“Moon Day 2012” Blasts Off with Family Fun Festivities at the Frontiers of Flight Museum to Celebrate First Lunar Landing

Thanks to the Frontiers of Flight Museum, you don’t have to visit a “galaxy far, far away” to experience the wonders of space exploration, astronomy, see incredible science exhibits or travel inside an inflatable planetarium! Star gazers and space enthusiasts of all ages can now trek over to the family-fun activities scheduled at “Moon Day 2012” on Saturday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Ave.  Cost is $5-8.  Museum members and children 3 and under are free.  For more info call 214-350-1651.

In 2009, Moon Day was created in Dallas by Frontiers of Flight Museum and the National Space Society of North Texas as an annual event to celebrate space exploration on or near the anniversary of the first moon landing.  This year, Moon Day will commemorate the 43^rd anniversary of the lunar landing, which took place when Apollo 11 touched the surface on July 20, 1969.

 “Rather than use Moon Day to provide a retrospective on the decades-old lunar landing, the Frontiers of Flight Museum worked with the National Space Society of North Texas to create an event to celebrate space exploration in general, and to look forward to the future while reflecting on the past,” said Ken Murphy, The Moon Society.  The anniversary of the achievement of the first moon landing serves as the hook and the reason to celebrate, but the content is provided by local space-related organizations, whose work continues.”

Today, Moon Day is a North Texas community-wide family-fun event which draws more than 1,000 attendees.  The celebration brings together the members of the local space community to showcase their exhibits, lectures and demonstrations for the public, and it offers visitors the chance to experience space in a whole new way.  The participants learn not only about space activities, but also about the local resources available to educate and support space-related functions and programming.

Unique demonstrations and interesting programs aren’t the only attractions at Moon Day 2012.  Visitors will enjoy a full day of activities featuring space-related displays from nearly 20 exhibitors.  Attendees can construct flying model rockets with the Dallas Area Rocket Society (small fee required), build a comet with Solar System Ambassador J. David Hale, learn about the moon from Ken Murphy of The Moon Society or even learn about how we’ll colonize Mars with Kurt Chankaya of the Dallas Mars Society.  Best of all, there will be free lunar sample bags of space goodies for the first 200 children and door prizes throughout the day.  

According to Murphy, the event also highlights that space is not just a technical frontier but also a cultural one by exhibiting a new space-themed art show each year.  “In this way, visitors who might not feel technically proficient in many space topics may nevertheless come to understand that space exploration is fundamentally a human story, told in art and song, literature and poetry.  It is the next great chapter in the human story, and everyone can be a part of it in some way,” said Murphy.
 
For more information on Moon Day 2012 Presented by the Frontiers of Flight Museum and the National Space Society of North Texas or call 214-350-1651.