From Venus the Roman goddess, to Fritz Lang’s Frau im Mond, and from Valentina Tereshkova to Sally Ride, women have always been connected to our images and explorations of outer space. Celebrate the role women have played in increasing humanity’s understanding of and exploration of our solar system and beyond at the 2022 Roger That! event.

Roger That! features STEM K-12 school programming from both partner organizations, an academic and public conference at GVSU, and a public celebration at the GRPM. The two-part event will feature speeches on both days by Eileen Collins, who made history in 1995 as the first woman to pilot a U.S. spacecraft with the Discovery shuttle flight. In 1999, she was the commander for Columbia, making her the first woman to command a space shuttle mission. She ultimately logged 872 hours in space.

Join the Museum on Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19 for the public celebration of Roger That! Visitors will learn more about Roger B. Chaffee and space exploration with hands-on activities hosted by both the Museum and community partners including: build stations where attendees can design their own rockets and paper airplanes, astronaut challenges, artifact interactions including meteorite samples, tektite, and more.

There will be two opportunities to hear Col. Collins present her speech, Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars, which will chronicle her journey to becoming a NASA astronaut and ultimately the first woman to pilot a spacecraft, and first woman to command a space mission. 

• Friday, February 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Loosemore Auditorium on GVSU’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus; it will also be livestreamed
• Saturday, February 19 at 11 a.m. at the GRPM – SOLD OUT