Michael Mackowski's
Personal Appearances and Related Outreach Activities
I still do a fair amount
of outreach to students and the general public although not as
much as I used to. This is a listing of some of my activities
since 2013.
2024
5/12/24
– I was featured in the “Community” section of the
May 12 edition of the
Gilbert Sun newspaper. The topic was the
relationship between my engineering
career and my hobby of scale model building.
June
2024 – I was the featured artist in the Summer 2024
issue of “Pulsar,” the
quarterly publication of the International
Astronomical Artists.
10/22/24
- I (with Scott Fouse) staffed an info booth at the
SciTech Festival event at
the Arizona Science Center. This was on behalf of
AIAA, and we had the air
bottle rocket demo and gravity bottles. We collected
contact info from several
dozen educators.
2023
7/17/23 – I was the guest on the
“Space and Things” podcast. I talked about the lost missions
of Gemini.
4/10/23 – I gave my “Whatever
Happened to SSTO?” talk to the ASU AIAA Student Branch in
Tempe. Tim Takahashi hosted, and there were about 14
students.
1/10 – 1/14/23 – Moon base
modeling camp at U of Arizona, Tucson. Audience was a dozen
or so college students and instructors.
2022
12/17/22 – “Taking Flight”
aviation STEM outreach at EVIT on Power Road. I staffed a
display table with hands on activities for Phoenix AIAA. I
had the air bottle rocket and gravity jugs. Maybe interacted
with 100 people. Paul Kaup organized the event.
10/1/22 – Astronomy Weekend at
the Arizona Science Center
I staffed a table with other
members of the Phoenix Chapter of the NSS. I had the air
bottle rocket and gravity jugs.
9/27/22 – 2022 STEM &
Innovation Summit
I (with Paul Kaup and two
students) staffed an info booth at the SciTech Festival
event at the Arizona Science Center. Paul had his RC
airplanes and rockets and I had the air bottle rocket demo.
Hundreds of attendees, mostly students and junior high kids.
5/6/22 – Award Presentation at
Zuni Hills Elementary School
I presented the Trailblazing STEM
educator Award (sponsored by AIAA and Challenger Center) to
Jennifer Cheesman, a 6th grade teacher here. It
was at a 5-8 grade assembly to about 400 students.
4/7/22 – Space and Things Podcast
I was the guest speaker for the
monthly meeting of the Phoenix Astronomical Society on Zoom.
I gave the presentation “Introduction to the National Space
Society.” There were 22 attendees. Stuart Brackney was the
host.
2/10/22 – Space and Things
Podcast
I was interviewed on this space
enthusiast podcast hosted by Emily Carney and Dave Giles.
The subject was mostly my career in aerospace and my model
building and books.
1/6/22 – AIAA
SciTech Forum
I was session chair for a History topic
in person in San Diego for this national conference.
2021
8/15/21 – IPMS National Convention (Las Vegas)
I gave a talk on detailing Space Shuttle models.
7/15 – 18/21 – Spacefest XI (Tucson)
I had a display of my models and books in the artist area.
5/18/21 - AIAA St. Louis Section Technical Specialist
meeting
I presented "The Lost Missions of Gemini" via Zoom.
5/15/21 – NSS Phoenix Chapter Meeting
In observance of the 40th anniversary of the first Space
Shuttle flight, I gave a talk on the history of that program
and its legacy.
1/14/21 – AIAA SciTech Forum
I presented my paper on "The Lost Missions of Gemini" via
Zoom for this national conference.
2020
11/7/20 – The Space Fam Show (virtual)
I was a guest panelist on this on-line space enthusiast
webcast, hosted by Ron Sparkman. I talked about paper
models, advocacy, and STEM.
2/8/20 - Buckeye Air Fair
I helped run a STEM hands-on exhibit, for AIAA and NSS, at
this STEM event, part of the SciTech Festival.
2019
7/19/19 – Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
I gave the keynote talk at the Arizona Science Center in
downtown Phoenix for their Apollo anniversary celebration.
The Phoenix NSS chapter also had a display table there.
8/9/19 – IPMS National Convention (Chattanooga)
I gave a talk on building models of conceptual Gemini
spacecraft (“The Lost legacy of Gemini, Part 2”).
