Celebrating science: Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center observes anniversary

The Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center located at Kona International Airport celebrated its 24th Anniversary on Saturday. The free event featured hourly door prizes, science activities and treats for the keiki. Children were also invited to take photos posing in a NASA flight suite and were offered free posters of the New Horizons Spacecraft historic Pluto fly-by.

The space center is an educational museum dedicated to the memory of Kona’s own Astronaut Ellison Onizuka who perished in the Challenger Explosion in 1986. The 4,000 square foot building opened in July 1991