Attention space fans.
The Intrepid Museum’s popular annual Space & Science Festival kicks off Thursday, with four days of family-friendly lectures, movies and presentations — a highlight of which is sure to be images of Pluto and its moons from the July 14 flyby shared by Alan Stern, principal investigator for the New Horizons mission to Pluto, on Sunday.
“It’s pretty remarkable. A lot of science projects dealing with space exploration take a lot of patience and a really long time to get them organized, to get funding, to get the craft built, to get them launched, to wait years for fruition, and then to have an amazing result, like these photographs, is great payoff,” said Ellen Silberman, director of public programming for the Intrepid Museum. “We’re certainly very excited that [Stern is] going to be here and to have the chance to be some of the first people that get to see [the photographs].”
Other planned activities include a free Family Astronomy Night on Friday with special guest Steve Howell, an astrophysicist for NASA; a presentation by Honeybee Robotics on Mars exploration on Saturday; a talk by former NASA astronaut Pamela Melroy, one of only two women to command the space shuttle, on Sunday; and free displays by FIRST Robotics, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and more on Pier 86 throughout the weekend.
NASA’s Orbit Pavilion, a soundscape installation where you can listen to the fleet of 19 satellites that observe Earth, will also be on view on Pier 86 starting Friday through Aug. 25.
“It’s a chance to really highlight some exciting science going on out there,” Silberman said. “All ages can appreciate the content.”
IF YOU GO: The Space & Science Festival at the Intrepid Museum is Thursday-Sunday at Pier 86, 12th Avenue and 46th Street, 212-245-0072, admission varies.
