© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

Chilean Miner Exhibit Recounts 69 Days Of Drama

SCOTT SIMON, Host:

And we sent NPR's Hansi Lo Wang to check it out.

(SOUNDBITE OF CONVERSATIONS)

HANSI LO WANG: I'm standing here in the rotunda, where everyday thousands of visitors from the around the world come to see dinosaur fossils, the Hope Diamond, and now one of the original Fenix capsules used to rescue the most famous 33 miners from Chile.

CRISTIAN SAMPER: It's a pretty narrow fit.

LO WANG: That's Cristian Samper. He's the director of the National Museum of Natural History and one of the key organizers who helped to bring objects from the Chilean mine rescue to the Smithsonian. Samper is showing off one of the iconic red, white and blue metal rescue capsules that lifted the trapped miners from more than 2,000 feet below the Earth's surface.

SAMPER: You and I would have a hard to fitting in there probably.

LO WANG: I'd feel pretty claustrophobic.

SAMPER: You would. Especially, imagine going in there and taking a ride for nine minutes in this dark, humid condition.

LO WANG: The rescue capsule is the centerpiece of the exhibit. Nearby the Fenix capsule visitors gather in front of a television screen.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE AND CHEERS OF CHILE, CHI-CHI-CHI, LE-LE-LE.))

LO WANG: This is the first time the miners' story has been told in a museum, and one of the few times the Smithsonian has created a bilingual exhibit.

SAMPER: Well, in English, it's "Against All Odds: Rescue at the Chilean Mine." And in Spanish it's (Spanish language spoken).

LO WANG: Samper says it was important to tell the miners' story in their own language. And he says a good fit for a museum known for its extensive collection of gems, minerals and rocks.

SAMPER: What was so important about this story is that it brings together the geology with the human connection.

LO WANG: Hernan Palma of Silver Spring, Maryland, remembers watching it unfold on television with his family and friends.

HERNAN PALMA: Oh, it was a very emotional time for everybody. We were so happy. And you feel like you were united with everybody. So you're happy for everyone.

LO WANG: Hansi Lo Wang, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIMON: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Corrected: August 7, 2011 at 10:00 PM MDT
The previous headline and text for this story incorrectly said the miners had been trapped for 33 days instead of 69 days.
Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) is a national correspondent for NPR reporting on the people, power and money behind the U.S. census.
Related Content