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The fist-sized rocks looked completely pedestrian, like something one might find in the backyard. The only hint that they might be exceptional was their location in a gallery at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, resting on pedestals inside individual display cases.

In fact, the rocks are anything but ordinary — they're borrowed from the UCLA Meteorite Collection.

The university had wanted to loan fancier-looking specimens, but curator Stephen Nowlin deliberately chose the least impressive space debris he could find.

"I wanted to show that the stuff that comes from space looks just like the stuff you kick around on a hike," he said.

It's a typical juxtaposition for the "Worlds" exhibit, now on view at the Alyce de Roulet...