Calling all space cadets! Since 1982, Space Camp has been the ultimate vacation for aspiring astronauts. Join historian Emily A. Margolis to learn how a little satellite launched on January 31, 1958 set in motion a series of events that lead to the creation of Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Flight suits not required for this historical study of Alabama’s top tourist attraction.

About the speaker: Emily A. Margolis is a social and cultural historian of spaceflight. She earned her PhD in the history of science and technology from Johns Hopkins University in May 2019, where her research examined how and why NASA centers and their surrounding communities became tourist attractions in the 1960s. Emily’s doctoral work was generously supported by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and American Historical Association. To learn more about the origins of space tourism, check out her recent interview on The Planetary Society podcast.

Emily is the 2019-2021 Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow at the American Philosophical Society Library & Museum. She is co-curator of the 2020 exhibition, Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist. When she’s not reading the electrifying works of Benjamin Franklin or writing about the US space program, Emily enjoys baking science-themed treats.