Volunteers from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., will bring a
special celebration of the Centennial of Flight to this month’s West
Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg.
NASA Langley serves a five-state region, including West Virginia, Virginia,
Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina, for education and public
outreach.
To help commemorate 100 years of powered flight, NASA Langley — which was
founded just fourteen years after the Wright Brothers’ historic first
flight — developed a special traveling exhibit.
“This is the first time NASA Langley has ever participated in the West
Virginia State Fair,” said Donna Lawson, NASA Langley’s exhibits manager.
“We’re excited to have this opportunity to share Langley’s 86-year history
of achievements in aerospace technology with our nearest neighbors. Our goal
is to help inspire West Virginians and others who attend the state fair to
become part of the next generation of explorers.”
NASA Langley’s traveling exhibit will offer a hands-on, interactive
experience and plenty of real-life NASA scientists and engineers to answer
questions. Displays will chronicle the history of aviation from the first
flight to space flight, present the latest in NASA research and highlight
ground-breaking technologies that will change the future of aerospace.
Visitors will be able to check out a model of an airplane that may some day
fly over Mars! Youngsters will be able to learn more about how a plane flies
and aviation history with the help of an innovative story book exhibit,
called F. A. Plane. Aviation enthusiasts of all ages will be able to see and
“fly” a NASA flight technology demonstrator, a computer simulator similar to
a future plane they may some day fly. Participants will even be able to take
home a NASA souvenir in the form of posters, publications and education
packets.
The West Virginia State Fair runs from August 8-16, 2003.
Photographs and interviews are available on request.
For more information on NASA’s Langley Research Center, please check the
Internet at:
For more information on the West Virginia State Fair, please check the
Internet at:
