On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the City of Kent was honored with the John D. Spellman Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation, for “exemplary achievement in promoting and celebrating Kent’s aerospace heritage, getting the Lunar Rovers designated as landmarks on the moon.”
“Kent has shown creative vision and enthusiasm in their strong public engagement efforts to raise awareness of their aerospace heritage,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said.
“We continue to celebrate the key role the Lunar Rovers played in space exploration as well as the Boeing Space Center and all the engineers, scientists and others who had a role in the project,” Mayor Dana Ralph said. “This is such an honor and I couldn’t be prouder of our amazing team who is getting some well-deserved recognition.”
LUNAR ROVER STEM FESTIVAL IS NOV. 14
And the city isn’t done yet – on Thursday, Nov. 14, they will be hosting a Lunar Rover STEM Festival at accesso ShoWare Center (5-7:30 p.m.), where attendees can meet retired NASA astronaut Capt. Gregory “Ray J” Johnson, see a replica of the Lunar Rover that will be placed in Kherson Park, and participate in some exciting activities (virtual reality, telescopes, robotics) with NASA, the Museum of Flight and FIRST Washington, among others.
“This event will be a great opportunity for people of all ages to experience Kent’s role in space – past, present and future!” Mayor Ralph said. “A big thank you to Boeing for their generous sponsorship of this event. Please join me in the fun!”