The Frontiers of Flight Museum’s Moon Day 2016, sponsored by Beal Bank, blasted off with galaxies of family fun on July 16. As the biggest annual space exposition in Texas, the event featured kids talking live to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station and guest speaker Apollo 7 Astronaut Walt Cunningham.
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. The festival was a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focused space-themed public event, which continues attract participants across North Texas and beyond. Moon Day 2016 commemorated the 47th anniversary of the first lunar landing, which took place when Apollo 11 touched down on July 20, 1969.
Visitors enjoyed a full day of activities featuring space-related displays from three dozen exhibitors. During Moon Day 2016, more than 380 students earned a Moon Day Patch, 120 Girl Scouts earned a STEM Center Patch and the Museum distributed 55 Boy Scouts Work Books.
One of the highlights of the community event was a live question-and-answer session between local students and International Space Station Expedition 48 Commander Jeffery Williams, who answered the students’ questions and interacted with the audience.
Moon Day’s featured guest speaker was Col. Walt Cunningham, Lunar Module Pilot of the 1968 Apollo 7 Mission and the sole surviving crew member. Cunningham talked about the incredible accomplishments of the Apollo program to a capacity crowd.
“While the anniversary of the first Moon landing serves as a reason to celebrate, the Frontiers of Flight Museum and the National Space Society of North Texas created this annual event to showcase the present and future of space exploration,” said Bruce Bleakley, Museum Director of the Frontiers of Flight Museum. “Our extensive content was provided by local, regional, and national space-related organizations, who work—as we do—to inspire all ages to embrace a scientific and technological future.”
About the Frontiers of Flight Museum
The Frontiers of Flight Museum is conveniently located just north of downtown on Lemmon Avenue at the southeast side of Dallas Love Field Airport, north of Mockingbird Lane. Housed in a modern 100,000- square-foot facility, the Museum provides a focal point to explore the history and progress of aviation, as mankind continues to pursue going higher, faster and farther. Hours of operation: Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Adults $10; Seniors (65+) $8; Youths/Students (3-17) $7 and children under 3 are free. For more information, visit http://www.flightmuseum.com/