GATEWAY TO THE STARS
Dedicated to preserving the history of space exploration through precision scale modeling and interactive exhibits, we serve as a vital educational resource for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and dreamers.
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The SpaceModel Museum houses a vast collection of precision-engineered space models and memorabilia, actual flown artifacts, and photos chronicling the history of spaceflight from the first rocket launches in the 1950’s and 60’s, the early Mercury missions to the Apollo Moon missions to the Moon, up to and including the current modern Artemis and commercial space flight eras.
The SpaceModel Museum is located in the old Aspol Ford building at 1125 – 102nd Avenue in Dawson Creek, B.C. Since 1994, Nick Proach, co-founder of the SpaceModel Museum and its parent business Proach Models, has been building world-class aerospace scale models for a worldwide clientele, which includes museums, private collectors, government agencies and corporations. The list includes SpaceX, NASA, Canadian Space Society, and the US Air Force.
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"The SpaceModel Museum is dedicated to igniting imaginations and sharing the stories of space exploration," said Nick Proach, founder of the museum.
The Museum (which is currently open to the public every Tuesday through Thursdays, and other times by appointment) includes scale models, photos, artifacts and actual space-flown artifacts, celebrating key moments in the U.S., Canadian, Russian along with other international space programs since the 1960’s. Many models on display have been signed by astronauts who have actually flown aboard the real spacecraft that’s been modelled by Proach.
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Visitors will also hear from Nick on his experiences as a model maker and space historian, who has also visited many space facilities throughout the U.S and Canada.
The SpaceModel Museum also has a small gift shop, which sells space flight collectibles, such as lapel pins, mission crests, collector medallions, decals, hats, and the line of Fisher Space Pens. Periodically you will also find space model kits along with some fully finished display models built by Proach for sale as well.
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Proach has the distinction of having had 2 of his models travel into space: the first, to the International Space Station, aboard a U.S Space Shuttle in 2002, and the other aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2008.
Proach’s interest in professional model making began in July of 1971 when he built the complete Apollo 15 lunar landing site in scale for use during CTV’s coverage of the mission during the summer of 1971.
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Apollo 15 landed in the Hadley-Apennine Mountain area of the moon 2 years after the Apollo 11 mission, which was the first lunar landing mission, in July, 1969.