Visitors to this year’s annual Chicago Air and Water Show will have a chance to explore the universe with NASA.

From Aug. 17-21, the agency will host a range of activities and demonstrations in Chicago in conjunction with the air and water show, which begins Saturday, Aug. 20 at North Shore Avenue Beach.

Activities and exhibits include NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow and Driven to Explore traveling exhibits, as well as events at the Adler Planetarium and Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Specific activities include:

Wednesday, Aug. 17

NASA Astronaut Steve Bowen will be available at 6:30 p.m. CDT for media interviews at Wrigley Field – located at 1060 W. Addison Street — prior to throwing out the first pitch at 6:50 p.m. Media interested in interviewing Bowen should contact Isidro Reyna at isidro.r.reyna@nasa.gov.

Thursday, Aug. 18

Bowen will deliver presentations at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. at an Adler After Dark event at the Adler Planetarium — located at 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive.

Aug. 20-21

NASA will host a variety of activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chicago Air and Water Show, including a scavenger hunt for prizes, mini activities and demonstrations, creative displays, selfies with an astronaut, the Journey to Tomorrow traveling exhibit — where visitors will immerse in a fun-filled interactive experience — and NASA’s Driven to Explore multimedia exhibit, which engages visitors in the story of NASA. Guests will learn why we explore, discover the challenges of human space exploration and how NASA provides critical technological advances to improve life on Earth.

Astronaut Tim Kopra will greet visitors at NASA’s Driven to Explore exhibit from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 20-21.

Kopra also will be available at Boeing’s hospitality tent for media interviews from 11 a.m. to noon Aug. 20 and 10 to 11 .a.m. Aug. 21. Media interested in interviewing Kopra should contact Agnes Vargas at 321-258-4583.

Social Media

NASA will use the hashtags #NASAinChi and #ChiAirandWater on social media during these events.

Follow NASA’s traveling exhibits on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/nasaexhibit

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov