Museum of Space History hosts members day with Astronaut Danny Olivas in Alamogordo

The Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, New Mexico planned a members day for the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation (ISHFF).

ISHFF supports the museum's education and exhibit programs and this year invited a special guest, and NASA Astronaut, John Daniel “Danny” Olivas.

Members Day, otherwise known as, the BIG BANG festival will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the Fourth of July at 3198 State Route 2001. It will include educational activities, free movies and a free museum tour.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and close at 8 p.m., while the firework show begins at 9:15 pm which is open to any Foundation members.

Olivas, an El Pasoan, said he was excited to speak on members day, providing all eager minds with information to their questions on space.

In an interview Olivas said he was inspired to become an astronaut when he was seven years old from a family trip to Houston, Texas.

More: Apollo moon program launched former astronaut Danny Olivas' interest in space exploration

Olivas received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso. He went on to receive his master’s degree from University of Houston and his PhD from Rice University. Olivas worked in space since 1996 with Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

He began with NASA as an Astronaut in 1998 where he was a part of two space missions and five space walks.

“I left NASA in 2010 and worked for the defense and private sector for 12 years. I just recently joined Collins Aerospace in Houston, Texas, working on the next generation space suit,” said Olivas.

Olivas, along with his wife Marie Schwarzkopf, sit on the International Space Hall of Fame board. Olivas serves as “an adviser astronaut,” and Schwarzkopf is the secretary of the board.

“We have been big fans of the museum for as long as I can remember,” Olivas said. “I will be participating in two astronaut talks for Members Day.”

Olivas said he will talk to the audience about how was able to get to the position of being 250 miles above the surface of the planet, outside of a spacecraft.

“I hope to have some time for some Q&A, answer some folks questions,” Olivas said. “If they have questions regarding what’s next for NASA, or what is next for space exploration, is there life out there or even how you use the restroom in space.”

Olivas said when he worked for NASA, a lot of the items he had throughout the time, are at the museum and have been archived. He said he admires the education and outreach that the museum does in the area and recognize the region's contribution to the space program.

“The whole purpose of this is really to try and get people to go to the museum and understand what is going on with ISHFF,” Olivas said. “All the proceeds will go to the foundation and the objective is to support the museum. The money is going to a good cause, ISHFF is a non-profit organization that is really trying to inspire the next generation of explorers, scientist, and people like me, a stargazer.”

Olivas said there is a dinner scheduled in the evening, “Dinner with an astronaut,” where there are limited number of tickets and guests will have dinner with Olivas and could speak to him about a number of topics.

“Members day is not limited to old members. Anyone can become a member that same day,” said Public Relations and Marketing Director Cathy Harper. “So, if you want to come and enjoy everything, we have to offer that day, come become a member in the lobby and enjoy the day.”

An individual membership costs $35 and family memberships cost $75. Both memberships allow you to get into any Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC) museum for free with other benefits. For more information visit the New Mexico space museum site.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Museum of Space History hosts members day with Astronaut Danny Olivas