Activities for Younger Guests
10th Roger That! in February 2026 - watch this space!
Friday Workshops
Ongoing workshops from 4pm to 5:30pm on Friday, February TBD, 2026 at the DeVos Center (E wing), on GVSU's downtown Grand Rapids Pew Campus.
Parking for conference guests (Friday event ONLY) will be in GVSU's Seward Parking Lot (Parking lot #20 on this map). Please enter and tell the booth attendant you are attending the Roger That! event and you'll be given a parking pass.
From the 9th Roger That! Conference on February 14th and 15th, 2025
Workshop #1: Acoustics - Sounds like FUN!
How is sound created, and how does it travel? What are the important characteristics of sound, and how do sounds interact with one another? How can sound be visualized, and how does the sound of a human voice compare to other sounds? This drop-in, open-ended workshop includes hands-on activities for all ages exploring each of these questions and more.
With Dr. Karen Gipson and Dr. Keith Oliver of the GVSU Physics Department
Workshop #2: Mission: Satellite Launch!
Come join the engineering outreach team for a family-fun design and build challenge. All the materials will be provided for you and your mission specialist crew to create a communications satellite. All creations will go home with their engineers to be installed in their home galaxies. All ages are welcome! There will be scissors, tape, hot glue, and more to assist with the building. Junior engineers will probably welcome an adult helper. Workshop is open to come and go as you please.
With Sara Maas of the Padnos College of Engineering and the PCE outreach team
Come see a real astronaut!!!
Astronaut Talk - Live, in-person at 6:30pm, Friday February 14, 2025
Commander John Herrington, PhD, is a retired NASA astronaut, U.S. Navy Commander, and the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe (the Chickasaw Nation) to fly in space.
He has performed three spacewalks focused on the International Space Station's construction (these spacewalks are commemorated on the back of the 2019 version of the Sacagawea dollar). Herrington holds a PhD in education from the University of Idaho and a Master’s in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His service as a naval aviator, test pilot, and astronaut has earned him multiple awards and honors, including induction into both the Chickasaw and International Air & Space Halls of Fame.
Dr. Herrington has written a children’s book, Mission to Space, describing his adventures!
He will be signing autographed pictures and taking photos after his keynote address so stay to get one!
After the workshops and before Commander Herrington's talk, have a space snack! A reception with a variety of delicious appetizers starts at 5:30pm.
Local students between 4th and 8th grade will be competing in Roger That!'s Design That! design challenge. You and your younger companions can check out their entries and vote for your favorite!
The space adventure continues on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum!