Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is holding a special series of activities on July 20 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA astronauts’ setting foot on the moon’s surface for the first time.
Named after the lunar module Eagle that landed on the moon, “The Eagle Has Landed” Late-Night Celebration, will kick off at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and last until 2:00 a.m.
“On July 20, 1969, humans walked on another world for the first time. 50 years later, join us for a late-night celebration of the first Moon landing,” the event brief says.
The timed programming of the event is as follows:
- Trivia at 8:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m., and 12:15 a.m.
- “Eyewitness to Space: Art and the Apollo Program” at 9:00 p.m.
- Rebroadcast of Moon landing and first steps at 10:30 p.m.
- A special countdown at 10:56 p.m. ET to celebrate the exact time Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon
- Apollo 11-themed musical performance by electronic-duo Quindar from midnight to close
- Spacesuit Fashion Show at 1:00 a.m.
There are also film screenings with ticket requirement. Voyage Dans La Lune will be shown at 8:15 p.m. with introduction by space history curator Michael Neufeld. Mare Tranquillitatis episode of HBO‘s From the Earth to the Moon is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. along with a live-tweeting session about the Apollo 11 Moon landing. To Plant a Flag is at 10:15 p.m., Apollo 11: First Steps Edition is at 11:15 p.m. and 2001: A Space Odyssey is at 12:10 a.m.
Other activities throughout the event include astronaut costume designing, Hands-on activities and science demonstrations and stargazing at the Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory.