The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) will host a variety of events and activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
UAH has played a key role in America’s space program since Marshall Space Flight Center Director Dr. Wernher von Braun helped create the university’s Research Institute in the early 1960s. Since that time, UAH has become a leading research university in aerospace engineering.
UAH ranks fifth in the nation in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, according to the National Science Foundation. The campus is also 11th in the U.S. in NASA-sponsored research, according to the NSF.
Anniversary events and activities include:
Sunday, July 14, 2 to 5 p.m.
- Open House: UAH M. Louis Salmon Library Special Collections and Archives
- The UAH Library Archives and Special Collections invite the north Alabama community to enjoy an afternoon of Apollo history from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will include behind-the-scenes tours of the archives, a showing of documentary “When We Were Apollo.” The film’s producer Zach Weil will give a brief talk. There will be an opportunity to record personal memories of the Apollo 11 mission and a history exhibit curated by UAH Archives and Special Collections staff. Light refreshments with a 1960s theme will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
July 14-July 31
- UAH Library Exhibit: “To Land on the Moon: Huntsville and the Apollo Program.” M. Louis Salmon Library Art Gallery
- This exhibit highlights the roles of Huntsville and its inhabitants and their contributions to the early space race and the Apollo program. The majority of the materials on display are housed in UAH Special Collections and Archives.
July 15-19
- Unguided Tours: Von Braun Research Hall, UAH campus
- The North Alabama community is welcome to take unguided tours of Von Braun Research Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Posters line the walls of VBRH to chronicle the 20 years Dr. Wernher von Braun lived in Huntsville. Copies of Dr. Wernher von Braun’s speech to the Alabama Legislature creating the UAH Research Institute will be available.
July 19, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Radio Interview: UAH Head of Special Collections Reagan Grimsley talks Space History on Science Friday, on WLRH Radio 89.3 FM/HD and nationwide on National Public Radio.
- Listen in as Science Friday host Ira Flatow interviews Reagan Grimsley, of UAH Special Collections and U.S. Space and Rocket Center Curator Ed Stewart on the topic of collecting space history. Segment was pre-taped on May 21 and will be broadcast as part of Science Friday’s Apollo 50th anniversary programming.
Saturday, July 20
- Fireworks Display: UAH campus – 50th anniversary of the lunar landing
- A fireworks show beginning at 8:30 p.m. will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The North Alabama community is invited to park on the UAH campus for the show, which is expected to last 10 minutes.
(Courtesy the University of Alabama in Huntsville)
