Moon rocks

The two moon rocks presented to Arkansas will be part of a display at the Museum of Discovery in downtown Little Rock when the museum re-opens Jan. 14.

Gov. Mike Beebe announced Thursday (Nov. 3) that a recently re-discovered moon rock from the Apollo 17 mission will be displayed with an Apollo 11 moon rock held by the Museum of Discovery.

Both rocks were presented to the state, but the Apollo 17 moon rock was recently discovered in boxes containing former Gov. Bill Clinton’s gubernatorial papers. An archivist with the Central Arkansas Public Library System discovered the rock — which had become removed from a plaque presented to Gov. David Pryor in 1976 — in the Clinton documents.

Museum of Discovery Executive Director Nan Selz said the museum plans to display both rocks in its main lobby, meaning anyone may view the rocks without having to pay admission to the museum.