To celebrate the acquisition of the Sally K. Ride Collection of personal possessions and papers, the National Air and Space Museum presents a program focused on how we seek to preserve the meaning of a person’s life and legacy, particularly that of a woman who is considered an iconic national hero. Tam O’Shaughnessy, Sally Ride’s partner in life and author of a new Ride biography, generously offered historians Valerie Neal and Margaret Weitekamp and archivist Patti Williams access to the papers and possessions of the first American woman in space. What stories, objects, and documents trace the full arc of Sally Ride’s life and represent key moments of achievement? Join this group as they discuss the selected objects and papers that signify Sally Ride the public figure and private person, and how Sally Ride’s story intersects with social and cultural themes of her era.  

After the program, Tam O’Shaughnessy will sign her newly released book, Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering Woman in Space.

This program is made possible through the generous support of Boeing.