By Kate Kocienski
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) and Grand Valley State University announced today that the annual Roger That! conference and event is returning on Friday, Feb. 19, and Saturday, Feb. 20. Roger That! celebrates space exploration and the life of Grand Rapids native, Roger B. Chaffee, with a multi-day virtual experience, hosted by both organizations.
“The Museum is thrilled to partner with GVSU for the fifth year to celebrate the life of Roger B. Chaffee and space exploration through a series of free public events,” said Rob Schuitema, the GRPM’s Director of Public Programs. “Although the celebration is virtual this year, attendees are going to be fully engaged and intrigued by the incredible lineup of guest speakers and presentations that address space, science, art and more.”
GVSU will host a virtual academic conference consisting of a diverse lineup of panelists including meteor scientists, engineers, artists, experts on virtual reality, physicists, space collection curators and astronauts. Registration required. For more information on GVSU’s guest lecture lineup, schedule and to register, visit gvsu.edu/rogerthat.
“Going virtual has allowed us to include speakers from around the country and around the world (Australia and Vatican City) and will also allow conference participants to tune in from everywhere,” said Deana Weibel, event co-organizer and GVSU professor of anthropology. “For instance, we have a visual effects panel composed of Hugo, Emmy and Oscar awardees. Since this year’s event is virtual, we felt it was important to include discussion from members of an industry that helps take us where we can’t be.”
Public events hosted as part of Roger That! include a livestream of a 1925 sci-fi silent film “Our Heavenly Bodies,” accompanied by the acoustics of the GRPM’s Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ; a webinar led by Dr. Brent Bos, who is a West Michigan native and NASA scientist; and a science fiction panel discussion featuring Hollywood special effects artists. To learn more about public presentations taking place as part of Roger That! visit grpm.org/RogerThat.
Public Virtual Events
The GRPM will kick off its public celebration on Friday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. with a special virtual presentation of the 1925 sci-fi German silent film, “Our Heavenly Bodies,” accompanied by the dynamic sounds of the 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ. This performance will be live streamed from the GRPM’s Meijer Theater and will be available to watch via a Zoom link. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance due to limited spots. Tickets are available by visiting grpm.org/RogerThat.
On Saturday, Feb. 20, at noon Dr. Brent Bos, West Michigan native, senior research physicist at NASA Goddard Flight Center, and camera operator of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission, will host a webinar titled Bombshells at Bennu: Revelations from NASA’s First Asteroid Sample Return Mission. This webinar will be live streamed from the GRPM’s Meijer Theater and will be available to watch via a Zoom link. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance due to limited spots. Tickets are available by visiting grpm.org/RogerThat.
The celebration will conclude with a panel discussion, Art and Special Effects in Science Fiction, on February 20, starting at 3 p.m. The panel will be led by four Hollywood special effects artists: Vincent Di Fate, Ron Miller, Robert Skotak and Rick Sternbach. This group of artists have produced Oscar, Emmy and Hugo winning achievements, and will discuss the role of art in science fiction, while focusing on the introduction of special effects in silent films. The panelists will reflect on Friday’s silent film of “Our Heavenly Bodies” as well as share their own stories, experiences and artwork. Q and A will follow. The panel discussion will be available to watch via a Zoom link. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance due to limited spots. Register at gvsu.edu/rogerthat.
Visitors are encouraged to continue celebrating space exploration by visiting the GRPM’s Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, which features a new show Incoming! that explores asteroids, comets and meteors. A live show, created by the GRPM, will accompany the movie portion of Incoming! in partnership with NASA scientist Brent Bos. In addition to the show, the GRPM also partnered with Brent Bos and created a set of new interactive experiences outside of the Chaffee Planetarium. These include a lunar crater station, meteors under a microscope and a meteor pinball machine.
The Planetarium lobby also features an exhibit with Roger B. Chaffee related artifacts that tell a detailed story of his life.
The GRPM is open during regular business hours with capacity limits. Advance tickets are required for entry. Planetarium lobby interactives and displays are included with general admission. Planetarium shows are an additional cost and can be purchased at grpm.org/planetarium.
Roger B. Chaffee and the Apollo Tragedy
On Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck NASA’s Apollo program when a flash fire occurred in command module 012 during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle being prepared for the first piloted flight, the AS-204 mission. Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, a veteran of Mercury and Gemini missions; Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the astronaut who had performed the first United States extravehicular activity during the Gemini program; and Grand Rapids Native Roger B. Chaffee, an astronaut preparing for his first spaceflight, died in this tragic accident. The Grand Rapids Public Museum renamed its planetarium to the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium the same year. The Planetarium was originally opened in 1994 and has gone through renovations to provide the best experience for Planetarium visitors.
Roger B. Chaffee, born in Grand Rapids, MI, was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut in the Apollo program.
