Event Venue
The Virginia Air & Space Center is a 110,000 square foot facility on the waterfront at 600 Settlers Landing Road in Downtown Hampton, Virginia. It is home to the Apollo 12 Command Module, a three-billion year-old moon rock, a stunning collection of historic spacecraft and aircraft suspended from the 90-foot ceiling, a collection of over 100 hands-on exhibits, and a five-story 3D IMAX® theater.
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About TEDx Events
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxNASA@SiliconValley, where x = independently organized TED event. At our event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connections. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.
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More TEDxNASA Events »
NASA Langley Research Center together with the National Institute of Aerospace launched the innovative, awe-inspiring TEDxNASA event at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in November 2009. In 2010, the community of TEDx organizers picked United Nations Universal Children’s Day to host multiple events for youth across the world over one 24- hour period.
Eager to participate, the TEDxNASA partners sought a place to hold a similarly extraordinary experience for the local youth community. The majesty of the Virginia Air & Space Center, a veritable wonderland of science and technology, was the obvious choice.
Working together, our three hosts produced the phenomenally successful TEDxYouth@NASA: Be Astronomical! An adventure in STEM and self-discovery on November 20, 2010. With a fresh new theme, that same winning format continued in 2011. Featuring short talks, videos, interactive exhibits, games and prizes, TEDxYouth@NASA 2011 inspires students to Get CONNECTED... to knowledge, to creativity, to collaboration and to their passions.
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NASA Langley Research Center
When the United States decided to return to the moon, NASA turned to Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where the U.S. space program started. Established as the United States’ first civilian aeronautics laboratory in 1917, Langley researchers focus on some of the biggest technical challenges of our time: global climate change, access to space and revolutionizing airplanes and the air transportation system.
Langley scientists study the atmosphere to improve life here on Earth and to better understand the conditions planes and spacecraft fly through. Langley engineers work on technologies to make civilian and military planes safer, quieter and more efficient, while designing tomorrow’s supersonic and even hypersonic aircraft. Langley researchers analyze materials and structures to help spacecraft withstand unforgiving extraterrestrial environments. NASA Langley’s decades of contributions in aerospace, atmospheric sciences and technology commercialization are engineering a better future for all of us.
National Institute of Aerospace
The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), located in Hampton, Virginia, is a non-profit research and graduate education institute formed by a consortium of top research universities to ensure a national capability to support NASA’s mission by expanding collaboration with academia and leveraging expertise inside and outside NASA.
NIA performs research in a broad range of disciplines including air traffic systems, aviation safety, flight systems, materials and structures, space exploration, and atmospheric sciences. The institute’s graduate program offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the fields of engineering and science through its university partners: Georgia Tech, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion University and the College of William & Mary.
Virginia Air and Space Center
The Virginia Air & Space Center, the visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base, provides a spectacular environment for exploring national achievements in aviation and space exploration while stimulating interest in the sciences. The Center has provided entertaining, educational experiences to over 5 million visitors since 1992. The 110,000 square foot facility on the waterfront in Downtown Hampton, Virginia, is home to the Apollo 12 Command Module, a three-billion year-old moon rock, historic spacecraft and aircraft suspended from the 90-foot ceiling, over 100 hands-on exhibits, and a five-story 3D IMAX® theater.
Filling a special niche in the region for science education, the Center offers quality school field trips, interactive demonstrations, tours, a museum outreach and after-school programs. The Center has contracts for services to provide education programs to several local school systems.
Additionally, the Center offers Out-of-this-World summer, holiday and spring break science camps, and overnight camp-ins for special groups and the general public. Workshops at the Center enhance teacher’s abilities to educate in the field of science. The museum’s NASA Educator Resource Center provides educators with a wealth of curriculum-enhancing science materials. All educational programs and teacher workshops at the Center are designed to assist with teaching the Virginia Standards of Learning guidelines.