Have you ever dreamed of what it’s like to travel to space?
Us too, but unfortunately you can’t just hop on a space shuttle and go on vacation to the moon. Or can you?
But we have the next best thing: You can meet a real-live human who has been to space at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center’s annual Aerospacefest on Saturday.
New Hampshire’s own Dr. Jay Buckey will be the keynote speaker at the annual event that celebrates space and aeronautics, and all the other things that the Discovery Center is so well known for. Buckey is a neurologist for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and a Dartmouth College professor of medicine, science and engineering, who just so happened to spend about six months in space as a payload specialist aboard the Neurolab Mission, STS-90. After completing this mission, Buckey, who donated a flight suit to the Discovery Center which is on display, has continued to research human physiology and psychology on long-duration space missions – essential knowledge for future manned voyages to and colonization of the moon and Mars.
“We’re blessed with how many astronauts we have in New Hampshire, especially considering how small we are,” said Sarah Hoffschwelle, director of education at the Discovery Center.
He will speak at 2 p.m., but before taking the stage for his presentation, Buckey will make three youngsters’ day, as he will award them with this year’s Alex Higgins Memorial Space Camp scholarships, which include full tuition, and room and board for simulated astronaut training at the U.S. Space & Rocketry Center in Huntsville, Ala.
And Buckey’s visit and talk is just one piece of what will be a jam-packed day of space fun. Aerospacefest runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is where you can see the debut of the Discovery Center’s newest planetarium show, From Dream to Discovery: Inside NASA! The show will run twice during Aerospacefest (noon and 3 p.m.) along with The Little Star That Could, which is great for kids in preschool to kindergarten, at 11 a.m.
“It’s really going to delve into some of NASA’s most well-known projects,” Hoffschwelle said of the new show.
There will also be a Mad Science presentation called Up, Up and Away, as well as see a virtual check in with the Mount Washington Observatory.
Aerospacefest goers are also invited to check out all kinds of hands-on science and engineering activities with places like the Aviation Museum, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, the Plymouth State University Meteorology Department and many more. There will even be a lots of STEM stations, a live artist working and a local meteorite expert.
Pending nice weather (fingers crossed), the Discovery Center’s observatory will be open and the N.H. Astronomical Society will be out on the lawn with telescopes, observing the sun and Concord skyline.
“Some people haven’t gotten the chance to look through a telescope like this so it’s a great opportunity,” Hoffschwelle said.
And it so happens to coincide with the anniversary of Alan Shepard’s first flight into space, which occurred on May 5, 1961.
“It’s not one of those five- or 10-year anniversary milestones, but we’re excited this landed right on the anniversary,” Hoffschwelle said.
The Discovery Center’s Countdown Cafe will be open for lunch and snacks.
The all-inclusive cost for admission to AerospaceFest is $15 for adults, $13 for students and seniors and $10 for children ages 3-12. It’s free for Discovery Center members and children under 3 years. Tickets are available on the Discovery Center’s website and at the door.
“This is our biggest event of the year,” Hoffschwelle said.
For more information, visit starhop.com.
