Lots of events for space junkies

From Twitter to Fort Bragg, there are a half dozens ways to learn about space and space travel in coming weeks.

Posted 9:18 p.m. Apr 25, 2012 — Updated 9:18 p.m. Apr 25, 2012

Tony Rice

North Carolina State University will host a Twitter Town Hall Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. in Riddick Hall on the main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

NASA astronaut and native of Wakulla, N.C., Bill McArthur will discuss his experience as Expedition 12 commander. Nancy Currie, an astronaut and current visiting professor at NCSU, will also be there. Questions can be submitted to McArthur and Currie in advance using the Twitter hashtag #DS_RTP.

Currie holds the distinction of being among the first to step (float?) foot into the International Space Station. As a member of the STS-88 crew, she used the shuttle’s robotic arm to connect the U.S.-built Unity node with the Russian-built Zarya node.

Area astronaut appearances continue as McArthur throws out the first pitch when the Durham Bulls host the Indianapolis Indians on Friday. The game begins at 7:05 p.m.

NASA representatives will also be at the Johnston Community College Family Science Discovery Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.

McArthur continues his tour of the area on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Love Auditorium in the Levine Science Research Center on Duke’s West Campus. This event is also free and open to the public.

McArthur wraps up his tour of the area with a visit to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville on April 30 at 8:30 a.m. in an event open only to soldiers and their families.

NASA will unveil it’s newest traveling exhibit on April 28 at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.

Destination: Station is described as a multimedia experience highlighting research performed aboard the International Space Station. The exhibit is free and, like the museum itself, still has that new exhibit smell.

Destination: Station remains on display at the museum through Astronomy Days at the museum on May 19 and 20.

Tony Rice is a volunteer in the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador program and software engineer at Cisco Systems. You can follow him on twitter @rtphokie.

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