NASA Langley Offers Glimpse of Tomorrow at the Inaugural Virginia Science Festival

HAMPTON, Va., Sept. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will supply images of the future to brighten the fun and boost the learning at the first-ever Virginia Science Festival.

Set to take place Oct. 4-11 at locations across the commonwealth, the festival has been organized by the Science Museum of Western Virginia and Virginia Tech. It brings together the worlds of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) with hands-on experiences, live performances, interactive demonstrations, and family-oriented entertainment.

During the Oct. 4 festival kickoff event at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, NASA Langley Center Director Steve Jurczyk will lend a hand at an opening ceremony and give a talk at noon about NASA's future as part of a "Meet the Scientists" program.  Also, staff from NASA Langley will present exhibits about vehicles that will one day carry NASA astronauts into deep space.

"One of NASA's key roles for the nation is to inspire the next generation of explorers," Jurczyk said. "This is an outstanding opportunity for our scientists, engineers and technologists to engage the public throughout the state in Langley's research, development and education activities."

In Blacksburg, NASA's displays and interactive activities will offer a close-up look at the Space Launch System and Orion, the new launch vehicle and spacecraft now under development. Together, the Space Launch System and Orion vehicles will allow astronauts to travel beyond low Earth orbit all the way to an asteroid or Mars. A 30-foot-tall, inflatable model of the Space Launch System will make NASA's presence at the festival hard to miss.

Other NASA displays at Virginia Tech will focus on unmanned aerial systems as well as partnerships that connect NASA Langley with NASA Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Displays will also explain the challenges and rewards of working and living in space.

On Sunday, Oct. 5, the NASA Langley team will head up Interstate 81 to the city of Lexington to be part of a related science celebration. NASA representatives will also support the festival through mid-week presentations at several public schools in Mecklenburg County before traveling to the festival's finale in downtown Roanoke Oct. 10-11.

The festival will touch the Hampton Roads region, too.  NASA Langley will join with the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton and the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News to generate STEAM excitement. A gathering at the Hampton restaurant Marker 20 is also planned.

NASA's contributions throughout the commonwealth are intended to help the festival make a strong first impression.

"As soon as we heard that NASA Langley would be a part of the Virginia Science Festival, we knew we were on the way to a successful public event," said Jim Rollings, executive director for the Science Museum of Western Virginia. "No one else generates excitement like NASA, and the work done at NASA Langley deserves as much public exposure as we can get."

Here are highlights of NASA Langley's participation in the Virginia Science Festival:

Oct. 4

• Festival kickoff ceremony at Moss Arts Center/Ruth C. Horton Gallery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. 9:45 a.m.
• Festival events and displays on the campus Drillfield, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• "Meet the Scientists" presentation at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, Virginia Tech.  NASA Langley Director Steve Jurczyk speaks on "The Future of NASA." Noon.
• "Cool Science Saturday" program at Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton. The event will feature activities and presentations from NASA representatives on subjects ranging from space radiation on the International Space Station to the physics behind the northern lights and similar phenomena.  11 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Air quality activities at Virginia Living Museum, Newport News. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Oct. 5

• Virginia Science Festival @ Lexington. This free one-day, interactive science fair for children and families is designed to spark interest and introduce people of all ages to the wonders of science and math. The event will take place in two locations in downtown Lexington: Dunlap Auditorium in Lexington Presbyterian Church, and at 18 E. Nelson (corner of Nelson and Randolph). 2-5 p.m.

Oct. 6

• Science Café event on the subject of big data at Marker 20 restaurant, 21 E. Queens Way, Hampton. NASA Langley scientists will discuss how they process the flood of data collected by NASA's CERES experiment measuring Earth's energy budget. 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 11

• Festival finale at various locations in downtown Roanoke. NASA exhibits will be presented at Elmwood Park. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. A festival school preview will be held in Roanoke on Oct. 10.
• "Explosions of Our Closest Star" program at Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton.  The sun that we see every day is capable of producing extreme "space weather" events that can knock out the power grid and cause major satellite failures.  In a series of talks starting at 11:30 a.m., experts from NASA Langley and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center share insights into these solar storms. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Talk: "Where Outer Space Meets the Air We Breathe: How the Atmosphere Affects Studies of Our Universe and Our Earth," by NASA Langley researcher Ann Martin at the Virginia Living Museum, Newport News. 6 p.m.

To learn more about the Virginia Science Festival, visit the event website at virginiasciencefestival.org. To learn more about NASA's Langley Research Center, visit www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/

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SOURCE NASA