5/23 – 25/19 - FanFusion Science Panels
I was on several hard science panels at this big sci fi
convention in downtown Phoenix. The panels included
Hypersonic Missiles and Airborne Lasers, Countdown to
Commercial Space, and Arizona in Space.
3/23/19 – SpaceUp Phoenix
I organized, hosted, and gave a talk at SpaceUp Phoenix,
held at Mesa Community College. This day-long un-conference
drew around 60 people. See http://SpaceUpPhx.org for
details.
3/14/19 – Venture Café, St. Louis
I gave a presentation on my career and hobbies, “Adventures
of a Space Crafter” in person in St. Louis.
2/9/19 - Space Night at Mesquite High School (Gilbert, AZ)
I gave my talk on “How Satellites Work”
1/29/19 – Aerospace Day
I helped the NSS chapter put on an info table at the State
Capitol ground for an outreach event sponsored by the
Aerospace States Association.
2018
11/11/18 – NSS Phoenix Meeting
I gave a talk on “Launching and Operating ICESat-2” at the
group’s monthly meeting.
8/1 – 4/18 - IPMS National Convention (Phoenix)
I was the seminar chair for this event, organizing over 50
hours of programming.
7/5 – 8/18 – Spacefest VIII (Tucson)
I had a display of my models and books in the artist area.
2017
6/9-11/16 - SpaceFest VII (Tucson)
I had a display of my space models and hosted hands-on paper
model building of the University of Arizona’s OSIRIS-REx
spacecraft. Similar to 2016.
5/30/17 – International Space Development Conference, St.
Louis
I gave a talk on practical ideas for successful NSS
chapters.
3/31/17 – Space Night at BASIS School
With some other Orbital employees, we had a hands-on display
at this STEM event.
2016
11/17/16 – NSS Phoenix Meeting
I gave a talk on the history of the Gemini program at the
group’s monthly meeting.
8/3 – 6/16 - IPMS National Convention (Columbia, SC)
I gave a talk on building models of conceptual Gemini
spacecraft (“The Lost Legacy of Gemini”).
6/9-11/16 - SpaceFest VII (Tucson)
I had a display of my space models and hosted hands-on paper
model building of the University of Arizona’s OSIRIS-REx
spacecraft.
6/3/16 - Phoenix Comicon
I was on two Comicon panels, one on the Science of Wonder
Woman, and another on interstellar travel.
4/13/16 - ASU Discovery marketing session
I was invited to be on a panel of six “friends and alumni”
who support the Discovery lecture series. The idea was to
continue to improve the Discovery lecture series.
4/12/16 - Southwest MakerFest
I organized a model display for our Phoenix chapter of IPMS.
We also did a make and take where kids built nearly 100 snap
together model kits.
2015
10/20/15 - ASU Freshman Engineering Career Exploration Night
I organized a team of Orbital ATK engineers and managers to
talk to engineering students about careers in the field and
answer their questions about their plans at the university.
10/10/15 - “LibraryCon” at the SE Regional Library in
Gilbert
NSS was invited to have an info table at this four-hour
local comic-con. Glen Gassaway and I staffed a table with
Chuck Lesher’s poster on cis-lunar resources, the space
colony model, copies of Ad Astra, and a moon globe. I gave
an updated version of my “Road to Mars” talk.
10/2/15 - A Night with the Stars - evening program at Mesa's
Arizona Museum of Natural History
The museum asked us (AIAA/Orbital) to put on our display for
this event, so we took the AIAA space hands-on display (AIAA
tablecloth, gravity bottles. air rocket). About 200 people
attended, mostly families and a lot of Girls Scouts
(apparently not expected).
8/9/15 - ASU SEDS
I was their guest speaker (after the planned speaker
cancelled the day before) and I gave a my talk on careers in
aerospace to 22 students.
7/28/15 - The Space Show
I was the guest on Dr. David Livingston’s podcast. It went
for 90 minutes and went very well. I talked about my memoir,
space advocacy in general, and model building.
7/14/15 – Pluto Palooza
I helped organize an event at ASU celebrating the New
Horizons exploration of Pluto. In addition to making some
remarks to the nearly 200 attendees, I arranged for public
affairs handouts (stickers, bookmarks, and info flyers) from
NASA and the National Space Society.
7/11-12/15 - Arizona SciTech Festival leadership camp for
school Chief Science Officers
I served as a technology mentor and chaperone for two days
of this retreat for over 100 student representatives from
grades 7 thru 12.
