View the live event at kerbalspaceacademy.com/intrepid

Download and follow along during the pre-show with this Origami F-14 Tomcat Instructions and Template Paper sample.

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will present a Virtual Astronomy Live program on Thursday, June 25 from 5:30PM to 7:00PM ET, a free event that explores the connection between the ancient art of origami and innovation in space science with special guests Keith Parrish, observatory manager for the James Webb Space Telescope, and Dr. Charlene Morrow, past board chair of OrigamiUSA.

After a brief introduction and explanation of origami, Parrish and Dr. Morrow will illustrate how the principles of this art form contributed to a new generation of solar reflectors in space, which help to keep astronauts safe. Dr. Morrow will also discuss and demonstrate origami models, such as the flasher, that have inspired and influenced breakthroughs in space exploration.

An interactive pre-show with Museum educators will take place from 5-5:30pm ET in which participants will be guided through creating their own origami foldings. As part of the pre-show, paper airplanes will illuminate the importance of folds to flight, and the unique design of the James Webb telescope based on origami foldings will be demonstrated.

The event is hosted and co-produced by John “Das” Galloway, founder of the Kerbal Space Academy, and moderated by Summer Ash, an astrophysicist, rocket scientist and freelance writer.

This is the third in a monthly series of Virtual Astronomy Live programs. The next iteration on July 16 will feature Astronaut Photography and Art. The Intrepid Museum’s Virtual Astronomy Live is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Virtual Astronomy Live is also generously supported by New York Space Grant Consortium. For all ages.

Participants

Keith Parrish, Observatory Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland. Parrish leads and oversees the technical efforts of the Observatory contractor team to insure all science mission performance requirements are met. Parrish coordinates closely with Mission and Observatory Systems Engineering in the identification and resolution of any technical issues and risks related to Observatory design, performance, integration, and testing.

Dr. Charlene Morrow, Past Chair of the OrigamiUSA Board, and retired faculty, Mount Holyoke College, will talk about and demonstrate some origami models that have inspired breakthroughs in space such as the flasher model. She has worked on several NASA funded projects, including an educational project to inspire young women from underserved populations to pursue careers in mathematics and science.

Moderator

Summer Ash: Summer Ash has been both a rocket scientist and an astrophysicist. She is a freelance science writer and communicator whose work has been published in The Atlantic, NBC News, Smithsonian, Now.Space, Scientific American, Slate, and Nautilus.

Host

John “Das” Galloway: “Das” is a science outreach communicator who specializes in live, interactive video content. He is the creator of the Kerbal Space Academy, where he uses video games as a tool to start science and engineering conversations with viewers of all ages, and VECTORS Virtual Field Trips, which brings real-time interactive video to museums, events, and historical locations. “Das” also serves as a host and producer for NASASpaceflight.com.

OrigamiUSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of paperfolding. Learn more here.

On June 26- 27, 2020, OrigamiUSA will hold the largest online origami event called the UnConvention. You can register at any time (even during the event) to join us for origami classes. Register here.