12:30 pm to 1:45 pm

Location:
Grossmont College (map)
El Cajon, CA 92020

Grossmont College Women’s History Month presents Col. M. W. “Wally” Funk. Colonel Funk’s talk will take us on an amazing journey through her historic aviation career. Sharing lessons learned along the way, she will provide an inspiring message for those of any generation with goals to fulfill. Among her many “firsts”:

• 1957: Top-of–class in flight school
• 1961: Youngest of “Mercury 13” women selected for astronaut testing
• 1971-74: First woman to complete FAA Aviation Inspector course.  First woman NTSB investigator
• 1975: 1st place Pacific Air Race, San Diego to Santa Rosa
• 1987: Chief Pilot at Emery Aviation College

Wally is still active in her advocacy for aviation safety, and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs. She has been featured in such magazines and books as “Life,” “Ms Magazine,”  “People,” and the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aviation and Space.

The presentation will be located in Building 26 Lecture Theater 220.

For more information, please contact Dr. Philip Blanco via e-mail at: Philip.Blanco (a) gcccd.edu

10:00 am to 2:00 pm

San Diego Air & Space Museum (map)
2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA

The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is preparing to host its 7^th Annual Space Day celebration. Space Day is a great family event, and will feature demonstrations, give-aways, and hands-on activities with local and national space experts. The San Diego Space Society and Mars Society will be in attendance as some of the local experts. Previous year’s presenters also include: NASA, SDAA (San Diego Astronomy Association), DSN (the Deep Space Network), JPL, SETI, UCSD EarthKAM, The Planetary Society, and others.

As an extra bonus, the museum’s space gallery is open for viewing throughout the event, which includes a flown Apollo spacecraft, moon rocks and space suits.

For more information, call (619) 234-8291 ext 119 or click here.

7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

The Mars Society-San Diego presents:

MARS MOVIE NIGHT: ROCKETMAN (1997)

Fred Z. Randall is geeky and obnoxious spacecraft designer, who gets the chance to make his dream come true and travel to Mars as a member of the first manned flight.

Showtime is 7:00pm at Studio 106 in the Golden Hill area just east of downtown San Diego, CA.

Admission is FREE, and popcorn is provided (you can bring snacks or drinks to share).

Please RSVP, as seating is limited.

Location:
Balboa Park Activity Center
2145 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA

The 56th Annual Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair will be held on March 23 – 28, 2010. Judges from the San Diego Space Society will present awards to outstanding space-related projects at the Fair.

The event is not open to the public, but SD Space award winners will be featured on the website and invited to present their projects at Yuri’s Night San Diego.

2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Location:
Serra Mesa Branch Library (map)
9005 Aero Dr, San Diego, CA

Join us for the March general meeting of the San Diego Space Society. This month’s topic is “Mars Research on Earth.” Gerry Williams will present work done this season at the Mars Society’s FMARS and MDRS stations, and Maria Catalina will present “Global ACCESS to Atacama”, a project of The Astronaut Teacher Alliance (TATA).

Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in this discussion. Email events@sdspace.org if you have any questions.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Location:
Petco Park (map)
San Diego, CA

Expo Day at the San Diego Science Festival brings together over 150 hands-on science activities and stage performances for people of all ages and interest levels.

You can see actual DNA and perform DNA extraction techniques, use your olfactory gland (nose) to identify the organic molecules that create the flavors, aromas, and colors in your favorite foods, get an up close look at the science of baseball, and put your forensic skills to the test to solve a birthday cake mystery by analyzing saliva samples of the suspects.

Performers will bring science to life with a display of impressive reptiles in “Close Encounters of the Cold Blooded Kind,” the Science of Magic will be revealed as objects disappear before your eyes, dry ice will be used to create bubbling potions to produce a large-scale theatrical effect, and sing along as you increase your science knowledge with the Galapagos Mountain Boys performing their scientific inspired folk songs about the Big Bang, star formation, cosmology, anthropology, and more.

The San Diego Space Society booth will allow visitors to get hands-on experience with rocket science.

2:00 am to 3:00 pm

Location:
Casa Machado (map)
3750 John J Montgomery Drive, San Diego, CA

The board of directors of the San Diego Space Society meets monthly to discuss chapter business and plan future activities. This month’s meeting will feature a recap of the recent SpaceUp unconference, plus planning for upcoming events including the San Diego Science Festival, Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, and Yuri’s Night.

SD Space members and the public are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to events@sdspace.org if you’d like to participate.

5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

Location:
Griffin Gate Room, Grossmont College (map)
8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, CA

As part of the San Diego Science Festival, the San Diego Space Society presents “Science at the Edge of Space”, an evening with a panel of scientists and engineers at the forefront of suborbital and microgravity space research.

Space science used to be limited to million-dollar experiments with multi-year timelines, but a revolution in suborbital and microgravity science is underway. New launch vehicles and dedicated science platforms will be available starting in 2010, with costs and timelines within the reach of research companies and even amateur scientists. Leaders of this revolution will provide an overview of the new platforms and the science they’re capable of, then take questions as a panel.

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please RSVP to events@sdspace.org to attend and receive details.

7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

The SAN DIEGO VINTAGE SCI-FI film club presents:

THE GREEN SLIME

(USA/Japan/Australia, 1968) 90 minutes

A giant asteroid is heading toward Earth so astronauts disembark from a space station to blow it up. The mission is successful, and they return to the station unknowingly bringing back a gooey green substance that mutates into one-eyed tentacled monsters that feed off electricity. Soon the station is crawling with the Green Slime, and people are being zapped left and right!

Also Showing:  BATMAN 1943 Serial, episode #10 … and … a Vintage Sci-Fi cartoon.

Showtime is 7:00pm at Studio 106 in the Art Union Building at 2323 Broadway, San Diego 92102. Admission is FREE, and popcorn is provided (you can bring snacks or drinks to share). Please RSVP to SDVSF.

For more information, please visit: San DiegoVintage Sci-Fi

7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

The Mars Society-San Diego’s monthly MARS MOVIE NIGHT presents a SNEAK PREVIEW of a new 2009 Mars documentary film, 83 minutes

A specific group of Americans dream of going to Mars one day. They firmly believe that it is absolutely necessary for the human race to explore the universe. The first step is to travel to Mars in search of traces of life and establish a new civilization.

Also another documentary by National Geographic, MARS: MAKING THE NEW EARTH (2009), 45 minutes

The notion of bringing Mars to life – transforming a cold, dry, uninhabitable desert into a living planet – is called terraforming, has been around for almost a century. Initially just a science fiction concept, it has become a subject of serious scientific investigation. Recent discoveries of rocks and minerals found by the Mars rovers show it must once have had warmer, habitable living conditions. Now, using photorealistic CGI visualizations, we’ll make a science fiction dream of Mars – a world of trees, rivers and blue skies – a plausible future, bringing it to life after three and a half billion years in a deep freeze.

Also a Duck Dodgers cartoon.

Showtime is 7:00pm at Studio 106 in the Art Union Building at 2323 Broadway, San Diego 92102. Admission is FREE, and popcorn is provided (you can bring snacks or drinks to share). Please RSVP to Mars Movie Night.

For more information, please visit the MarsMovieGuide.com.