By Judy Tippett
On August 11th our St. Louis Space Frontier NSS Chapter participated in sharing our bright ideas at the St. Louis Science Center. Along with a table in the hall covered with information about our upcoming events and a Moon globe, we had a room of our own that really attracted a crowd: we had six tables and thousands of LEGO pieces. Chapter President Christine Nobbe’s husband, Nicholas, is the proud owner of a vast collection which he has accumulated over his years as a teacher and aficionado of the art.
The idea was to encourage children (and the occasional adult) to come in and build a Moon Village. This summer the St. Louis Science Center is all about the Moon, considering that we have the Apollo 11 traveling exhibit right in this building. I didn’t count the number of participants, but there were dozens of interesting projects, with the builders’ names when the day was done.
Our grand finale came when it was our turn to speak on the main stage. Mike Weilbacher, Christine Nobbe, and Colleen Forrest took turns talking about living and working the Moon. Mike is full of information about the Apollo 11 mission. He gave a nice overview starting with President Kennedy’s call to service for putting the first “Man on the Moon”…right through to Neil Armstrong and all the photos of Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface.
Christine went on to talk about the Moon Village. This Village will be for everyone, no restrictions. The European Space Agency is actively developing the plan, and all are welcome. Christine shared ideas of building in craters or underground in lava tubes, and discussed ways to use the Moon’s natural resources.
Colleen Forrest provided “Space Food.” She explained to the large audience that you will not be able to bring a cow to the Moon. Consequently we need to substitute another type of protein…something small and easy to produce. Amazon was happy to supply Colleen with packaged meal worms, crickets, and chips (called Chirps) made from cricket flour (ground crickets). Colleen was first to test the insects and soon Christine and Michael jumped in.
A great time was had by all.
