This month is going to be out of this world at Discovery Place Science as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon. Blast off with us and explore the science of outer space throughout the month of July.

Special events

The Museum will host several special “space” days that coincide with the anniversaries of the Apollo 11 launch, the moon landing itself and the safe return home of our famous astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

On Tuesday, July 16, Blast Off with us in honor of the beginning of the historic flight to the moon. Create your own paper rocket and see how it fares, learn about rocket fuel and launch into learning from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Then, be sure to launch into our all-day moon landing celebration on Saturday, July 20! On this date 50 years ago, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. We’ll be honoring their “one giant leap” with our To the Moon and Beyond festivities. Visitors can create a pocket solar system, interact with members of the Charlotte Astronomy Club, use a solar viewer to look at the sun, use space math to find out your weight on other planets, test out your astronaut skills with hands-on activities, go inside the Star Lab to get a better view of space, see a real meteorite and other space-related items from our Collections Department and learn about how astronauts are using DNA sequencing in space.

Finally, we will come Back to Earth on Wednesday, July 24, with egg-drop challenges in which visitors can try to land an egg safely into a pool of water. You’ll have to design the perfect parachute and capsule for your egg in order to succeed in this gravity-defying activity.

Daily encounters of a space kind

Every day throughout July, you’re guaranteed to find hands-on space fun in the Museum. Daily space demonstrations focus on a variety of topics, including how astronomers use filtered light; the mapping of rising sea levels and NASA’s Jason-3 spacecraft; static electricity and magnetic waves; the expanding universe; the sun; gravity; modular robots; space weight and much more.

Plus, don’t miss our Lunar Mondays. Every Monday in July, you can step into outer space in our Star Lab as a Museum staff member guides you on a journey to the moon and beyond.

Other-worldly activities

Other space-related activities happening at Discovery Place Science in July include:

• About a Door, a theatrical presentation, will be performed at varying times throughout the week in Discovery Theatre. Join in the heart-pounding, harrowing true story of the Gemini IV mission, Ed White’s historic spacewalk, and a stubborn door latch that nearly doomed America’s manned space program.

• A special Science on the Rocks called Space Camp from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, July 19. Guests will travel through the galaxy with activities that are out of this world – discover their moon weight, dock the International Space Station and take part in more gravity-defying tasks.

All the space activities taking place at Discovery Place Science this month are sponsored by Honeywell.

Across the (Discovery Place) universe

Discovery Place Science isn’t our only Museum living in outer space this month. Be sure to check out the fun space-related activities taking place at Discovery Place Nature, Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville and Discovery Place Kids-Rockingham, too.

Our space invasion will continue through September, with new and exciting intergalactic adventures taking place each month. You’ll be over the moon with all the amazing activities taking place at each location!