Out-of-this-world Fun at the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing Celebration!

_{The library’s Summer Reading Challenge, A Universe of Stories, took one last giant leap to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing on July 20th at the Slidell Branch. STPL celebrated and relived a milestone in American history and space exploration.“The 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing Celebration took place on Saturday, July 20, exactly 50 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon!” said Jennifer C Martin, Children’s Services Librarian at the Slidell Branch. STPL partnered with Northshore Technical Community College (NTCC) to present Star Lab, an inflatable planetarium, to patrons at five shows throughout the day. “The Children’s Area was transformed to accommodate the enormous inflatable planetarium that comfortably sat 30. For those who registered for Star Lab, NTCC staff presented a 20-minute show about the Apollo 13 launch, landing and return trip,” said Martin. “We had visitors of all ages come and enjoy the show. In addition to Star Lab, patrons cheered as they watched the original CBS broadcast of the 1969 moon landing, made crafts in the teen and children’s areas, picked up some NASA swag and enjoyed refreshments."The 4 hour program saw at least 200 people come out to celebrate the moon landing. Participants also shared their memories of seeing the original CBS broadcast with first-time viewers."It was an excellent way to end a very successful Summer Reading Challenge,” said Martin. “We were so happy to coordinate this community event to highlight such an important milestone in human history and we hope this program and our Universe of Stories Summer Reading Challenge has inspired a few more future astronauts, rocket scientists and explorers!”}