Space Fest 2020 was Out of This World!
Enjoy these photos from our annual celebration of space
Published02/06/2020
What a fantastic weekend at the Bell! Space Fest dazzled again with nearly 2,000 people, including many Bell members, enjoying planetarium shows, hands-on activities from stomp rockets to lunar landers, guest speakers, volunteers, and exceptional partners. Thank you to the many U of M student engineers, researchers, NASA representatives, and community presenters who made this day possible, as well as our sponsors: the Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation and Ruth & John Huss.
Enjoy these glimpses of the weekend!
Visitors see how they’d fare as astronauts repairing an object on a space mission with our Astronaut Glove Box activity.
Visitors see how they’d fare as astronauts repairing an object on a space mission with our Astronaut Glove Box activity.
A young visitor tests their reflexes with our Train Like an Astronaut activity.
Building stomp rockets!
Kyle Houser, U of M undergraduate in aerospace engineering and mechanics and chief engineer with the Small Satellite Research Lab, talks to the audience about the SOCRATES project.
Visitors check out our gallery cart about bird flight
Jenna Burgett, Vincent Ma, and Keegan Bunker, students from the U of M Small Satellite Research Lab, show visitors components from a CubeSat they designed and built.
Vincent Ma, a student from the U of M Small Satellite Research Lab explains how the tiny SOCRATES satellite operates.
Sarah Brennan, Coralie Wilcox, Emily Reynolds, and Dannica Donahue, students with the U of M Society of Women Engineers, help a young visitor explore the formation of craters on the moon’s surface.
Assembling a space comic is serious business.
Fun with astronaut masks!
Fun with astronaut masks!
Everyone loves a good astronaut mask.
Learning about cloud formation with our gallery cart.
Learning about cloud formation with our gallery cart.
Bell Museum volunteer Scott Magnuson welcomes Space Fest attendees.
He’s about to get an up-close view of a meteorite, once he opens that eye.
Staci Tiedeken, U of M alum and outreach coordinator for the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, shows models of the various Moon landing sites during the Apollo missions.
Staci Tiedeken, U of M alum and outreach coordinator for the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, helps a visitor see the different topographies on the Moon’s surface.
Teamwork makes building a lander even better!
Building a lander takes precision and concentration, and this kid had both.
Building a lander takes precision and concentration, and this kid had both.
Everyone had their own approach to building a lander!
One fun activity was making a pocket solar system for a small, take-home scale model of our cosmic neighbors
Abby Westman, majoring in fisheries, wildlife & conservation biology, holds a stomp rocket steady for enthusiastic stompers.
Abby Westman, majoring in fisheries, wildlife & conservation biology, holds a stomp rocket steady for enthusiastic stompers.
Abby Westman, majoring in fisheries, wildlife & conservation biology, holds a stomp rocket steady for enthusiastic stompers.
Abby Westman, majoring in fisheries, wildlife & conservation biology, holds a stomp rocket steady for enthusiastic stompers.
Abby Westman, majoring in fisheries, wildlife & conservation biology, holds a stomp rocket steady for enthusiastic stompers.
Special events volunteer Ginny Mahlum greets visitors with a smiling face.
Students with the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics teach visitors about the light’s different wavelengths.
Students with the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics teach visitors about the light’s different wavelengths.
Students with the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics demonstrate thermal imaging.
Bell volunteer Don Olsen talks to a visitor at a gallery cart. Olson has almost 150 service hours at the Bell!
Historical astronomer, Henrietta Leavitt, portrayed by Theatre Pro Rata actor Victoria Pyan, watches a young visitor simulate a moon crater.
Historical astronomer, Annie Cannon, portrayed by Theatre Pro Rata actor Amber Bjork, was here to visit with guests.
The Moon crater activity was a popular stop!
This visitor took her time getting just the right look on her mask design.
More astronaut mask fun
Space Fest had some very cute astronauts.
Gallery cart on cloud formation
Learning about cloud formation with our gallery cart.
Learning about cloud formation with our gallery cart.
Astrophotographer and Bell Museum resident artist Mike Shaw shares his love of photographing the night sky.
Astrophotographer and Bell Museum resident artist Mike Shaw discusses the effects of urban light pollution on his work.
Getting ready to take in a show in the Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium.
Students from the U of M Rocket Team show a rocket they designed for collegiate competitions to young visitors.
Emma Grant, a member of the U of M Rocket Team, demonstrates the design and flight of a rocket.
Students with the U of M chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics discuss plans for a future lunar base.
NASA Solar System Ambassador Elizabeth Treat explains how a planisphere can be used to observe constellations in the night sky.
Creating a cosmic adventure comic.
Visitors learn about how telescopes work from a gallery cart activity.
Students from the U of M Rocket Team let visitors test the parachutes they use to bring their rockets safely back down to the ground.
Annette S. Lee, planetarium director at St. Cloud State University & Native Skywatchers director, shares her knowledge of the Ojibwe night sky with Bell student worker Amina Adem.