Appropriate for: All Ages

Watch the gripping, live play that tells the story of the Apollo Space Missions from the perspective of how NASA computer scientist and software engineer, Margaret Hamilton, led the team that created the Apollo Guidance System (AGS) that sent men to the moon and back. The production celebrates the life and work of Margaret Hamilton, with early scenes set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she spent her childhood. Later scenes at MIT's Instrumentation Lab show where Hamilton and her colleagues built and programmed the AGS that laid the groundwork for almost all of today's modern computing. The play highlights the daring and risk involved in the space missions program and how Hamilton's team averted last-minute disasters during the flights of Apollo 8 and Apollo 11. Historical photos and footage will be used, in addition to the live stage actors. Presented and performed by Wild Swan Theater company.

Learn more about Coding to the Moon: Margaret Hamilton and the Apollo Missions

Appropriate for: All Ages

Dr. Sian Proctor will take you on her personal journey as a student, geoscientist, explorer, finalist for the NASA Astronaut Program, and analog astronaut. What was it like to live in 3 analog missions; NASA funded HI-SEAS Mars Simulation, LunAres habitat in Pila, Poland and Mars Desert Research Station? What can we learn from these missions to help us on Earth? Learn what inspires her, what we can learn from her adventures and how it can help shape the future. Dr. Proctor is a science communication expert with a passion for space exploration. She believes that when we solve for space we also solve issues on Earth. She believes sustainable food practices used in space exploration can reduce food waste on Earth. She has a TEDx talk called Eat Like a Martian and published the Meals for Mars Cookbook. She was a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Program. She is an international speaker who enjoys engaging in educational outreach. She is a continuing Solar System Ambassador and serves on the National Science Teaching Association’s Aerospace Advisory Board. In 2019, she was the science communication outreach officer on the JOIDES Resolution expedition 383 and spent 2-months at sea investigating the dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. She also participated in the 2-week faculty development seminar Exploring Urban Sustainability in India. She was a 2017 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Teacher at Sea, a 2016 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador (ACEAP), and a 2014 PolarTREC Teacher investigating climate change in Barrow, Alaska. Dr. Proctor is a geology, sustainability, and planetary science professor at South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona. She has a B.S. in Environmental Science, an M.S. in Geology, and a Ph.D. in Science Education. She is currently on sabbatical at Arizona State University’s Center for Education Through Exploration. She did her 2012-13 sabbatical at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute developing their science of disasters curriculum. She has appeared in multiple international science shows and is currently a science demonstration expert on the Science Channel show Strange Evidence.

Learn more about Visualizing the Invisible: A Talk with Dr. Sian Proctor, Analog Astronaut