RELEASE
:
06-030
Summer Events Sizzle at NASA Glenn's Visitor Center
If you're wondering what to do during the long, hot days of summer, check out the Visitor Center at NASA's Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, for special events coming up in the next several months.
The first exciting event planned at the Visitor Center, in partnership with collectSPACE.com, is the Space Memorabilia Show, on Saturday, June 17. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., guests can participate in a swap meet with 18 exhibitors featuring various pieces of space memorabilia. This event will include a talk by James R. Hansen, popular author of "First Man: The Authorized Biography of Neil A. Armstrong." Visitors on this day will also be able to tour Glenn's Zero Gravity Facility, enjoy hourly memorabilia drawings and participate in plenty of kid's activities. The U.S. Postal Service will feature a special stamp cancellation as part of this event.
The other Third Saturday events for the summer of 2006 are:
July 15 - Our Nearest Star! -- The sun is the closest star to Earth, a mere 93 million miles away. Visitors will learn more about NASA's research of the sun and the nature of other distant stars. Special guest speakers talk about our sun and its role in our solar system. Topics will include the solar cycle, sun spots and how the sun compares to other stars in the solar system.
August 19 - NASA Photography Expo -- A special selection of NASA photographs will be on display and showcased in multimedia presentations. This will include a new mosaic of photos of the people, projects and technologies that have contributed to the space shuttle program over the past 25 years. Photographers will be on hand to discuss how techniques are combined to enhance and produce informative and inspiring photographs.
Visitors wanting to find out more about Glenn's unique facilities can sign up for the public tours that happen on the first Saturday of each month. The summer tour stops include:
July 1 - Zero Gravity Research Facility -- Look down the large "drop tower" shaft, measuring 510-feet, and learn why researchers from all over the world come to Glenn to study the effects of microgravity on physical phenomena such as combustion and fluid physics.
August 5 - Abe Silverstein Supersonic Wind Tunnel -- Step inside a real wind tunnel and find out how engineers test airplanes and spacecraft in flight conditions without ever leaving the ground. This tunnel can create winds that travel faster than three times the speed of sound.
September 2 - Electric Propulsion Laboratory -- See where Glenn engineers develop and test the electric power and propulsion systems that will advance space exploration. This facility, which spans 50,000 square feet, houses two huge vacuum chambers that simulate the space environment.
Facility tour times are 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Guests are asked to contact the Visitor Center at 216-433-9653 in order to pre-register for the Saturday tours. Pre-registration can only be done up to a month in advance of the tour date.
Throughout the summer, the Visitor Center is offering various school and community groups its popular summer program. This program, consisting of an interactive presentation and movie, discusses how astronauts live and work in space and is great for all groups, especially summer campers. Call 216-433-3156 to register.
All of the Visitor Center's permanent exhibits and historic artifacts will also be on display. These include a moon rock, an original Apollo Command Module, a flight simulator and over 6,000 square feet of interactive exhibits on air and space travel.
All guests to Third Saturday events can receive free souvenir photos at the "Picture Yourself in Space" digital photo booth and children can have fun with "make and take" crafts and bring home out-of-this-world handouts. Visitors interested in attending one of the presentations should call 216-433-9653 to register and guarantee admission.
The Visitor Center is located at 21000 Brookpark Road. Admission to the Visitor Center is free and the building is wheelchair accessible. All adult visitors must present government-issued photo identification upon entering the Center's Main Gate. Access to the Center is restricted to U.S. citizens. All vehicles are subject to inspection.
Normal hours of operation are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
For more information about special events at the Visitor Center, call 216-433-2000 or visit:
http://glennevents.grc.nasa.gov
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