Messages From The Glenn Flight

There are many messages to be derived from the historic flight of John Glenn this week, according to the man in charge of the New York Hall of Science. Dr. Alan Friedman, executive director of the museum in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park — one of the City’s best attended, told the Queens Courier that "obviously there is a tremendous political message to Congress to support NASA, but the most important message is that scientific contributions can be made by everyone and every age . . . when you’re young, just as Glenn did or when you’re retirement age — just as Glenn is doing."
Friedman said that science is not just for super geniuses or those at the height of power but that discoveries are made all the time by people of all ages, kids and seniors. "You can enjoy and celebrate and create discoveries all your life, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a scientist, an engineer, a bank teller or, heaven forbid, even a newspaper reporter," Friedman said. "Glenn is stepping in at 77 — after years in politics, but his trip is of value not only for science but for its symbolic value." Friedman said that although the flight could be risky for a person Glenn’s age "everything in science, as in life, is risky. Each of us take a different risk, you decide if the possible benefit warrants it. Obviously Glenn and NASA believe it is."
Friedman added that visitors to the Hall of Science can follow John Glenn’s flight through internet computers and the Hall’s video wall. For information on the Hall of Science, call (718) 699-0005.
— David Oats