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Woman In Motion
March 28, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center launches its 2023 three-part Science on Screen film/speaker series with Astrobotic, the CMU spin-off that’s building lunar landers on Pittsburgh’s North Side, and its affiliated Moonshot Museum, the only space museum in Pennsylvania.
The event recognizes March 28 as National Day of Science on Screen. Importantly, it also demonstrates that not only does science impact the cultural landscape, but culture can significantly impact the world of science.
When the high profile National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was struggling to recruit team members and earn public support in 1977, Nichelle Nichols, the late Star Trek actress (Lt. Uhura), began an initiative that diversified the agency, recruiting more than 8,000 Black, Asian and Latinx men—and women.
Speakers: Elena Petrak, senior quality assurance engineer at Astrobotic, the Pittsburgh-based lunar lander builder, who also promotes STEM careers with children through young adults. At 7 p.m., before the screening, Petrak will give the brief presentation Now Launching: Engineering, Lunar Landers and Alternative Pathways to STEM Careers. She also will be available to answer questions after the film.
Lauren Shalek, manager of operations and visitor services, and Mike Hennessy, manager of programs and learning, at the Moonshot Museum, will share information about Pennsylvania’s first space museum, which encourages the next generation of space engineers with views of behind-the-scenes assembly action.
Shalek and Hennessy will welcome people at their information table in the Theater’s lobby– where attendees have the opportunity to write a message that will be carried to the moon.
“Nichols is credited with opening the eyes of NASA to the idea that ‘the right stuff’ was not the exclusive purview of white male test pilots, while helping to convince women and minorities of the same thing,” says the Wall Street Journal.
“And overnight—in mere months—the culture changed,” remarks Roger Moore’s Movie Nation. The “eye-opening and inspiring film…underscores Nichols’ undeniable contribution to broadening NASA’s horizons and drumming up interest in STEM education among minority students all over America with her work. Years of involvement—visits, public service announcements, talk show appearances on the agency’s behalf—cemented her legacy.”
