Students Participate in Wonders of the Universe "Soft Openings" at Northrop Grumman Science Center

Today, the new Space Foundation Northrop Grumman Science Center welcomed its first students. Approximately 50 fourth graders from Talbott Elementary School in Widefield District 3, Colo., and 50 fifth graders from Discovery Canyon Campus Academy in Colorado Springs District 20 stepped through the doors of the new facility, which features Science On a Sphere® (SOS), to participate in a “soft opening” of the Space Foundation’s new Wonders of the Universe courses for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students.

The Northrop Grumman Science Center – and the new Space Foundation Visitors Center of which it is a part – don’t officially open until next month. But, during the last two weeks of September, we are testing and evaluating the new Wonders of the Universe courses with approximately 350 students from 11 Colorado schools.

About the Courses

The standards-based Wonders of the Universe courses for K-12 students use our SOS – one of only 85 in the world – to teach a wide variety of subjects, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as well as social studies, history and government and other classroom content areas. Developed by the Space Foundation and taught by accredited Space Foundation instructors, the classes include both SOS lecture/demonstrations and hands-on learning activities.

SOS, the centerpiece of the Northrop Grumman Science Center, was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The world’s first dynamic spherical movie screen, SOS uses special software, satellite imagery and four projectors to render images onto the global surface that provide dramatic views of the Earth, Sun, moons and planets in space.

For information about scheduling a Wonders of the Universe class at the Northrop Grumman Science Center, featuring Science On a Sphere®, email: [email protected].

About the Visitors Center

In addition to the Northrop Grumman Science Center, the Space Foundation Visitors Center features the El Pomar Space Gallery, which houses a small percentage of the Space Foundation’s extensive artifacts collection. The initial exhibit, Launch to the Moon, primarily displays artifacts related to the U.S./Soviet race to the Moon in the 1960s and early 70s. The Visitors Center is located at our world headquarters at 4425 Arrowswest Dr., in Colorado Springs. Colo.

Starting Tuesday, Oct. 9, the Space Foundation Visitors Center will open to the public at the following times:

Visitors Center Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The 1st Saturday of the month: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Admission
$5 Adult/Youth (age 12-64)
$4 Seniors (age 65+)
$2 Children (up to age 11)
Military – free with photo ID

To celebrate the opening, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, the Space Foundation’s Special Advisor – Human Spaceflight, will be at the Visitors Center from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Oct. 9 to sign autographs for the public.

For more information, visit www.spacefoundation.org/visit.