Explore the wonders of Space & You

 

This holiday season, Toppen Shopping Centre is your destination of choice in Johor Baru to go to Space & You, an immersive exploration experience that invites you to step into the outer limits for an awe-inspiring journey through the cosmos.

 

Visitors may don Space Suits for a more
fun experience and to capture photo mementoes

For the launch event that morning, I was among other guests who arrived, eagerly anticipating the privilege to be among the earliest to have this experience that will be open to the public from now till 20 March 2024.

 

In a brief introduction during the event, we learnt that this educational and inspiring journey will be presented in nine sectors of interest.

 

It starts with getting to know the planets in our vast universe before going for a space suit experience.

 

The Space & You exhibition was launched
in a simple ceremony

You have a choice about wearing a space suit or not, and the assistants will help you choose the right size, whether adult or child, to don the complete suit.

 

Then head into an aerospace journey before your interstellar exploration, cosmic wonder, realms of outer space, light years away, the remains of the universe and space commemoration.

 

Presented by Meta Doers Innovation Sdn Bhd, this exciting exhibition experience was declared open in a simple ceremony by Chairman, Willson Lin Wei Hsien, Executive Director, Rebecca Liao, Toppen Deputy Centre Manager, Themelselvam Suppiah, CEO & Curator of Beijing Shuchuang Cultural Technology Co Ltd, Stella Liu, and Guest-of-Honour, Tuan Haji Mohd Hanafi Samad, Deputy State Education Director (Learning Sector) of Johor State Education Department.

 

Complimentary tickets were presented to 
representatives of NGOs

The organisers exercised their commitment to inclusivity by setting aside some 800 complimentary tickets for Non-Profit Organisations and Children’s Charity Homes to give the underprivileged an opportunity to explore the wonders of space.

 

At the event, representatives from these organisations received their gift of complimentary tickets on behalf of Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah Negeri Johor, Yayasan Sultanah Rogayah, Iskandar Investment Berhad and Persatuan Cerebral Palsy Johor, among other children’s homes.

 

An enthusiastic group, waiting to step into Space

It was good to meet Asyraf Zulkefli again, who was there as representative for Persatuan Cerebral Palsy Johor, because we last met as human books at a Human Library event held in September 2022.

 

I was also pleased to meet with Tuan Haji Mohd Hanafi again since the Book Talk events hosted at SMK Dato Jaafar, first in August 2018 with student leaders and again in 2019 with Form Six Students.

A range of different space suits for astronauts

Seeing him again at this event at the Guest-of-Honour gave me a flashback to his encouraging interest in My Johor Stories and the pleasure of being featured as a cover story in their school magazine.

 

With the opening ceremony behind us, the crowd gathered for the event were more than ready to step through the portal to start their Space exploration.

 

Helpful assistants will get space suits ready for
visitors to wear in a fun-filled Space experience

They patiently waited for their turn as entry was limited to group-by-group, to avoid over-crowding and for a better exploration experience.

 

The exhibition is designed in a walk-through experience where visitors are welcomed into Space for an immersive, interesting and informative time.

 

As I stepped inside, I recalled that it was only in November that I had the privilege to join the celebration for AFTONSPARV, the space-themed kid’scollection at the IKEA Tebrau store, where Malaysia’s first astronaut, Dato’ Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, made a special appearance to inspire shoppers and space enthusiasts.

 

Just step through this portal into Space & You

While not everyone may qualify to become an astronaut or (rich enough!) to be a space traveller, the Space & You exploration experience may probably be the closest destination for space enthusiasts to get more than a glimpse but an immersive experience of a bit of Space, brought here almost to our very doorstep.

 

For the most beneficial experience, visitors should take time to read the information provided in three languages, Malay, English and Chinese, to understand the contents featured and the activities they may participate in.

 

Learn about how astronauts sleep in Space

For an even more fun experience, visitors may choose to wear a Space Suit – available in adult and child sizes – to capture creative photo mementoes of their time in Space. [The suits are to be returned after the Space exploration experience.]

 

Space enthusiasts will be thrilled to see the models of spacecrafts that were launched by countries like the United States, Europe and China, the different space suits that astronauts would wear during the launch, while they were in orbit and when they returned to earth.

 

It was also interesting to see the sleeping bag which astronauts use to sleep while they were in space where there was zero gravity!

 

So don’t wait. Be among the first to discover more at Space & You, open here only for a limited time. For tickets and more info, visit website: spaceandyou.com.my

 

The Space & You Exploration Experience Exhibition is located at L2.37 Level Two of Toppen Shopping Centre, linked to IKEA Tebrau City in Johor Baru.

 

With Tuan Hahi Mohd Hanafi Samad
who graced the event as Guest-of-Honour

Ticket prices per person (Monday to Thursday) are RM58 without Space Suit experience and RM70 with Space Suit experience. Weekend (Friday to Sunday and Public Holidays) ticket prices are RM68 without Space Suit experience and RM80 with Space Suit experience.

 

Group Bundle price for four (4) persons with Space Suit experience is RM265 (Monday to Thursday) and RM300 (Friday to Sunday and Public Holidays).

 

Space & You 2023 is presented by Meta Doers Innovation Sdn Bhd, a company that specializes in IP development and for hosting immersive experience exhibitions, including the hugely successful Van Gogh Alive exhibition hosted in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Indonesia.