Star Trek is not only popular, it’s important for current scholarship and industry! As a franchise, Star Trek has drawn upon real history for its narratives and influenced space history through its compelling depictions of a possible future. In this educational panel program, four presenters will offer brief compelling insights into how relevant Star Trek is today.

Panelists:
• Nancy Reagin, editor of Star Trek and History (2013), will describe the latest popular history scholarship included in this new book. 
• Mike Gold, chief counsel at Bigelow Aerospace, will explain the parallels between the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) being developed for the International Space Station and Star Trek events. 
• Margaret Weitekamp of the Museum’s Space History department will show how the Museum’s Star Trek artifacts illuminate the social and cultural history of spaceflight. 
• Dan Hendrickson, Director for Space Systems, Aerospace Industries Association, will reveal why he spearheaded a crowd-sourced campaign, partnered with the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, to pay for ads promoting human spaceflight to show before new Star Trek film screenings.

Come discover the broader significance of Star Trek! Live long and prosper. 

After the program, Nancy Reagin and Margaret Weitekamp will be signing Star Trek and History at the Museum shop from 2:30 until 4:00 pm.