5/29/15 – Phoenix Comicon
I was on a panel discussing “The Golden Age of Science” and
the visions of the future of space exploration from the
perspective of the 1960s. There were at least 50 people at
this seminar.
4/22/15 - Science Night at Taylor Jr HS
Their science teacher, Jan Olson,invited me to give a
presentation at their science night.
4/11/15 - Reach for the Stars Girl Scout program at Mesa's
Arizona Museum of Natural History
Garrick Williams and I staffed a hands-on exhibit table
representing AIAA and Orbital at this two-hour event. We
showed off the AIAA space display (gravity bottles and air
rocket) and there were 180 total visitors according to the
museum.
3/7/15 – SpaceUp Phoenix
I organized, hosted, and gave a talk at SpaceUp Phoenix,
held at Mesa Community College. This day-long un-conference
drew over 60 people including many NSS chapter members. The
event was a big success. See http://SpaceUpPhx.org for
details.
2/28/15 - MAVEN Educator Workshop at Orbital LSG
Tracey Dodrill organized this teacher training workshop
aimed at getting standards (reading, writing) into MAVEN
(Mars mission) science curriculum. About 20 teachers and
four facilitators from Colorado University-Boulder attended.
I arranged use of Orbital’s facility in Chandler for this
free Saturday event.
2/24/15 - ASU SEDS
I talked about Orbital ATK and gave my Road to Mars talk.
About 15 students were there.
2/19/15 - AIAA Phoenix Section Dinner
I substituted for the planned speaker (Nova Hall) who had to
cancel when his wife went into labor. I gave my Road to Mars
talk. About 17 people attended.
2/9/15 - ASU AIAA Student Branch
I was one of three Section members who met with students and
talked about Orbital ATK and other professional career
examples. About 6 students were there.
2/4/15 - Science Cafe at Gangplank
I was part of a panel with Garrick Williams and Chuck Lesher
on space exploration, specifically the merits of the
Asteroid Retrieval Mission. There were about 17 people there
and we had some good discussion.
2014
12/1/14 - Nick Proach (Proach Models) was in town and we had
dinner at Rustlers Rooste and talked about the space model
hobby.
11/21/14 - Evening Under the Stars
I gave several sessions of my Satellites talk to junior high
students and family members at this science night at Cocopah
Middle School in Scottsdale. We had several other AIAA
members doing talks or displays.
11/8/14 - St. Louis Gateway to Space Conference
I attended and did some presentations at this NSS regional
conference held in downtown St. Louis. There was also a
Mac's Old Team reunion at the Prologue Room Friday night
where I ran into several old managers and co-workers whom I
had not seen in 20+ years. On Saturday I gave a presentation
on Orbital’s Antares program as part of a commercial space
session. I also chaired a panel on the future of space
exploration where I gave a version of my Hard Road to Mars
pitch. This event went very well with many national officers
and other notable space advocates.
10/28/14 - ASU Fulton Career Exploration Night for Freshmen
I organized a group of about 10 other Orbital employees to
this career meet-and-greet. We had a modest table display
for Orbital.
10/16/14 - SEDS SpaceTalk Interview
I was guest for an on-line interview with SEDS members where
they talk to professionals in the space industry.
9/29/14 - Keystone Montesori School
I gave my Satellites talk to about 20 4-5-6 graders. A
co-worker's son attends this school in Ahwatukee.
9/27/14 - APS Back to School Resource Fair
I organized the AIAA exhibit at this event at the Arizona
Science Center. I brought the new space displays (air
rocket, gravity jugs) that I built. There were probably 300
attendees, mostly K-12 educators. I was there all day, and
Dan Frey, Eric Nichols, and George Somi spent some time
helping.
9/25/14 - ASU Commercial Space class
I gave a talk on Orbital Sciences product lines and
capabilities to this undergraduate class, taught by Dr. Jim
Bell. About 30 students were there. I included a discussion
of career planning.
9/23/14 - UofA Tech Launch Arizona
I went to downtown Phoenix to attend a mixer of supporters
of this tech incubator collaboration. They are interested in
having subject matter experts involved.
5/2/14 – ASU Capstone Assessment
I helped with a team that evaluated engineering students
capstone projects.
