The gates to NASA’s Johnson Space Center will open to the public this
Saturday, Aug. 25, for the center’s sixth annual Open House event. Open
House is the one day each year visitors are invited to a
behind-the-scenes look in more than 19 buildings that house the people,
exhibits and hardware that serve as the nation’s human space flight
center.

Open House runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to the public.
Visitors may enter the site through four gates: the main gate at Saturn
Lane, Space Center Boulevard near Bay Area Boulevard, Space Center
Boulevard near NASA Road 1 and NASA Road 1. Parking in JSC lots is
available at no charge. For a small fee, convenient METRO shuttles will
pick up and return Open House guests to the METRO Bay Area Park and Ride
on Bay Area Boulevard in Clear Lake or to Baybrook Mall on I-45.

Open House provides visitors a variety of opportunities to meet
astronauts and get their autographs, see the famed Mission Control
Center, and touch and feel genuine space hardware. Visitors will be able
to talk one-on-one with members of JSC’s workforce and see full-size
mockups of the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle used to
train astronauts for space flight. Free shuttle buses will be available
to transport visitors to Ellington Field to view NASA’s unique aircraft
and to the Sonny Carter Training Facility where astronauts train for
spacewalks in the world’s largest indoor pool.

Entertainment at JSC includes programs in the Teague Auditorium. On
stage in front of the Building 3 cafeteria, the bands ìMax Q,î comprised
of astronauts, and ìSouthern Cross,î comprised of JSC employees and
friends, will play golden oldies along with rock and roll. Food,
refreshments and souvenirs will be available at the JSC cafeterias.
JSC’s Education Department will provide a variety of children’s
activities including launching air-powered rockets and constructing
flying rings.

Anticipated Open House guests (pending availability) include the
International Space Station Expedition Three crew, Commander Frank
Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin.
The Expedition Three crewmembers began their four-month stay aboard the
International Space Station on Aug. 13. They will be visiting with Open
House guests in the Teague Auditorium from their home in space by remote
broadcast.

JSC’s Open House coincides with the annual Ballunar Liftoff Festival,
scheduled to take place Friday through Sunday, Aug. 24, 25 and 26, on
JSC grounds. The Ballunar Liftoff Festival is a non-profit Houston
community event to benefit education. There will be an admission fee for
this event.

No alcohol or pets will be allowed at JSC Open House.

For more information about JSC’s Open House, call 281-244-5312 or visit
the JSC website at http://openhouse.jsc.nasa.gov/.