2020 Astronaut Veach Day of Discovery goes virtual on OCT. 24

19th annual event airs online 12-1:30 p.m., Hawaii standard time

(Issued by Hawaii Space Grant Consortium)

Release Date: 10/18/2020

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HONOLULU, Oct. 18, 2020 – The 19th annual Lacy Veach Day of Discovery, a free science event which honors the achievements and legacy of the late astronaut Charles Lacy Veach who fondly called Hawaii his home, will be going virtual on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, 12-1:30 p.m. at: https://bit.ly/3i71sxp. No pre-registration is required. As a virtual event, it has opened unique opportunities for support from partners and participants in and outside Hawaii.

Designed for students in grades 1-12, parents and educators of all grade levels, the event engages audiences interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through mini virtual workshops, demonstrations and inspirational speakers, while promoting careers in the STEM fields. With the virtual format, mainland and international audiences will be able to participate for the first time in the event’s history.

Organizers have been working with the NASA Office of STEM Engagement, Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory, Kauai Community College, Imiloa Astronomy Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Engineering, Hawaii Science Teachers Association, Hawaiian Electric, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassadors, and Oceanit on workshops that will intrigue and educate participants.

This year’s speaker line-up includes NASA Astronaut Christopher Cassidy who has spent the last six months aboard the International Space Station; Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society; NASA Astronaut Bill Shepherd who was a crew member with Lacy; the family of Lacy Veach; Scott Seu, Hawaiian Electric president & CEO; NASA Astronaut Stan Love; and NASA Astronaut and Educator Joe Acaba.

A highlight of the event is a Galaxy Treasure Hunt with clues provided in mini “ads” featuring past and present Hawaii residents who now work in STEM careers here or abroad. Entries qualify for invitations to join live virtual tours of museums, laboratories and workshops in November and December 2020. Participants will also be able to register for free STEM kits for the Hardware Science Tumbler Challenge.

Born on Sept. 18, 1944, Charles Lacy Veach graduated from Punahou School and received an engineering degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot before joining NASA, where he flew on two space missions and logged 436 hours in space. Veach died Oct. 3, 1995, in Houston, Texas.

Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery is sponsored by Hawaiian Electric and the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium with support from the family of Lacy Veach and Hardware Science.

For more information, visit: http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/index.php/2020/08/16/19th-annual-lacy-veach-day-of-discovery-goes-virtual/.

Are you ready? https://youtu.be/AXHYkOjk0Hc