Space Foundation Discovery Center Welcomes 100,000 Visitors

At the end of July, the Space Foundation Discovery Center in Colorado Springs achieved a landmark goal of welcoming more than 100,000 visitors. The Discovery Center, which opened in late 2012, is the region’s only space, science and technology attraction, and has become a destination for visitors to the Pikes Peak region.

During the school year, the Discovery Center welcomes hundreds of schoolchildren weekly. Twenty-five percent of those students are able to attend because of scholarship funds generously provided by Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Raytheon. Attendance during the summer is largely made up of day camp groups, families and vacationers. The annual Summer of Discovery program at the Discovery Center offers special activities and presenters, sponsored this year by Raytheon, with co-sponsorship by Chick-fil-A, Dell, iHeart Radio and Orbital ATK.

In addition to its collection of space artifacts in the El Pomar Space Gallery, the Discover Center also hosts traveling exhibits. The featured traveling exhibit this summer is “Super Kids Save the World,” presented by Children’s Hospital Colorado and hosted locally through a partnership with Pikes Peak Children’s Museum.

At 47,000 square feet, the Discovery Center allows the Space Foundation to fulfill its education mission to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals and educate the general public about the importance of space. The Discovery Center houses state-of-the-art facilities for formal and informal education, including:

• The Lockheed Martin Space Education Center, featuring the Mars Robotics Laboratory, AGI Space Missions Simulation Laboratory and an Education Activity Center
• The Northrop Grumman Space Education Center, featuring Science On a Sphere®

The location at 4425 Arrowswest Drive in Colorado Springs also houses Space Foundation World Headquarters offices and its Ackerman Conference Center.

Thank You to Our Discovery Center Donors!

• Analytical Graphics, Inc.
• Anna Keesling Ackerman Fund
• Anschutz Foundation
• Battelle
• The Boettcher Foundation
• Chapman Trusts
• E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation
• El Pomar Foundation
• Lockheed Martin
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Raytheon
• Russell A. Lagasse Trust
• Scott Bryan
• State of Colorado Economic Development Commission

In addition, the Space Foundation would like to recognize and thank the Swigert Society and the Discovery Center’s Corporate Giving Club members, who provide integral funding that supports the creation of new programs for students and the general public, the addition of new and traveling exhibits and helps maintain the quality of the facility.

The Space Foundation also thanks the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance for its crucial role in keeping our World Headquarters in Colorado Springs.

Visit
The  Space Foundation Discovery Center is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and is closed on major holidays. Military discounts are available with I.D. For admission fees and other Discovery Center information, click here, or call the Space Foundation at 719.576.8000.

 

This article is part of Space Watch: August 2016 (Volume: 15, Issue: 8).