Event Celebrates Anniversary of 1st Lunar Landing with Family-Fun Activities & Exhibits
Thanks to the Frontiers of Flight Museum, you don’t have to visit a “galaxy far, far away” or even leave North Texas 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 the 5th Annual Moon Day 2013 on Saturday, July 20 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 or visit www.flightmuseum.com.
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 the future of space exploration on or near the anniversary of the first moon landing. This year, Moon Day will commemorate the 44th 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 creator of the Moon Day program and organizer each year. “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 each year. 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 2013. Visitors will enjoy a full day of activities featuring space-related displays from nearly 30 exhibitors. Attendees can construct flying model rockets with the Dallas Area Rocket Society (small fee required), earn a Girl Scout badge for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM); visit two planetariums, participate in live NASA Lunar Science webcasts; learn about the moon from Ken Murphy of The Moon Society or even discover how we’ll colonize Mars with experts from the Dallas Mars Society. Best of all, there will be free Lunar Sample Bags of space goodies for the first 200 children as well as 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, with this year’s show themed on “Moon is the New Earth.” “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.
Moon Day 2013 is presented by the Frontiers of Flight Museum and the National Space Society of North Texas.
For more information on Moon Day 2013 visit http://www.flightmuseum.com/event/moon-day-2/ or call 214-350-1651.