Blast Off! Frontiers of Flight Moon Day Soars to Success

Imaginations and rockets reached new heights on July 20 during the 16th Annual Moon Day celebration at the Frontiers of Flight Museum.

More than 1,000 people attended the event, which commemorates the 1969 landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon. This year’s festivities at the Flight Museum featured exhibits, space-themed presentations, hands-on activities, and a keynote speech by a former NASA astronaut. 

Among the attendees was 10-year-old Avery Countryman, who took a ride on a hover platform made by the robotics team from the School of Science and Engineering at Townview Magnet Center. 

“It must be awesome to go up in space,” she said. “You can see the Moon and then you can see Earth from up there. It probably is so weird.”

Nearby, Patrick Squire, a senior educator at the Flight Museum, helped young designers test rockets they built out of two paper cups and rubber bands. He challenged rocketeers to see if their creations could fly over 7 feet, a goal that 8-year-old Ingrid Edstrom quickly surpassed.

Ingrid’s mother, Alex, explained that the family had visited the Flight Museum the day before Moon Day, and Ingrid asked to come back when she heard about the celebration. 

“She loves space, and she loves science,” Alex said, adding that “more exposure helps her find more opportunities to learn different paths that she can take when she gets older.”

During his keynote speech, former astronaut Col. Gregory H. Johnson recalled being awoken by his parents as a 7-year-old to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the moon’s surface.

“I was inspired,” he said, adding that he speaks about his experiences in part to encourage the next generation of explorers.

Johnson gave a brief history of the space program before sharing anecdotes of living in space. The space station was, he said, “a little bit like a camp out.” But astronauts had to tie themselves to the vehicle so that they didn’t float away, and covered the windows so they weren’t awoken by the changes from light to dark as they circled the Earth.

“Space is magical,” he said, showing the audience photos of a perfectly-round ball of water that he filled with M&M’s while in space. “We didn’t play that much, but we played a little bit. I mean you have to, when you’re at zero gravity.”

8-year-old Maggie Klemm was at the front of the line for Johnson’s autograph after his speech. Getting Johnson’s signature, she said, was her favorite part of Moon Day.

“When I go up, I want to help build spaceships,” said Klemm, who hopes to become an astronaut herself. She said she planned to put Johnson’s autographed photo on the wall of her room.