This exhibition was made in collaboration with prof. dr. Ewine van Dishoeck and prof. dr. Vincent Icke, and explores the James Webb telescope through science and art.

On the ground floor of LUMC Building 1, you can find an art gallery. The gallery has been opened since 1986 and show different exhibitions 5 times a year. The exhibitions often have a certain theme. On the 1st of September the new exhibition 'Op weg naar het begin' (The road to the beginning) will open. The exhibition was made in collaboration with prof. dr. Ewine van Dishoeck and prof. dr. Vincent Icke. 

Opening: 
The opening will take place on the 1st of September and will be led by dr. Mark McCaughrean, senior advisor for the science of ESA/ESTEC/JWST. Click here for more information.

Lectures:
In addition to the exhibition, there will be a few lectures.
On the 6th of September at 19.00 uur prof. dr. Vincent Icke will give a lecture about the young universe in auditorium 3 of the LUMC. 
On the 13th of September at 19.00 uur prof. dr. Ewine van Dishoeck will give a lecture about the astronomical observations of the James Webb Telescope at the LUMC Boerhaaveplein.
After the lectures, the audience can ask questions.  

Demonstrations and kids' corner: On Wednesdays and Saturdays kids can make a model to scale with Lego under the guidance of an astronomy student. 14:00 - 17:00. Ages 5 and up.
On Wednesdays and Fridays employees from the Leiden Observatory will give demonstrations with the James Webb Telescope model. They'll also answer any space-related questions. 13:00 - 16:00.

James Webb Space Telescope
The Webb spacetelescope is the new flagship of the ESA and NASA. It's the most advanced spacetelescope that has ever been built. It was launched into space on the 25th of December 2021 Now, it is circling around our sun, just like the Earth. On the 12th of July 2022, scientists received the first set of data from the telescope. The pictures the telescope took can be viewed in the LUMC Gallery. The telescope uses infrared, and therefore experiences the universe in a totally new way. In this new exhibition you're able to go on a journey past the different objects and phenomenons the telescope focuses on. You can even travel to the places where new stars and planets are forming, and the places that formed just after the big bang; the Webb telescope will show it all to you.

Spaceships
Vincent Icke was inspired by the concept of galactic spaceships for this presentation. He wondered what an alien spaceship would look like. “A spaceship that can travel through the Milky Way is so different from Earthly rockets, which is why it's a good source for art”, according to Vincent. “For humans, space is more dangerous than any place on Earth. For a galactic society, space is their element, just like water is to a dolphin." The variety of mental pictures these ideas bring up, were combined by Icke with his knowledge about the laws of astrophysics and his own imagination.