4/28/14 - Salt River Elementary School Science Night
I staffed a table top poster exhibit on Orbital Sciences
products at this Salt River - Maricopa Indian community
school STEM fair.
4/22/14 - Taylor Junior High School Science Night
I gave a short version of the Satellites presentation about
five times to groups of students at their STEM fair.
4/12/14 - Yuri's Night
I arranged for the Phoenix Section AIAA to sponsor $150
worth of food for the SEDS-ASU Yuri's Night event on campus.
I also attended the event and promoted AIAA and NSS.
4/2/14 - Gangplank Chandler
I gave a talk on human missions to Mars at their monthly
Science Cafe. About six people attended including four
teachers.
3/8/14 – Aerospace Educator Workshop
This was a half-day workshop held at Orbital facility
Chandler to train teachers on aerospace topics.
2/22/14 - Chandler Science Spectacular
I helped at the Orbital exhibit at the Science Spectacular,
which was part of the Arizona Science and Technology
Festival.
2/20/14 - STEM Fair featuring AIAA Mars Rover Project
I visited the Monterey Park Learning Center in central
Phoenix from 5 to 7 pm. This group of gifted students from
14 different schools in Phoenix participated in the AIAA
Mars Rover Educator Academy project. They invited us to come
and see the final results at this event. I gave my talk on
The Road to Mars.
2/12/14 – Sonoran Trails Middle School Science Festival
I was a guest at this school in north Scottsdale, displaying
the cardboard wind tunnel, and talking to students. It went
well, with several hundred students, family, teachers and
other exhibitors there.
2013
12/4/13 - SEDS ASU Meeting
I gave a talk on careers in aerospace to the ASU SEDS club
(“Adventures of a Space Advocate”)
11/7-10/13 - SEDS SpaceVision Conference
This was the annual conference of the Students for the
Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) and was hosted
by the ASU chapter. I had heard of it early in the year and
arranged Orbital to be a (financial) sponsor. This enabled
Orbital to have a booth and a spot on the Commercial Space
panel. I helped staff the booth and gave a presentation as
part of that panel. I also arranged exhibit tables for AIAA
and National Space Society.
11/1/13 - Cocopah Middle School
I did a lunch'n'learn session on Satellites and careers at
Tracey Dodrill's school.
10/11/13 - ASTA Conference
I gave a talk on the Wind Tunnel. Another AIAA member,
Rick Kale, attended and assisted with the set up.
There were about 12 attendees and a good discussion.
10/2/13 - ASU AIAA Student Branch
I was one of two AIAA Phoenix Section members who gave a
presentation to ASU students at their monthly meeting. Mine
was a general overview of Orbital Sciences.
10/1/13 - Salt River Elementary School
I gave my Satellites talk to an after school (FLL) robotics
club.
9/27/13 - Embry Riddle University
I was one of several Phoenix AIAA members who gave a talk on
careers to students at ERAU in Prescott.
9/21/13 - APS Back to School educator resource fair
I exhibited the wind tunnel here (AZ Science Center) and
accomplished some additional networking with educators. AIAA
members Dani Eriksson and Morgan Ewen also helped.
9/21/13 - NSS Meeting and Channel 12 interview
I gave my talk on The Road to Mars at the local NSS
meeting. Prior to that I went to the ABC-TV Channel 12
studios to do a live interview on Mars exploration on their
6 am newscast.
9/14/13 - Educator Academy Mars Rover
This curriculum program was developed via the national AIAA
office and the Phoenix section arranged a demo of this
module by Gar Bering. We had it at a hotel in Tempe and I
made most of the arrangements.
9/4/13 - SciTech Festival Kick Off Event
I exhibited the wind tunnel here and got a lot of good
comments and contacts.
8/16/13 - IPMS National Convention
I gave my annual seminar on modeling historical spacecraft.
This year I presented my Mir model.
7/17/2013 - Navajo Elementary School, Scottsdale
Dan Frey and I visited the school to establish a mentorship
program with Orbital. Later we heard that their after-school
programs have shifted somewhat such that they are not able
to implement this partnership as expected.
6/6/13 - Intel Summer Camp
I went to Chandler-Gilbert Community College to help judge
an Intel-sponsored summer camp (via Orbital).
4/11 - 13/13 - Yuri's Night
I organized a social event at the Space Access conference
for YN with the help of NSS, AIAA, and Moon Society members.
Also attended the Space Access Conference.