Talking Through History: One Giant Leap for Mankind

Learn about the history of the Space Race and the trials encountered by the scientists and engineers as they put humans on the moon for the first time in the Apollo 11 Moon Landings.

The 20th Century was a tumultuous time for the world.  Fear was rampant as the Cold War pitted the United States and the Soviet Union against one another for nuclear dominance.  However, through the arms race that erupted from this conflict, something strange happened. Ballistic missile technology evolved into the development of rocket-powered spaceflight.  As these two global superpowers competed to get technology and humans into space for the purpose of national security, this "Space Race" also became a symbol for the technological and ideological shift of the time.  On July 1969, the United States accomplished a feat no one thought possible: getting a man on the Moon.  While the Apollo 11 Mission was a success, the difficulties encountered by the scientists and engineers involved in the program were enormous - before, during, and after the landings.  

Learn more about this topic in our new program, Talking Through History: One Giant Leap for Mankind.  This will be a lecture-based discussion detailing the history of the Space Race, the individuals involved with the Apollo 11 Mission, the issues encountered with getting humans on the Moon, and the tension that gripped the world as the landing was televised. 

This will be a drop-in event at La Plata Branch Library and will be held live in the Meeting Room. Please contact laplataref@ccplonline.org or call us at (301) 934-9001 with any questions!

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