to book for evening events where the artwork will come into its own. Music will be accompanied by a surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award-winning composer Dan Jones.

Evening event tickets can be booked through the Cathedral website at: http://www.lichfield-cathedral.org/moon and are £5 for adults, £3 for children with under 3s FREE.

For more information about the experience, visit http://my-moon.org/