Fernbank Science Center

Dekalb County Schools

Fernbank Celebrates NASA's 60th Anniversary

On Friday and Saturday, Fernbank Science Center hosts several events in celebration of NASA’s 60th birthday.

Our celebration begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 28 with a special presentation by Suzanne Slade, author of Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon published by Peachtree Publishers, Inc.  This free presentation and discussion will be in the Jim Cherry Memorial Planetarium. A book signing will follow.

At 8:00 p.m., the Jim Cherry Memorial Planetarium presents a special fulldome feature, NASA’s 60 Years in Space, hosted by Fernbank Science Center planetary geologist and NASA Space Grant Fellow Scott Harris.

Our celebration continues Saturday with NASA-themed family activities in our exhibit hall from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. We will feature a special planetarium line-up starting at 11:00 a.m. with The Solar System Today, a live-narrated tour through our night sky that will highlight NASA’s major discoveries as we stop at each planet for some in-depth exploration.

At 12:00 p.m., we present the popular planetarium program We Choose Space.

At 1:00 p.m., NASA-funded planetary scientist Brad Thompson, assistant research professor at the University of Tennessee, will present a free special talk, “The Moon or Mars? Our Future in Space.”

The talk and discussion will flow into a special free showing of NASA’s 60 Years in Space, beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m.

At 3:00 p.m., we present the fulldome show NASA’s Journey to Mars.

Please join us as we remember 60 years of discoveries and discuss the frontiers of tomorrow.

Questions about Ms. Slade’s presentation may directed to Fernbank Science Center Teacher Librarian Sue Levine ([email protected]), and general inquires about the celebration event may be directed to Scott Harris ([email protected]).