NMMNHS News:

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (NMMNHS) will  celebrate the legacy of Dr. Sally Ride with an evening of fun that highlights the contributions of New Mexico women in science.

In partnership with the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, NMMNHS will be the local host for this national celebration of the first American woman in space: Dr. Sally Ride, June 20.

To showcase New Mexico women in space, there will be a showing of the classic sci-fi film Contact (1997) in the Planetarium, Powered by META, as part of the museum’s Science Fiction or Fact? film series. This movie features a strong female lead and tells the story of Very Large Array (VLA) in Southern New Mexico and the search for life beyond our planet.

Starting at 5:30 p.m., two special guests – NRAO/VLA Jansky Fellow and radio astronomer Dr. Julia Blue Bird (Oglala Lakota), and retired VLA space science educator Judy Stanley – will review the film for scientific and historical accuracies and inaccuracies and talk about the science done at the VLA and stories about the filming of Contact.

This is a free event, with donations encouraged. This project received support from the National Air and Space Museum.

This event offers a chance to honor the legacy of Dr. Ride while celebrating the New Mexico women who advance scientific heritage.