AerospaceFest

September 19th, 2026, 10:30am-4pm.

A colorful informational poster for the 2023 aerospace fest at The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, featuring graphics of an airplane, stars, planets, and a rocket, with statistics about visitors, planetarium viewers, audience members, and participating organizations.

AerospaceFest 2026

Join us on Saturday, September 19th, 2026, 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM

AerospaceFest is open to everyone and designed for science enthusiasts, stargazers, explorers, and learners of all ages. A suggested donation of $5 per person helps support the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center's mission to inspire the next generation of explorers.

AerospaceFest is the Discovery Center’s annual celebration of all things STEM and highlights the exciting ways local companies, universities, non-profits, and other organizations are contributing to science and education. These organizations will be spread around the Discovery Center’s grounds and exhibit halls, sharing their work with visitors through demonstrations, hands-on activities, and discussions.

The event also includes the premiere of a new planetarium show, a Keynote Speaker, and the presentation of the Alex Higgins Memorial Space Camp Scholarship to award winners. Plus, a full line-up of fun on the main stage!

A young girl dressed as an astronaut and a person in a NASA astronaut costume pose in front of a space shuttle display at a museum. The girl is giving a thumbs up while holding her helmet, and the person in the costume is kneeling and pointing. There is a cartoon astronaut cutout with a speech bubble nearby.

Interested in becoming an AerospaceFest Sponsor?

Contact Kelly Thompson at kthompson@starhop.com

Interested in signing up your organization to host a table?

Contact our Education Coordinators at education@starhop.com

Premiering in the Planetarium

Each year at AerospaceFest, the Discovery Center premiers a new planetarium show for our visitors to see for free. The planetarium show runs at 11AM, 12PM, 1PM, 2PM & 3PM. Free tickets can be claimed at the Discovery Center’s front desk upon check in (first come, first served).

Please plan to arrive at the planetarium theater 10 minutes prior to your show. No late seating is permitted.

Discover the chance encounters that have shaped our place in the universe.

Reaching billions of years into the past and peering millions of years into the future, Encounters in the Milky Way is a time-traveling journey about the cosmic movements that shape our galactic neighborhood.

Narrated by Pedro Pascal, witness spectacular moments in our solar system's past and future, including the paths of stars, comets, interstellar debris, and visually stunning gas and dust clouds–and, visualized for the first time, a dramatic, ongoing merger of our galaxy with a smaller satellite galaxy.

Developed by a team that includes astronomers, science visualization experts, and artists, Encounters in the Milky Way is made possible by data from one of the most transformative projects of the past century: the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, dubbed the "billion-star survey" for mapping the precise positions, distances, and motions of nearly 2 billion stars in our galaxy.

Encounters in the Milky Way was developed by the American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org) with the major support and partnership of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Recommended for ages 6 and up | Run time: 25 Minutes

Encounters in the Milky Way

Participants and Vendors

Logo for Tandoor & Curry On Wheels featuring a cartoon chef holding a bowl and a steam-emitting Indian dish, with text 'Tandoor & Curry On Wheels' and 'An Authentic Taste of India'.
Illustration of a vintage train with a woman in a 1950s style white dress, red high heels, and a red headband, sitting on the train's front, holding a hamburger and a chocolate cake. Steam clouds are coming from the train's chimney. The text reads 'The Gravy Train' in stylized red and black font.
Digital illustration of two men with light skin and short hair, wearing aprons with the words 'Good Fellas Grub', holding a fork and a burger, with a circular design, Stars, and a rainbow-colored background, and the text 'Tuo', 'are better than one, etc.'

New Hampshire Science Teachers’ Association

Physical Sciences Inc. 

Plymouth State University Meteorology Dept. 

Raytheon  

Seacoast Science Center

SEE Science Center

Scouting America New Hampshire

Unchartered Tutoring

UNH CRaTER

UNH Observatory

Women in Aviation- Boston Chapter

603 Brix

Aviation Museum of NH 

Belmont High School Astronomy Club

Elbit Systems  

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains

Hanover High School Balloon Team

Mayhem Robotics

MT Washington Observatory

Morpheus Robotics  

NASA Solar System Ambassador

New England Section 99s

New Hampshire Astronomical Society

Annual AerospaceFest Membership Sale

Take advantage of our annual AerospaceFest membership sale! Enjoy unlimited general admission for a full year, free planetarium tickets, discounts on Discovery Center camps, programs, and in the Science Store, plus exclusive member events and early access to select offerings. Visit more, save more, and keep the exploration going all year long!

One Day Only! On September 19, 2026, save 10% on any new or renewing Discovery Center membership. Plus, Veterans, active-duty military members, educators, and seniors receive an additional 10% off any membership level.

To purchase your membership, visit the front desk during AerospaceFest or purchase your membership online using code MOON10 (for 10% off) or STAR20 (for 20% off) at check out. These codes are only valid for September 19th, 2026.

Learn more
A young girl looking through a telescope outdoors on a grassy area with trees, with two women standing nearby.
A young man demonstrates balancing a plastic bottle on a plastic water bottle, holding it with both hands, at an indoor event with art displays and other people in the background.
A woman in an orange shirt is talking to a young girl with long brown hair at a table in a science museum. The table has papers, a red ruler, and a small metallic object. In the background, there are informational posters and exhibits about hurricane
A woman and a young boy, both dressed in NASA space suits, pose together at an indoor event. The woman is kneeling on one knee, smiling, and the boy stands with a backpack, also smiling.
Group of people, including children, adults, and a person dressed as an astronaut, standing in front of a space-themed display at a scholarship event, with NASA logos and posters.
A group of children and an adult at a table decorating paper cups at a craft event.
People at a science and technology expo, with children engaging in hands-on activities at a table.
People gathered around a blue and white aircraft on display outside. An elderly woman in a wheelchair is talking to a man standing next to her. There are several flags, including the American flag, flying in the background on a sunny day.
Children and adults playing with yellow balls at an aerospace exhibit inside a large, modern building with a jet airplane and a hanging banner that says 'aerospacefest'.
A young boy using a step ladder to look into a large telescope, with an adult assisting, in a science or astronomy setting.