WAPAKONETA – In the hometown of the first person to step foot on the moon, the museum that bears his name is the recipient of a new display item courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution. A statue constructed from a 3-D scan of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit is now on display in the Armstrong Air & Space Museum’s Early Space Gallery.

To commemorate Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary, 15 statues were crafted from scans of Armstrong’s historic spacesuit located in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The data from the scans were used to create a high resolution, 3D-printed model of the suit from which a mold was cast to form these replica statues. They were placed in major league baseball stadiums throughout the country during the past season. The statue now on display at the Armstrong museum is from the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

The statue has made its home at the museum in their Early Space Gallery near Neil Armstrong’s back-up suit from the Apollo 11 mission. Made of proprietary blend resin, the statue was painted by hand and stands a full 6.5 feet tall on top of a 600-pound granite base. The museum encourages those who visit the statue to take pictures and use it as a photo opportunity.