Space Day | EAA Aviation Museum

Space Day Speakers

Nicole Stott: A veteran NASA astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space as a crew member on both the International Space Station (ISS) and the space shuttle. She served as flight engineer on ISS Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 and was a mission specialist on STS-128 and STS-133. Personal highlights of her time in space include performing a spacewalk (10th woman to do so), flying the robotic arm to capture the first HTV, painting a watercolor, working with her crewmates and the ground team on science that is all about improving life on Earth, and of course the view out the window. She is also a NASA aquanaut and was a crew member on an 18-day saturation dive mission at the Aquarius undersea laboratory. Nicole has written a book inspired by her spaceflight experience. View Nicole’s published book in EAA’s online gift shop.

Dr. Nicolle Zellner: Professor of physics at Albion College, planetary scientist, speaker, and STEM educator. She was a member of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites team, lived in Antarctica for two months, and collected over 800 meteorites. She has also worked on the STS-67 mission, a human spaceflight mission using space shuttle Endeavour. She was heavily inspired by the women of Mercury 13 and works to inspire other young women to enter the field of science and space.

2021 Space Day Events Activities

• Mercury and Gemini Capsule Replicas: Climb inside a full-scale replica of the Mercury space capsule, which was the first U.S. spacecraft, and the Gemini space capsule, which helped NASA get ready for the Apollo moon landings.
• Moon Game: You’ve landed on the moon, now what? Work as a team with your family to solve a series of challenges founded in science about living and doing research on the moon.
• Re-entry Capsule Design: Do you ever wonder how astronauts return to Earth after a mission from space? Design a re-entry capsule that can survive a wind tunnel.
• Foam Rockets: Learn about the parts of a rocket and the forces of flight as you build and fly your own foam rocket.
• Compressed Air Rockets: 3, 2, 1….Blast off! Learn what makes a rocket fly high as you build an air-compressed rocket out of basic household materials.
• Fizzy Rockets: What do you get when you mix Alka-Seltzer and water? Experiment with us to see how high your fizzy rocket can go!
• Meet Aviore: Aviore, the Young Eagles superhero created in collaboration with the Stan Lee Foundation, is here! Jake Peregrine Howard — Perry to his friends — is a young high school student living on a farm just outside of Wichita, Kansas, who’s infatuated with the eagles and hawks. His life changes forever after he takes his first Young Eagles flight. As his senses become more acute and his mind sharpens, Perry becomes a superhero, dedicating his life to using the power of flight to help those in need.

Space Day Museum Exhibit Creation Challenge

Have you ever wanted to make your own space-themed museum exhibit? Here is your chance. The EAA Aviation Museum will host a Space Day contest. Design your very own concept and present it to the judges during Space Day in the museum on October 9 at 1 p.m. This year’s challenge is to feature Women in Space.

All entries will be built off-site, prior to EAA’s Space Day, and at the students’ own expense. Submissions can be made from any type of material, including kits.

• Entries must have a space theme
• Presentations should be no longer than 5 minutes
• Contest is for youth 18 years old and under
• Judging brackets are:
  • 9 years and under
  • 10 to 18 years
• There will be three judging categories:
  • 2D exhibit entries (posters, timelines, and graphics)
  • 3D exhibit entries (models, dioramas, mobiles, and more)
  • Judges’ Choice