NASA GLENN OFFERS FREE TOURS OF ITS WORLD CLASS FACILITIES

(If you didn't go through their open house a couple of years ago, this is the next best thing and totally worth it!)

CLEVELAND -- NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will offer

tours of its laboratory and testing facilities two Saturdays a month

from April through October.

The free tours are open to U.S. citizens of all ages. Tour space is

limited and reservations are required to guarantee admission.

Reservations can be made 30 days in advance or at least one day

before the actual tour date. To register, visitors should call

216-433-9653.

A tour bus will depart from Glenn's Briefing Center every hour

beginning at 10:30 a.m. The last tour departs at 1:30 p.m. Each tour

lasts about 25 minutes and is followed by a stop at Glenn's gift

shop. Visitors with special needs are permitted to use their own

vehicles, but must follow the tour bus at all times. Most research

facilities are wheelchair accessible; however, some have limited

accessibility.

The tours will give visitors a chance to learn about some of center's

capabilities and to talk with engineers who work in the facility or

run experiments. "We want our neighbors to know that Glenn is a world

class research center, a gemstone in northeastern Ohio," said Mike

Foreman, Glenn's chief of External Programs Division. "Visiting

Glenn's facilities might be the inspiration a child needs to guide

him or her toward a career in science, technology, engineering or

mathematics."

The facility tours scheduled for 2011 are:

April 2: Glenn's Graphics Visualization and Virtual Reality

Laboratories are companion facilities that provide advanced computer

imaging and scientific visualization services to NASA's scientists

and engineers.

April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct.15: Zero

Gravity Research Facility is a premier facility used for exploring

weightlessness, or microgravity, on Earth. It is the largest facility

of its kind in the world.

May 7: Green Lab Research Facility focuses on processes that use

biofuels as an alternative energy source for commercial aviation.

June 4: Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory is designed for aircraft

noise-reduction testing and engine nozzle and fan components acoustic

and performance research.

July 9: 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel provides researchers an

opportunity to explore higher speed regions of flight. It is NASA's

only transonic propulsion wind tunnel.

Aug. 6: Flight Research Building, also known as Glenn's aircraft

hangar, is one of the center's original facilities built in the early

1940s. Visitors will discover unique aircraft that are used in flight

research testing.

Sept. 10: Simulated Lunar Operations, or SLOPE, facility houses a

"sandbox" that is 20 feet wide by 60 feet long, where Glenn

researchers improve the mobility of moon rovers with the aid of

simulated lunar soil.

Oct. 1: Exercise Countermeasures Laboratory is where scientists and

engineers conduct exercise routines, test exercise equipment and

examine the effectiveness of exercise and microgravity on astronauts.

Glenn is located at 21000 Brookpark Road. All adult visitors must

present government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's

license, upon entering the center's main gate, and all vehicles are

subject to inspection.

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