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Huntsville AL's U.S. Space and Rocket Center facing permanent closure, Goal Exceeded!

Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:50 am
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
54324 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:50 am
Tweets from local reporter covering a press conference this morning:
quote:

US Space and Rocket Center officials say they can’t wait for someone to swoop in with a cape and save them. They are doing two things to save themselves. 1. They are letting go 90% of their personnel. 2. They are launching the Save Space Camp fundraiser.


quote:

US Space and Rocket Center officials say they need to raise $1.5 million to stay open after October - when they will run out of money.


Anyone who has ever been to the U.S. Space and Rocket center knows that it is a great place to visit and learn about our country's history of space exploration. However, it is not only the museum that is at threat of permanent closure. Space Camp, which so many kids dream of attending, will be shuttered as well. They have already cancelled all Space Camp activities for the foreseeable future, and there is no restart date in sight.

Those over the Space and Rocket Center have started a GoFundMe with hopes of raising the money to keep open themselves. I don't know what grants or loans they do or do not qualify for, but if anyone here appreciates what they do and the experiences they offer, you can help.

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center doesn't receive any money from the state, it is a self-sustaining agency. It has been the #1 paid tourist attraction in the state for 7 consecutive years and helps generate $120 million a year.

Save Space Camp

Edited to add a link to the US Space and Rocket Center Foundation website where, I believe, direct donations can be made.

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center Foundation

Boeing donates $500,000

Boeing donates $500,00

quote:

Boeing has made a $500,000 leadership gift to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Save Space Camp campaign. Launched Tuesday, July 28, the campaign is seeking to raise a minimum of $1.5 million to sustain operations of the museum and to be able to reopen Space Camp in April 2021.


SAIC Donates $250,000, and with that they have exceeded their goal!

SAIC donates $250,000 to break the goal


quote:

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center issued this press release Tuesday afternoon:
SAIC has made a $250,000 gift to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Save Space Camp campaign, pushing it over its initial goal just one week after the effort launched. The campaign began Tuesday, July 28, with the hope of raising a minimum of $1.5 million to sustain museum operations and to be able to reopen Space Camp in April 2021.




This post was edited on 8/4/20 at 5:47 pm
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
37537 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:51 am to
quote:

Space Camp, which so many kids dream of attending, will be shuttered as well. They have already cancelled all Space Camp activities for the foreseeable future, and there is no restart date in sight.


Space camp was the greatest camp ever. I may actually donate to this go fund me
Posted by Jon Ham
Member since Jun 2011
28590 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:52 am to
With all the stupid shite our fed gov spends money on we can’t keep that place open? I went there as a kid and loved it.
Posted by MorbidTheClown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2015
66003 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:53 am to
getting ready to throw another $1T at deadbeats. carve out a little for this place.
Posted by IAmNERD
Member since May 2017
19246 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:53 am to
quote:

Space Camp, which so many kids dream of attending, will be shuttered as well

I'll admit, I always wanted to go, but I doubt kids these days have even heard of it unless they stumbled upon a YouTube video or something.
Posted by upgrayedd
Lifting at Tobin's house
Member since Mar 2013
134865 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:54 am to
You would think Elon Musk would exploit this opportunity to be a hero
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
54324 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:56 am to
quote:

I'll admit, I always wanted to go, but I doubt kids these days have even heard of it unless they stumbled upon a YouTube video or something.

You'd be surprised. I have a friend in Australia whom I met when he chaperoned his kid and a group of other kids for a Space Camp trip a few years back.

Another good friend who lives outside of Atlanta had a daughter who raised the money herself to go two years in a row. That was 2016-17.
Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
119222 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 11:58 am to
quote:

You would think Elon Musk would exploit this opportunity to be a hero


Or Bezos or Gates.
Posted by WDE24
Member since Oct 2010
54140 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:00 pm to
Before Covid, they packed kids in every week for months from all over the country and the world for space camp.

My kid was scheduled to go this spring but was cancelled due to the shut down.
Posted by Nature Boy
Negatiger
Member since Jan 2008
18988 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:01 pm to
FWIW I visited there with my kid a while back and it is really dated, and in desperate need of a makeover. I don't like seeing places like this close, and I hate that COVID may be part of the reason, but honestly the place is kind of a dump, and that is probably a big part of the reason for their struggles. COVID is likely just the straw that broke the camel's back.

I hope it can be sold or sponsored by someone. It's a cool concept and there is some really cool old shite there, but it needs a makeover, investment, and marketing. It's dated as hell. Not impossible to save.
Posted by The Nino
Member since Jan 2010
21521 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:03 pm to
quote:

You would think Elon Musk would exploit this opportunity to be a hero
SpaceX Camp
Posted by IAmNERD
Member since May 2017
19246 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:13 pm to
That's awesome then. I guess not being a kid anymore, it doesn't really come up in conversations I have. Glad to hear that kids still have an interest in it.
Posted by Ross
Member since Oct 2007
47824 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:14 pm to
oh damn that’s no bueno
Posted by Ross
Member since Oct 2007
47824 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:15 pm to
They’ve done some renovations in the last two years.
Posted by WDE24
Member since Oct 2010
54140 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:16 pm to
I would think there are at least 15 contractors with a presence in Huntsville that could contribute $100,000.
Posted by WDE24
Member since Oct 2010
54140 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:18 pm to
quote:

They’ve done some renovations in the last two years
And had plans for more. The reality is that a huge majority of their revenue, outside of sponsorships and donations, is made in the spring and summer, which they missed out on this year.
Posted by Ross
Member since Oct 2007
47824 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:21 pm to
I’m going to run up the chain if my specific DoD contractor has any plans to donate

Obviously nobody in Huntsville wants to see this thing close
Posted by RAB
Member since Aug 2019
989 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:22 pm to
quote:

COVID is likely just the straw that broke the camel's back.


Actually, 2019 was a record breaking year in terms of visitors. Noteworthy visitors last year included Mike Pence and Buzz Aldrin.
Posted by TigerFred
Feeding hamsters
Member since Aug 2003
27175 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:25 pm to
How many people are employed there?

Letting 90% of staff go.
Posted by T
Member since Jan 2004
9889 posts
Posted on 7/28/20 at 12:26 pm to
I was never a contestant on Double Dare so I never got to go to Space Camp.
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