So July 20th is Moon Day, and this Tuesday marks 31 years since the United States of America's historic first lunar landing.
It's amazing how much we as a nation, and the world as a whole, embraced that imaginative moment of achievement. And how over the intervening years the will and effort of the nation dwindled away to noteworthy but fewer and lesser accomplishments:
- Additional lunar landings? Check.
- Moon base? Never got around to it.
- Space Station? Okay, we had a flying can for a while. It fell.
- Bigger Space Station? Check. We waited until 1998 to start it. It may be done next year?
- Space Shuttle? Um, we did, but we decided to stop that program.
- Mars and more? Well, we sent some really keen probes.
- Space TeleScope? See "space shuttle" above.
So, we're more earthbound and Earth-focused these days. I think America's take on Moon Day is best summed up by Sherri Osborn of About.com Guide:
"On July 20th, celebrate the day Armstrong and Aldrin land on moon in 1969. Find ideas for crafts, games, and other activities:
- Make a moon collage using star and circle shapes.
- Use a star and circle shaped cookie cutter to make prints of the moon and stars.
- Make a mobile from a styrofoam ball painted like the moon and cut-out star shapes.
- Make moons out of paper plates."
Oh Boy - Paper Plate Moons. Come on over and we'll make some together...I'll supply the string.
Respectfully yours,
Announcer Mike
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