SpaceFest
Mark the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing with a day of family-friendly presentations, performances, and hands-on activities about the wonders of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Main Stage
Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Hall of the Universe
11am and 2pm – STORY PIRATES
Join the Story Pirates for an interactive adventure that explores the science and wonder of space! Celebrate the history and future of space exploration, bringing scientific concepts to life in this one-of-a-kind performance for kids and grown-ups alike.
Noon – 1969: APOLLO 11 LANDS ON THE MOON
A decade-long space race that captivated the entire world culminated in 1969 with Apollo 11, the first space mission to successfully put a person on the Moon. Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart presents a model of the iconic mission’s flight and landing. Presented in collaboration with NASA’s OpenSpace.
1pm — GAIA
Astrophysicist Jackie Faherty discusses the latest findings from the Gaia data set, which precisely identifies the position of more than a billion stars and reveals the galaxy as we’ve never seen it before.
3pm — MISSION TO THE SUN
C. Alex Young, associate director for Science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, discusses some of the past, present, and future missions to our solar system’s Sun. Learn about the perils of spacecraft getting too close to the Sun, and the advantages that come from living on a planet that is just the right distance away.
Solarium
Black Hole Theater
11am–5pm
Here comes the Sun! Experience amazing dynamic imagery of the surface of the Sun in this immersive video installation, which was created from a vast reservoir of real data and video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
11:15am, 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 2:15pm, and 3:15pm
GeoDome Demonstrations
Join astronomy educators Brian Levine and Irene Pease for a look at the universe in the Geodome portable planetarium. Discover how to locate stars and constellations in the summer skies. Each child must be accompanied by an adult.
Reading Nook
SPACE STORIES
11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm
Librarians from the New York Public Library and the Bronx Library Center tell space-related children’s stories in the reading nook. Visit the nook to relax in the stacks, borrow books, and sign up for a library card.