Sally Ride lived her life with extraordinary energy, passion, curiosity and joy. All astronauts lead exciting lives, but some are larger than life even before they reach for the stars. Whether in the classroom or on the tennis court, in the lab or on the launch pad—it was clear from the start that Dr. Ride would reach great heights.

Each June we mark the anniversary of one exciting episode of Sally’s extraordinary life—the first night she looked back at Earth from space and experienced the special exhilaration and joy that energy, focus, and passion can bring to those who reach for the stars. Early interests and clear role models can lead to excellence in any field—particularly science, technology, engineering, and math, where not even the sky's the limit.

Smithsonian Affiliates across the country will be holding their own Sally’s Night celebrations throughout June.

More about Sally's Night

Events By State

Alabama

Event: STEAM Saturday

Host: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Location: 520 16th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203

Date and Time: June 15 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (Central Time)

Description: BCRI will host several STEAM Saturday events throughout the summer. The June 15th event will be an extension of our annual Juneteenth celebration and our partners at the Southern Center for Broadening Participation in STEM will host fun, standards-based STEAM activities for festival goers.

  • No Tickets Required
  • Audiences: Children & Families
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Alaska

No events listed in Alaska 

Arizona

Event: Night Camp at Western Spirit: Space the Final Frontier

Host: Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West

Location: 3830 N Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Date and Time: June 14 from 4:30 to 8:30 pm (Mountain Time)

Description: Scottsdale's Museum of the West will host an evening camp for youth that will focus on the profound impact and connection that Native American culture and Western employers have on understanding the universe, astronomy, and exploration. The unique blend of cultures will be explored through hands-on creative experiences, star gazing, and dinner. 

  • Audiences: Children & Families, and Students
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Arkansas

No events listed in Arkansas

California

No events listed in California 

Colorado

No events listed in Colorado 

Connecticut

No events listed in Connecticut 

Delaware

No events listed in Delaware 

Florida

Event: Sally's Night at the History Center

Host: Orange County Regional History Center

Location: 65 East Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801

Date and Time: June 20 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Description: Join the Orange County Regional History Center for Sally’s Night, a celebration, in honor astronaut Sally Ride, that opens doors to the wonder of our universe and honors women in space. This event, taking place during the museum’s monthly free Third Thursday, will feature guided, family-oriented activities and will reference artifacts onsite related to space travel and NASA astronauts. Also, a special guest from Orlando-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation will share insights into their experiences studying and working in a field that supports the aerospace industry.

  • Free
  • No Tickets Required
  • Audiences: Adults, Children & Families, Educators, Students
  • Spanish Language Resources Available

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Georgia

No events listed in Georgia 

Hawaii

No events listed in Hawaii 

Idaho

No events listed in Idaho 

Illinois

No events listed in Illinois 

Indiana

No events listed in Indiana

Iowa

No events listed in Iowa 

Kansas

Event: Sally's Night 

Host: Cosmosphere

Location: 1100 N Plum St, Hutchinson, KS 67501

Date and Time: June 14 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm (Central Time)

Description: Join us to celebrate Sally's Night at the Cosmosphere, honoring astronaut Dr. Sally Ride. Hear stories of the "Rocket Girls," who were human computers at NASA and JPL from the 1940s to the 1960s.

  • Audiences: Adults, Children & Families, Students, and Educators
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Kentucky

No events listed in Kentucky 

Louisiana

No events listed in Louisiana 

Maine

No events listed in Maine 

Maryland

No events listed in Maryland 

Massachusetts

Event: Sally's Night Celebration

Host: Christa McAuliffe Center

Location: 100 State St, Framingham, MA 01702

Date and Time: June 20 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Description: Participate in a fully-immersive Expeditions Mars space mission simulation with youth and adults paired together on stations (paid, registration required)! Watch a full-dome film in the Framingham State University planetarium (free, registration required)! Learn about space and collect cool giveaways with NASA Solar System Ambassadors (free)!

  • Tickets Required
  • Audiences: Adults, Educators, Children & Families, and Students
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Michigan

Event: Celebrating Sally Ride

Host: Dennos Museum Center

Location: 1410 College Drive, Traverse City, MI 49686

Date and Time: June 27 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Description: In honor of Sally's Night, we will be hosting Space and STEAM related activities in our Discovery Gallery followed by a film screening of Zero Gravity. We will be highlighting the new loan from Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum that the Dennos Museum is installing in May.

