Virtual Veach Day of Discovery shared space science with community
The 2020 Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery was a success!
The 19th annual tribute to Hawai‘i astronaut Charles Lacy Veach, hosted by the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa Hawai‘i Space Grant Consortium (HSGC), pivoted to a virtual event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has been viewed nearly 1,200 times since it was presented live in late October.
“The virtual format created unique opportunities as we reached out for workshops and speakers from Hawai‘i and well beyond, including direct from the International Space Station,” said Art Kimura, event co-organizer and educational specialist at the HSGC.
Keynote addresses were given by astronaut Chris Cassidy from the International Space Station, master navigator Nainoa Thompson, astronaut Stan Love, astronaut and crewmate of Veach Bill Shepherd, educator and astronaut Joe Acaba, president of Hawaiian Electric Scott Seu and family members of Veach.
Participants, including Veach’s grandsons in Florida who could be part of Veach Day for the first time, joined the virtual event from all the Hawaiian islands, across the US, and around the world, including Canada and Japan.
Space science experts offered workshops on making an air battery, learning computer code to rendezvous a spacecraft with the International Space Station, and using a cell phone camera to paint with light; and demonstrations on electrolysis, convection, density, center of gravity and more.
“We appreciate our colleagues and alumni who graciously supported and contributed to this redesigned virtual event,” said Rene Kimura, event co-organizer and educational specialist at the HSGC in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “The recording of the event is available to all. We hope this will serve as a valuable resource for teachers who are seeking ideas for their science classes and for parents looking for enrichment in this stay-at-home environment.”
The event, sponsored by Hawaiian Electric and the Hawai‘i Space Grant Consortium, honors Charles Lacy Veach, a graduate of Punahou School who went on to become an astronaut with NASA and flew in two space shuttle missions.
“Being able to offer the event in a new format has been gratifying and the outcomes have vastly exceeded our expectations,” said Art Kimura.
To continue encouraging students and community members to innovate and explore, Veach Day organizers are offering a series of live virtual field trips throughout November and December to learn about frost and wind on Mars, tower gardens, Space Station air scrubbers, the Polynesian
Voyaging Society, Oceanit and more. To get more information including dates and times, descriptions and login information on these virtual field trips, email art@higp.hawaii.edu.