World Space Week at EAA a Success

October 13, 2016 - The EAA AirVenture Museum’s participation in World Space Week October 4-10 was a huge success, hosting special guest Col. Frank Borman and more than 500 visitors at the museum on Saturday alone.

“World Space Week is something that exists to get kids involved in all aspects of space, whether it’s space travel, the science involved behind it, the history behind it, or our space pioneers,” said Chris Henry, EAA’s museum programs representative. “There’s a little bit of everything.”

Borman, EAA 300174, who was the commander on Apollo 8 — the first space mission to fly around the moon — delivered an unrehearsed speech to a full house in the Founders’ Wing on Saturday evening. He spoke from the heart not only about his endeavors in space, but about the good EAA is doing through its museum and educational programs.

He also toured the museum Saturday and participated in the children’s activities stationed throughout the museum.

“Nothing is as cool as seeing an Apollo astronaut teach students how to build fizzy rockets,” Henry said.

The educational activity stations also included the building of straw rockets, rocket cars, and re-entry vehicles that were tested using an egg drop. Visitors also had the chance to sit inside the museum’s replica Mercury space capsule and a reproduction of the DeLorean from Back to the Future.

“I think the space program and space week pays tribute to being smart and striving for getting good grades, striving for doing well in whatever you’re doing,” Henry said. “The way society is, we don’t always put the value we should on intelligence and I think space travel does.”