Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum

Message from the President

Mike — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:37:50 +0000

It has been 10 months since The Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum introduced its vision to the public. Our April open house, which featured Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, was a great success and allowed us to present our goal of providing a first class science and engineering education center to the community. These plans have inspired dozens of volunteers to join us and prompted thousands of dollars in donations.

The museum immediately began its work and cleared the building of debris and has undertaken its first major construction project by removing 42 tons of concrete from the ceiling. Dedicated researchers have uncovered many exciting facts about the center and their exploration of the building discovered a few significant artifacts such as some original Mercury era couches and the “Mayo Tank”. We have retained an architect and a model maker who have produced exciting ideas for the use of the space. We have partnered with many organizations such as the Bucks County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Warminster Tricentennial Committee. We look forward to the months and years ahead as we forge our role as an integral part of the community.

We have discovered some of the extraordinary expenses involved in this and for all our successes we also experienced limitations this winter as we were unable to provide heat for our Sunday tours. I am very proud of our dedicated volunteers who endured cold temperatures while continuing to give of their time.

As is the case with many non-profit organizations, The Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum has been impacted by the current economic climate. We receive no federal or state funding, and are wholly reliant on revenue from attendance at museum events, contributions from the public at large and donations from local businesses. We certainly appreciate the generosity of our current supporters however we have reached a critical point in our short existence and are in danger of not fulfilling our goals. We are making an appeal to the public and local businesses to help us. We believe that the Johnsville Centrifuge and the legacy of NADC’s technological innovation is worth saving. From the reactions of visitors, we know it is important to the community as well. Contributions of any size are appreciated. We would also like to find major donors and local businesses that are able to take a leadership role and help us succeed in our mission of creating a world class museum to inspire our youth to pursue an education in science and technology. If you are able to help, please contact me personally at mmaguire@nadcmuseum.org or call me at 267-250-8841. Thank you.

Mike Maguire
President, Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum

P.S. We welcome the public to support us by attending our March 27th X-15 Event, our April 7th Apollo 13 40th Anniversary Event, or our May 7th Gala.

Greater Bucks Mont Chamber

John Murawski — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:39:38 +0000

Special thanks go out to the Greater Bucks Mont Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to speak at their luncheon yesterday. It is always exciting to share the mission of the museum with the local business community. Afterwards, a gentleman approached me and told me that he used to farm the land on the other side of the railroad tracks from the base (where the industrial park along Louis Lane is now). He still remembers the day the monkeys escaped from the animal wing and took up residence in his barn. He also told me that he remembers the noise of the riveting from the factory and the roar of the Brewster Buffaloes as they took off from the strip near the factory. His sister was even a receptionist at Brewster.

If you or a family member has stories from days working at Brewster or NADC/NAWC we’d love to hear them and get them on record as part of our oral history. Please contact us at nadcmuseum@comcast.net.

Can You Help ID This Suit?

John Murawski — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:05:34 +0000

As we were cleaning out some of the storage areas of the centrifuge building, we came across a trunk that held an old suit. We’ve had a few people look at it and have had it on display for the past ten months or so. We are still trying to make a positive determination on it’s age and what it was used for. You will note that the suit has a nozzle on the chest in addition to the nozzles on the hands and feet of the suit. As a result of the nozzles, we are pretty sure it was used for pressure or G load testing in the centrfuge. However, we are trying to fix it to a year and/or specific program. Are there any former employees or test pilots out there who may have any insight into what we have?

Test Subject Story

John Murawski — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:47:04 +0000

I spoke to a local Rotary club this morning about the museum. During the Q&A one of the members told about his experience as a volunteer test subject on the ejection tower in the 1950’s. He told about how he had to pull a leather loop from above his head to initiate the explosive charge that was to shoot him up the tower. The first time the charge did not fire, so they reset and it fired the second time. After he explained more about what the experience was like to be propelled up the tower by a charge of TNT, I asked him how many times he volunteered for the job. He simply said, ”Once.”

Visit us on Sundays between 1 and 3:30 to learn more about the history of innovation at Johnsille.

Scott Carpenter Visit: April 2009

John Murawski — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:45:53 +0000

We were honored to have Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter join us at our open house this past April. He generously shared his memories of the early days of American space exploration and reminisced about the time he and his fellow Mercury astronauts spent training at Johnsville 50 years earlier. As I understand it, when he got out of his car in front of the building he took a long look at the building and took his cell phone out of his pocket. After hitting a speed dial number, he said to the person on the other end of the line, “John, you wouldn’t believe where I am.” Yes, he was speaking to John Glenn, the only other surviving Mercury astronaut. How cool is that?

Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpetner returns to Johnsville to share his memories of the Mercury Program

Our Facebook Fan Page

Mike — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:03:09 +0000

Have you visited our Facebook page yet? If not, head on over there now and become our friend. We are constantly updating and you will be the first to hear all our wonderful news! By the way, we also have a Twitter page.

Gondola

Oral History

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:07:17 +0000

ATTENTION FORMER JOHNSVILLE SERVICE MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS: If you worked at Johnsville or Brewster Aircraft or were associated with those facilities in any way, we want to hear your stories.

We are now scheduling oral histories. Help us to preserve the tradition of innovation by sharing your memories with future generations.

Contact us at info@nadcmuseum.org with “Oral History” in the subject line. Include your contact information and we will be sure to get in touch with you to schedule an appointment.

Astronauts on Twitter

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:37:23 +0000

We just joined Twitter! And we are in good company! Check out this link to see all the astronauts, past, present and international, also on Twitter!

The Website has Launched!

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:42:44 +0000

We are overjoyed to write our very first blog entry! This is the Website of the Johnsville Centrifuge– home of the largest human centrifuge! Human Centrifuge? Yes, you read that right! Our facility is where the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts trained to understand the effects of high G-forces on the human body! We are now a museum where you can be inspired and learn about the technological innovations made by the dedicated NADC employees and see where America’s space heroes trained!

You can also find us on Facebook and very soon we will have accounts on Twitter, Flickr and Youtube. Please friend us, follow us, or subscribe to us! Join us as we present to you all the amazing things we are discovering about this amazing facility every day! (Remind us to blog about the day we found the actual CONTOUR COUCHES the astronauts used in training just sitting in the basement for over 40 years!)