Yuri's Night Cleveland

If you are a fan of man’s exploration of space, April 12th is a very important time of the year. It is the date of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space flight -- it is also the date of the inaugural launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle.  To help celebrate these -- and other great moments in space exploration -- The Great Lakes Science Center was proud to host Yuri’s Night Cleveland, including an appearance by members of Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison.

What makes the Great Lakes Science Center a perfect venue for Yuri’s Night is they also host the newly upgraded NASA Glenn Visitor’s Center; along with the GLSC’s IMAX theater and other scientific exhibits.  The first thing you recognize is the giant Skylab 3 Apollo Command Module, which was transferred over from the original NASA Lewis Visitor Center -- along with various other space suits and displays.  As a kid, I can remember many a school field trip where I’d just stand in front of the Skylab 3 (which used to be behind glass) and dream about being just like my childhood hero: Ohio astronaut John Glenn.  If you’ll pardon the Star Trek reference, it was a bit of a “Picard” moment to be able to actually touch the Skylab 3 module, after all these years.

Speaking of that other space franchise, we weren’t the only people dressed up in costume for the party!  There were a noticeable number of guests wearing their own Star Trek, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica and Aliens costumes -- even some vintage sci-fi inspired outfits.  We met up with “The Doctor” who managed to land his own TARDIS inside the Great Lakes Science Center.  There were even a few guests dressed in Star Wars costumes. 

GLB "Mission Photos" -- Yuri's Night Cleveland

One of the things that is great about Yuri’s Night is that, while our primary assignment was to interact with guests, after a while our guys tend to blend in with the crowd; and we get enjoy ourselves a little more than usual.  Later in the evening, we got to wander around all three floors of the GLSC and try some the many hands-on exhibits and displays the GLCS has to offer.  The dance floor was busy all night as The Floorwalkers performed and later DJ OZMTC kept the music playing, right up until the balloon drop at the end of the night.

We always have fun trooping at Yuri’s Night Cleveland – and looking forward to returning next year!