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Aeronautics
at NASA Days at Busch Gardens
NASA Days: What Does NASA “Stand” For
On the days of August 5th and 6th, NASA Langley once again
partnered with Busch Gardens Williamsburg to host the 4th
Annual “NASA Days.” The purpose of this event is to broaden
the public’s knowledge of NASA as a whole, but more specifically,
NASA Langley Research Center. Ideally, the various NASA
related displays, activities, and exhibits will gain support,
inform the uninformed, and obtain further interest in the
past, present, and future of NASA.
Can any one person really identify how the public feels,
or what they already know about NASA? I did my best to find
out by posing questions to visitors of Busch Gardens from
all over the nation. Question number one was reasonably straightforward
with- What does the acronym NASA stand for? With a variety
of entertaining but incorrect answers ranging from, “National
Air and Space Academy,” “National Space Agency” and, “I don’t
know and I don’t want to answer any more questions,” Paula
from Gloucester, VA confidently stated the correct answer,
“National Aeronautics and Space Administration.” Surprisingly,
more than half of the individuals questioned replied with
an incorrect response.
Once all of the contributors were told the correct answer
to question number one, they were presented with the second
question, which was- What is the first thing that comes to
mind when you hear the word NASA? Nearly all of the answers
followed the obvious trend of: “Space flight,” “Space Exploration,””Astronauts,”
and “The moon.” Out of all of the participants, only former
NASA employee Charles, from Ashburn, VA, replied with the
far less popular response of, “Aeronautics” (the science
of flight).
All of the questions were administered in front of the X-Plane
flight simulator, where many guests were confused as to why
NASA had an airplane exhibit. The majority of the interviewees
had no idea that one of NASA’s primary goals is aeronautical
research, or of their effort to break new ground in the development
of flight information for practical uses.
One piece of information that everyone interviewed already
knew was that the space shuttle program had come to an end.
When asked about their feelings toward this chapter of NASA
coming to an end, the responses were similar: “I’m sad to
see it go,” and, “It is a very unfortunate thing.” Laura,
from Williamsburg, VA, had a very different outlook when
she said that the end of the space shuttle program was “bittersweet.”
Having gone to see astronaut Susan Kilrain’s presentation
earlier in the day, Laura and her family were informed of
the future of space exploration. She added, “Of course I’m
sad to see the program end, but the future of space travel
sounds like it is moving on to bigger and better things and
I am looking forward to seeing it.”
Although it appears that most of the public does not truly
know the objectives or the overall purpose of the organization,
not one person had anything negative to say about NASA. A
few people went as far as to suggest that NASA should receive
a more substantial annual budget. The National Aeronautics
and Space Administration looks as if it has the public’s
full support and captivates people of all ages with the space
components of its mission.
At Busch Gardens, it became clear
that public outreach events are vital to ensure the public
is well informed about all the NASA missions including Aeronautics
(the science of flight) and Science (from Earth to the farthest
reaches of the universe).
Kelly from Burke, VA, goes on to say, “I learned a lot at
NASA Days, and I would love it if my twelve year old son
became an engineer and worked for them in the future.” Kelly
goes on to explain that she thinks of NASA as a national
asset, and it is safe to say that the majority of NASA day
participants would agree with her.
By: Josh Fitzgerald
School: Western Illinois University
Email: ji-fitzgerald@wiu.edu
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