UND Aerospace Community Day is Saturday, April 6

What: UND Aerospace Community Day.

When: Saturday, April 6, 2024, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Open house event will be held at Odegard, Clifford, Ryan and Robin Halls, as well as at UND Flight Operations at the Grand Forks airport.

Who: The event is free to attend and open to all ages, though children must be accompanied by an adult.

Background: UND Aerospace Community Day is set to take off on Saturday, April 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Members of the community and media members are invited to attend a day filled with fun and prizes.

On April 6, all facilities in the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, from the west side of campus to Grand Forks International Airport, will be open to tour.

Community Day is one of the region’s biggest “pop-up” science museums, where visitors can learn about UND Aerospace’s academic departments, flight facilities and industry partners.

It’s also an opportunity for community members to have some fun! Visitors will be able to try out aircraft and spacecraft simulators, sit inside a real aircraft and see what it is like to appear in a TV weather studio. Other fun activities include a tornado simulator and static electric generator, along with several other science-minded activities.

The first 500 children attending the event can receive a free T-shirt, and there are a number of backpacks also set to be given away to children.

People will also have the opportunity to see weather balloon launches outside Clifford Hall, at 11 a.m., noon and 1 and 2 p.m.

Those wishing to take a break and have a seat can do so in the Odegard Hall Atmospherium, where several different videos will be played. Videos include: “Totality!,” which explores the nature of solar eclipses; the children’s animated feature “Larry Cat in Space;” “Sky Quest,” narrated by Roxann Dawson, who played Chief Engineer B’Elanna Torres on TV’s “Star Trek: Voyager,” and “Forward! To the Moon,” featuring Kari Byron from “Crash Test World” and “MythBusters.”

Visitors coming to Odegard, Clifford, Ryan and Robin Halls are encouraged to pick up an Aerospace Passport, which can be stamped at several “hands-on” stations throughout the facilities. People showing the passport can receive toy airplanes and seed packets of selected local pollinators when they leave, along with other prizes.

Since it began in 2018, the event has drawn thousands of people to tour and experience all things UND Aerospace. Aerospace Community Day is typically held every other year.

Visitors can park in any UND Aerospace parking lot, outside of Odegard, Clifford, Ryan and Robin Halls. Parking tickets will not be issued for visitors parking in those lots on the day of the event. Also, a bus stop at Clifford Hall, on University Avenue, will be available throughout the event to transport visitors to and from activities at UND Flight Operations at Grand Forks International Airport. There, visitors can see UND’s fleet of aircraft and view a LEGO display of UND Aerospace.

Details about Aerospace Community Day can be found on the event’s Facebook page, as well as on the UND Aerospace website.

Sponsors for the event include Rydell Toyota of Grand Forks, Cirrus Aircraft, Delta and Piper.