Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum » Uncategorized http://nadcmuseum.org Honoring our Past, Inspiring our Future Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:28:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 2012 Lottery Calendars Now Available!! http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/12/2012-lottery-calendars-now-available/ http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/12/2012-lottery-calendars-now-available/#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:30:56 +0000 John Murawski http://nadcmuseum.org/?p=1602 Our popular lottery calendars are back for 2012. A $15 donation gets you a three digit number. Every night of 2012, based on the number drawn in PA Lottery evening drawing, one lucky calendar holder will win an amount from $15 to $100. It’s a great way to support a great organization with a chance to win your donation back every day of the year. Even better, if your number comes up more than once in the year, you can win multiple times. Check with your favorite museum volunteer or stop by between 1 and 4 pm on the first or third Sunday of the month. We will also be in the community throughout December at the following locations. Stop by, say hi, and get your calendar for 2012. Heck, get a few! They make great stocking stuffers.

Calendar Sales Locations

Friday, December 9th 5 pm to 8 pm: Ben Wilson Sr. Center, 580 Delmont Avenue, Warminster, PA 18974
Saturday, December 10th 8 am to 1 pm: Ben Wilson Sr. Center, 580 Delmont Avenue, Warminster, PA 18974
Saturday, December 17th 11 am to 4 pm: Shop n Bag, 1025 Second Street Pike, Richboro, PA 18954
Sunday, December 18th 11 am to 4 pm: Redner’s Market, 1661 Easton Rd., Warrington, PA 18976
Saturday, December 31st 11 am to 4 pm: Shop n Bag, 1025 Second Street Pike, Richboro, PA 18954

]]> http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/12/2012-lottery-calendars-now-available/feed/ 0 “MUSEUM IN THE PARK” TO BE PART OF WARMINSTER DAY TRICENTENNIAL FESTIVITIES http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/09/%e2%80%9cmuseum-in-the-park%e2%80%9d-to-be-part-of-warminster-day-tricentennial-festivities/ http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/09/%e2%80%9cmuseum-in-the-park%e2%80%9d-to-be-part-of-warminster-day-tricentennial-festivities/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:20:42 +0000 John Murawski http://nadcmuseum.org/?p=1574 Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum to Showcase Artifacts on Loan from Patuxent River Naval Air Museum

Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum will be participating in this year’s Warminster Day this Saturday, September 10 from 11AM to 4PM at Warminster Community Park by featuring some recently acquired artifacts that have never been on display in the local area in a unique “Museum in the Park” setting.
 
Among the artifacts to be displayed will be a 1970s era test wing from an early pilotless drone and the 1950 dedication plaque from the centrifuge building, both of which are on loan from the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum (http://paxmuseum.com).  In addition, a rare fiberglass contour couch that was used for training in the centrifuge will be on display. The contour couch was acquired by the museum from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

NASA Ambassador Presentations
to Occur Throughout the Day

Also included in the program will be Dr. Ann Schmiedekamp, NASA Solar System Ambassador and Professor of Physics at Penn State University, who will be giving presentations throughout the day on the challenges involved in interplanetary travel.  Dr. Schmiedekamp is one of a handful of NASA Solar System Ambassadors in the country.

 Special Interpretive Programs to be Offered
at Mercury 7 Gondola 

 The museum will also be providing a special interpretive program at the Mercury 7 Gondola – the original centrifuge capsule that was in use from 1950 through 1963 which was brought back to Warminster earlier this year after 47 years in storage at the Smithsonian Institution. All of the Mercury and Gemini astronauts stepped into the Mercury 7 Gondola as part of their training.

In addition, Art Guntner, a retired Naval Chief who rode the Johnsville Centrifuge over 350 times and who personally helped to train the Mercury astronauts will be available to meet attendees and share his stories.
 
“We are thrilled to be a part of the Tricentennial festivities at Warminster Day this year,’ said Michael Maguire, President of the museum. “In its day NADC was the largest employer in the county where many important technical developments were made. We feel it fitting that we will be exhibiting these artifacts at an event that is taking place on the old runway of the facility. We are especially thankful to the Pax River Museum for the loan of these artifacts as well as to NASA and Dr. Schmiedekamp for generously agreeing to be a part of this event. It will be quite a day.”

Mre informaiton about Warminster Day can be found here: Warminster Day Website

]]> http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/09/%e2%80%9cmuseum-in-the-park%e2%80%9d-to-be-part-of-warminster-day-tricentennial-festivities/feed/ 0 THE MERCURY 7 GONDOLA IS HOME! http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/07/the-mercury-7-gondola-is-home/ http://nadcmuseum.org/2011/07/the-mercury-7-gondola-is-home/#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:20:55 +0000 John Murawski http://nadcmuseum.org/?p=1550

The Mercury 7 Gondola being lowered into place

May 5, 2011 was a historic day for Bucks County as the original gondola of the Johnsville Centrifuge that was used for training America’s early space heroes returned to Warminster. It had spent the last 47 years at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Suitland, Maryland.

All of America’s pioneering astronauts, including Alan Shepard, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong trained at the Johnsville Centrifuge prior to their historic space missions. In 1963 the gondola was replaced by a larger gondola to accommodate the three wide configuration needed to train for the Apollo missions. Shortly after its replacement it was transferred to the Smithsonian by the US Navy and has remained at the Garber facility ever since. The gondola has recently been “deaccessioned” (taken off the books) by the Smithsonian with ownership transferring to the Johnsville Centrifuge & Science Museum.

A special “Welcome Home” ceremony was held at the Bucks County Visitors Center for the Gondola on the date that marked the 50th Anniversary of the Mercury mission that placed Alan Shepard as the First American in Space. The move of the Gondola was made possible through a grant from History’s® Save Our History® initiative in partnership with Comcast.

We appreciate the support of all of our friends and partners, including Banacom Signs of Warminster, PA, The Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau, Clear Channel Communications, R. T. Hankinson Trucking of Ottsville, PA, Operating Engineers Local 542, Fort Washington, PA, Penn State University, Warminster Township, the many community leaders and politicians that wrote letters to the Smithsonian on our behalf, the staff and Management of the National Air and Space Museum and our many dedicated volunteers. We also appreciate the coverage of the local press, including Action News, Eyewitness News, Patch.com, The Daily Intelligencer, The Bucks County Herald and the many other local newspapers that sent photographers and reporters. We would like to extend a special thanks to History and Comcast for their generous support in the form of a $10,000 Save Our History® grant which enabled us to move the Gondola.

It has been a busy couple of weeks but rewarding in the end. There were many exciting and memorable moments. We loaded the gondola in the rain, but did not feel a drop. Along the way we saw countless cars slow in the passing lane and jockey for position in order to get a picture. We were delayed at the weigh station in Maryland so the state troopers could get a closer look at our historic load and pose next to it. As we drove along I-95 in Philadelphia, the good people at Clear Channel Communications saluted the Gondola’s return with a special message on their digital billboards. Before our arrival at the Bucks County Visitors Center we stopped at the Neil Armstrong Middle School to make sure that all of the banners were in place and our flags were able to fly free. We were greeted by the press and our enthusiastic friends at the Bucks County Visitors Center where the public got their first chance to see the Gondola up close in 47 years!

After that we were escorted by police and fire trucks all the way up Street Road, finally working our way to the Penn State Anechoic Chamber at 300 East Bristol Road in Warminster. There are no words to describe the feeling when the Gondola was finally offloaded and placed on its concrete pad to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd. It was truly an inspirational moment.

Check out this video of the homecoming of the Mercury 7 Gondola from Patch.com. Make sure to watch in in full screen mode.

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