Brookline, Mass--July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, in which President Kennedy's dream of putting an American on the moon was realized. To honor this historic occasion, John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site will offer special programs on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20.
On July 19, the site welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman for a presentation about his experiences as a former NASA astronaut. Dr. Hoffman made five shuttle flights, including the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, and logged more than 1,211 hours and 21.5 million miles in space. Trained as an astrophysicist, Dr. Hoffman is a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Hoffman’s presentation will begin at 11:00 a.m. Reservations are not needed, but seating is limited.
On July 20, presidential scholar Dr. Barbara A. Perry will provide a talk about President Kennedy’s vision and leadership that made the moon landing a reality. Dr. Perry has particular expertise on JFK and the Kennedy family. She has authored: Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch; Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier; and Edward M. Kennedy: An Oral History. Dr. Perry is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center and is a frequent media commentator for national and international news sources. Dr. Perry’s presentation will begin at 2:00 p.m. Reservations are not needed, but seating is limited.
On July 20 at 3:00 p.m., John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site’s college interns will facilitate “Big Bang Bingo and Trivia". Join the interns for a fun and educational game about the Moon Landing and Space Race, and win some cool prizes.
Visitor hours in 2019 are from 9:30 AM until 5:00 PM, Wednesday through Sunday. Guided tours of JFK’s birthplace will be available on the hour and the half-hour from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the final, ranger-led tour beginning at 3:30 PM. From 12:00-1:00 PM and 4:00 to 5:00 PM, self-guided options are available. Visitors are welcome to follow Mrs. Kennedy's self-guided tour through the first and second floors of the house. Hand-held audio-players are available so that visitors may follow the tour in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. A ranger-guided virtual tour is also available. Admission is free.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS preserves the birthplace and early boyhood home of the 35th President of the United States. The modest house was the first home shared by the president’s parents, Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. John F. Kennedy, the second of nine children, spent his formative years in Brookline as his family began its rise to national prominence. The president’s mother Mrs. Rose Kennedy returned to 83 Beals Street in 1967 to commemorate her son’s life, recreating his birthplace to her recollection of its 1917 appearance.
Today, National Park Rangers provide tours of the nine-room house where Kennedy family furnishings, photographs, and mementos personally collected and arranged by Mrs. Kennedy are on exhibit. In addition to ranger-guided tours, John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS invites visitors to step back in time and share Mrs. Kennedy’s memories of her family’s early home via cell phone; normal usage rates apply. One can also take a virtual ranger-led tour of the site and another of the North Brookline neighborhood. To access these tours, dial 617-992-9172. The tours can also be accessed via the web at https://jofi.oncell.com.
During the May to October visitor season, park rangers offer guided tours of the house and JFK’s boyhood neighborhood. Children ages 5 -12 can participate in the site’s Junior Ranger program. Printed materials, including brochures and tour books, are available in Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS is located just outside Coolidge Corner at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts. The site is a ½ mile-walk from the Coolidge Corner T-Stop (Green Line, C-Cleveland Circle). Free on-street parking is available on Beals Street for up to two (2) hours. For more information please call (617) 566-7937, or visit www.nps.gov/jofi.
Tags: moon landing moon jfk president kennedy space exploration nasa apollo 11 space race
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
