Celebrate Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum, May 2, 2009. This event is sponsored by Lockheed Martin with additional support by NASA. Space Day is a perennial favorite at the National Air and Space Museum where visitors enjoy hands-on activities, meet astronauts and authors, learn about space from museum experts, and even talk live to an astronaut on the International Space Station. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Human Space Flight: Past, Present and Future.” All of the activities take place amid the awe-inspiring collection of historic aviation and space artifacts in the Museum’s National Mall building.

Activities include:

10:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
Meet former astronauts Dr. Dan Barry, Dr. Roger Crouch and Capt. Kenneth Reightler Jr. in a panel discussion followed by questions and answers.

11:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.
View a multimedia presentation and meet the astronauts of STS-119, the March 2009 space shuttle Discovery crew, who will talk about their experiences on the International Space Station. A question and answer session follows the presentation.

12:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Learn how astronauts play music in space. Watch a multimedia presentation by Richard Paul with interviews and videos of astronauts playing music in space.

11:23 or 11:48 a.m. (barring technical issues)
Talk live to an astronaut on the International Space Station, courtesy of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.

AMSAT — The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
Find out about radio equipment and more about amateur radio.

11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Listen to a storytime for younger children (ages 3-8)
The Astronaut’s Handbook by Meghan McCarthy

11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Dream about being an astronaut? Watch Apollo to the Moon, an exciting multimedia performance by Kevin Reese in which he shares one young man’s dream to become an astronaut and the dream to reach for the impossible — the moon.

FIRST Robotics
Check out local robotics teams latest creations and demonstrations of their expertise in building and controlling robots for competition

The New Lunar Rover
Hear Dr. W. Brent Garry, Museum geologist, talk about his experiences as a test driver of the next generation of lunar rovers.

Lockheed Martin presents the Orion Crew Vehicle
Get a sneak peek at the much-anticipated successor to the space shuttle, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.

Washington Metro Area LEGO Users Group
Marvel at displays of LEGO creations and enter the pit full of bricks where you can make your own spacecraft.

Northern Virginia Association of Rocketry
See home-built rockets and learn how to build your own flyable model rocket.

Signatures in Space
Sign a giant poster to be sent into space on a future mission.

Lunar Surface and Rock
Learn about the moon’s surface from Priscilla Strain, National Air and Space Museum scientist, and see a real moon rock.

Duct Tape Activity
Construct a duct tape wallet to take home and learn how duct tape is used in space.

Make a Mission Patch
Design a space mission patch like astronauts wear and take it home.

Meet the Author
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, a story of adventure and discovery for ages 4-7, was written by Brian Floca. The book will be on sale and can be signed by the author.

This schedule is subject to change. Please ask a visitor services representative at the Visitors Services Desk for an updated schedule upon arrival.

For more information about these events, visit
http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=1031.

Student Signatures in Space Opportunity
A centerpiece to the Space Day program is the Student Signatures in Space project, which gives elementary and middle school students the opportunity to send their personal signatures into space. Although the maximum number of participants (500 schools per year) has been reached for this year’s opportunity, it’s not too early to sign up for next year’s Signatures event.

For more information, visit http://www.spaceday.org/index.php/About-Sub-2.html.