First of all, Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the day that Man landed on the Moon. The Apollo 11 mission saw the Lunar Module drop to the Moon’s surface, and Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on a celestial body. I was following along with my GI Joe Astronaut and Space Capsule (it was the wrong type of space capsule, but I was six years old, so you need to cut me a break). This changed the world and the course of history, and led to some really cool toys for a year or so.

Saturday at 5 PM at Camp Virgil Tate, The Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society and The Kanawha County Public Library will present Contact Light: 50 Years Since the Small Step, a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11. KVAS will open the doors to the Breezy Point Observatory for Lunar and other celestial viewing.

The Boone Maxwell Lodge will be open so the public can meet members of KVAS and view different types of telescopes. On top of that, a display of space memorabilia covering the space age will be on display and WVSOAR will have a display or rockets as well as a rocket building clinic where you can build and launch a rocket for a small fee.

Starting around 10:45PM a replay of the original television broadcast of the historic Moonwalk will be shown 50 years to the minute. The KCPL will be also hold it’s celebration of the finale of it’s summer reading program. Events will be held in the Brooks Daughtery Dining hall. Pre-registration may be required.

This will be a great observation of one of the great technological achievments of the 20th Century. You can find out more at the Facebook Event Page, and at the KCPL Reading Program Page and the Contact Light page.

Meanhwile, if you think it’s too hot for science and learning, you can head over to Ridenour Lake in Nitro for the Ridenour Regatta, a day-long event that will see water fun, motorbike races, vendors, inflatables and an outdoor showing of the movie, Jaws. Check out the Facebook page, and the graphic below for details.