  • Tickets Required
  • Audiences: Adults, Educators, Children & Families, and Students
  • Spanish Language Resources

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Minnesota

No events listed in Minnesota 

Mississippi

No events listed in Mississippi 

Missouri

No events listed in Missouri

Montana

No events listed in Montana 

Nebraska

No events listed in Nebraska 

Nevada

No events listed in Nevada 

New Hampshire

No events listed in New Hampshire 

New Jersey

No events listed in New Jersey 

New Mexico

Event: Sally's Night

Host: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

Location: 1801 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104

Date and Time: June 20 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm (Mountain Time)

Description: In conjunction with the temporary exhibit Sci-Fi & Sci-Fact, the film Contact will be shown at 6 p.m. At 5:30, two guests from the Very Large Array will relive stories about the filming of Contact, review the movie for scientific and historical accuracy, and talk about research at the VLA.

  • Free
  • Audiences: Adults
  • Now Spanish Language Resources Available

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New York

No events listed in New York 

North Carolina

Event: Through the Looking Glass: Sally's Night

Host: The Schiele Museum of Natural History & Planetarium

Location: 1500 E Garrison Blvd, Gastonia, NC 28054

Date and Time: June 21 from 6:30 to 10:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Description: Join us for an out-of-this-world experience as we explore the night sky! View the Sea of Tranquility, prospective landing site for Artemis 3, while learning more about the upcoming mission and putting the first woman on the moon. Telescopes and hands-on activities will help you discover more about astronomy and women in the field during this exciting event!

  • No Tickets Required
  • Audiences: Adults, Educators, Children & Families, and Students
  • Spanish Language Resources Available

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North Dakota

No events listed in North Dakota 

Ohio

No events listed in Ohio

Oklahoma

No events listed in Oklahoma

Oregon

Event: Sally's Night Celebration

Host: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

Location: 

Date and Time: June 20 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Pacific Time)

Description: In celebration of Sally’s Night, we welcome young students to discover how space and scientific exploration inspires and fuels future generations! As a tribute to pioneering astronaut and physicist, Sally Ride, enjoy a free science lesson and STEM stations featuring space-themed activities throughout the evening.

  • Tickets Required
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Pennsylvania

No events listed in Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island

No events listed in Rhode Island 

South Carolina

No events listed in South Carolina

South Dakota

No events listed in South Dakota 

Tennessee

Event: Designing Curiosity: A Sally's Night Mission to Mars

Host: American Museum of Science and Energy

Location: 115 E Main St, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Date and Time: June 18 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Description: Join us as we celebrate Sally's Night...during the day! Throughout the day, guests will have the opportunity to take part in several STEM and space related activities, including demonstrations, crafts, films, games, and more! 

  • Free
  • Audiences: Adults, Children & Families, Educators, and Students
  • Spanish Language Resources

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Texas

Event: Sally's Celebration

Host: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Location: 801 W Irving Blvd, Irving, TX 75060

Date and Time: June 22 from 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm (Central Time)

Description: Join us for Sally's Night at Irving Archives and Museum! Celebrate Sally Ride with story time, star wheel crafting, wind tunnel rocket building, astronaut challenges, prizes, and more. Fun for the whole family. Don't miss this chance to ignite your curiosity about space!

  • Audience: Children and Families
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Event: Sally's Night

Host: Irving Archives and Museum

Location: 1600 Gendy St, Fort Worth, TX 76107

Date and Time: June 18 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (Central Time)

Description: Celebrate the amazing contributions of women in STEM, celebrate with activities, science, and more focused on amazing women in STEM. Don’t forget to stop by the Charlie Mary Noble Planetarium, the first named after a woman, and learn about the female astronomer who inspires us to explore beyond our planet.

  • Free
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Event: Sally's Night

Host: Space Center Houston

Location: Space Center Houston, 1601 E NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058

Date and Time: June 22 from 9:00 am and 3:00 pm (Central Time)

Description: Join us for a full day of activities celebrating the 41st anniversary of one exciting episode of Dr. Sally K. Ride’s extraordinary life—STS-7, the historic mission when she became the first American woman in space.

  • Tickets Required
  • Audience: Adults, Children and Families
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

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Utah

No events listed in Utah 

Vermont

No events listed in Vermont 

Virginia

No events listed in Virginia

Washington

No events listed in Washington

Washington, DC

Event: Sally's Night at Solstice Saturday

Host: Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

Location: 600 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20560

Date and Time: June 22 from 6:00 to 11:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Description: Stay up late to celebrate the summer solstice and go on a Cosmic Journey up and down the National Mall! As part of the Smithsonian-wide Solstice Saturday event, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, will be open until 11 pm.

This year, the Museum will be celebrating Sally's Night as part of Solstice Saturday. Each June we mark the anniversary of Sally Ride becoming the first American woman in space with activities that explore the wonder of our universe and shine the light on women and underrepresented genders in STEM.

  • Free
  • Tickets Required
  • Audiences: Adults and Children & Families
  • No Spanish Language Resources Available

Plan Your Visit

West Virginia

No events listed in West Virginia 

Wisconsin

No events listed in Wisconsin 

Wyoming

No events listed in Wyoming