Susan LendrothOct 22, 2010

Getting ready for the USA Science & Engineering Festival

The Planetary Society booth is ready to go for the USA Science & Engineering Festival being held this weekend on the National Mall in Washington DC.

It was a little windy for hanging banners, but it's amazing what you can accomplish with fishing line and zip ties (and duct tape, of course)! The festival will feature more than a thousand exhibits, and we anticipate crowds of 200,000 people or more for the two-day event.

A gust of wind wraps a banner around Monica Lopez
A gust of wind wraps a banner around Monica Lopez Image: The Planetary Society

The booth will feature our innovative solar sail project, Lightsail 1, and will have members of the mission team on hand to chat with booth visitors and show off the type of hardware being designed for the spacecraft.

Not only will Bill Nye sign autographs and demonstrate how the sail works in our booth, but he also helped staff put up displays this afternoon.

Chris Biddy and Bill Nye assemble a 1/4 scale model of Lightsail 1
Chris Biddy and Bill Nye assemble a 1/4 scale model of Lightsail 1 Image: The Planetary Society

You can meet Bill at our booth -- which is located in section NM-4, booths 414-418 -- during the following times

Saturday, October 23: 11 am - 12:30 pm and 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Sunday, October 24: 10:00 - 11:00 am

On Sunday, Bill will also appear at noon on the Freedom Plaza stage, at 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, presenting the Planetary Society's LightSail 1 to all festival-goers.

Hope to see you at the festival!

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