one giant leap

All the out-of-this-world Houston events to celebrate Apollo 11's 50th anniversary

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” so spoke Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, as he and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon. Fifty years later, if any place is going to throw a city-wide, ultimate (yet educational) party for when humans first reached the moon, it’s going to be Houston. In fact, some of us (looking at you, Houston Museum of Natural Science) have been celebrating for months now.

If you're looking to take a giant leap into space history, we've found the best cultural and scientific celebrations to launch you into lunar anniversary orbit.

Out-of-This-World Lunar Exhibitions at Houston Museum of Natural Science (ongoing)
HMNS has been celebrating moon exploration since April, with the giant lunar sculpture Moon by Luke Jerram, a new Burke Baker Planetarium show, To Defy Gravity, and a virtual reality experience, Destination Moon. They’ve also recently added a new installation recreating the Sea of Tranquility, where the astronauts of Apollo 11 landed. And now showing in the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre is the documentary Apollo 11: First Steps, showcasing never-before-seen 70mm footage and newly discovered audio recordings of the mission.

NASA Tram Tours featuring the Apollo Mission Control Center at Space Center Houston (ongoing)
Just in time for all the Apollo 11 celebrations, Space Center Houston has restored the Apollo Mission Control room, a national historic landmark. The room, used during the Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle eras, underwent restoration beginning in July 2017. Now reopened, guests will see the restored flight control consoles with their screens displaying data used during the Apollo 11 mission. The five large screens across the front of the room have been reactivated with projections to recreate the exact images seen during the Apollo 11 mission. This spectacular look into space history is included on the NASA Tram Tours and Level 9 VIP Tours.

Moon Walk from Buffalo Bayou Partnership and HMNS (July 16)
Guided by the full moon, take an educational “moon walk” along the Buffalo Bayou trails with an HMNS astronomer, who will be under the glow of a full moon. The moon has some radiant help in guiding your way as the signature Lunar Cycle Lighting along the bayou will all be white in sync with the full moon.

Armstrong film screening at Space Center Houston (July 18)
For this Apollo anniversary, Space Center Houston has a special addition to their Space on Screen series, which gives film and space buffs the opportunity to see documentaries and classic space films in the center of the five-story-tall Space Center Theater, one of the largest 4K theaters in Texas. See this feature-length documentary profiling the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong. The film introduces us to the real dynamic man, not just the first-man-on-the-moon myth.

Shooting the Moon: Photographs from the Museum’s Collection 50 Years after Apollo 11 at the Museum of Fine Arts (July 20–September 2)
The MFAH has been collecting space art for about as long as the U.S has been launching humans into space, and so the Apollo 11 anniversary is the perfect time to ponder when imagination, art, history, and science meet. The exhibition features 40 photographs ranging from documentary images of NASA’s mission to the moon to Ansel  Adams’s Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.

The Day We Walked on the Moon film screening and panel discussion at the Health Museum (July 20)
This new Smithsonian Channel documentary takes viewers inside to the scenes right into mission control and the spacecraft, thanks to remastered footage and interviews with those who were there. Following this special screening, the Health Museum will bring together a panel of experts to discuss space health and medicine. The Health, Moon and Beyond features Dr. David Hilmers, a former NASA astronaut and current professor in the internal medicine department at Baylor College of Medicine; Dr. Robert Satcher, a former NASA astronaut and current oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center; Dr. Dorit Donoviel, director of TRISH at Baylor College of Medicine; and Dr. Jeffery Sutton, director of the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

Apollo Day at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park (July 20)
What better way to remember the moon landing than getting a telescopic space view. If you’re looking to commune with nature and alligators as you celebrate humanity’s walk on the moon, head out to Fort Bend for a day filled with speakers and stellar activities, and stay for an evening putting eyes to the telescopes viewing planets and deep-space objects.

A Giant Leap at Discovery Green (July 20)
For the ultimate free moon party, go downtown to Discovery Green for a night featuring pretty much everything but the moon sink. See a paratrooper landing by the U.S. Army Golden Knights, the United States Army’s official aerial parachute demonstration team. Explore interactive exhibits from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Lone Star Flight Museum. Pick up the book American Moonshot and meet its author, Douglas Brinkley.

Shop for space haute couture at a special edition of Discovery Green’s Flea by Night. Stargaze with the Houston Astronomical Society, and watch a video message from astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station. And after all that, if you’re ready for space respite, find your place on the lawn for a free screening of the documentary Apollo 11.

Apollo 11 50th Live at Space Center Houston (July 20)
The all-day celebration honoring the past, present, and future of space exploration will feature space-themed activities for the whole family, including NASA Tram Tours to Rocket Park and the Apollo Mission Control Center, speakers, book signings, an outdoor festival, and family STEM zone. The celebration reaches the stratosphere with an evening concert featuring performances by Walk the Moon and Phillip Phillips.

Apollo Night at Minute Maid Park (July 22)
Keep the celebration going as the Houston Astros host an astro-naut themed night. Look to Center Field at the Budweiser Brew House for a replica statue of Neil Armstrong's 1969 spacesuit from the Apollo 11 Mission. Neil’s son Rick Armstrong throws the ceremonial first pitch. And space and Astro fans can explore the NASA Mobile Exhibit and Space Exploration Vehicle during the evening.

Museum of Fine Arts’ Mixed Media Space City Party (August 2)
The MFAH’s summer Mixed Media night, always filled with drinks, dancing, and the best party music, gets a “Space City” makeover. The late-night spectacular brings a special appearance by Bun B with Doc Loc and the Swangers, along with sets by DJ Sun (Soular Productions) and Kay Illah, and exclusive access into the Shooting the Moon and the Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors exhibitions.

Discovery Green will screen the documentary Apollo 11 during its A Giant Leap celebration on July 20.

Photo courtesy of Neon

Discovery Green will screen the documentary Apollo 11 during its A Giant Leap celebration on July 20.

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RIP, Chuck

Actor Chuck Norris, star of 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' dies at 86

Courtesy photo

Chuck Norris, star of "Walker, Texas Ranger," has died at 86.

Chuck Norris, the martial arts grandmaster and action star whose roles in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and other television shows and movies made him an iconic tough guy — sparking internet parodies and adoration from presidents — has died at 86.

Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a “sudden passing.”

“While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,” the family said in a statement posted to social media.

Before he would become a star in movies and on TV, Norris was wildly successful in competitive martial arts. He was a six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. He also founded his own Korean-based American hard style of karate, known sometimes as Chun Kuk Do, and the United Fighting Arts Federation, which has awarded more than 3,300 Chuck Norris System black belts worldwide. Black Belt magazine ultimately credited Norris in its hall of fame with holding a 10th degree black belt, the highest possible honor.

Born Carlos Ray Norris in Ryan, Oklahoma, on March 10, 1940, he grew up poor. At age 12, he moved with his family to Torrance, California, and joined the U.S. Air Force after high school, in 1958. It was during a deployment to Korea that he started training in martial arts, including judo and Tang Soo Do.

“I went out for gymnastics and football at North Torrance high,” he told The Associated Press in 1982. “I played some football, but I also spent a lot of time on the bench. I was never really athletic until I was in the service in Korea.”

After he was honorably discharged in 1962, he worked as a file clerk for Northrop Aircraft and applied to be a police officer, but was put on a waitlist. Meanwhile, he opened a martial arts studio, which expanded to a chain, with students including such stars as Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donnie and Marie Osmond, and Steve McQueen, whom he later credited with encouraging him to get into acting.

From one studio to another
Norris made his film debut as an uncredited bodyguard in the 1968 movie “The Wrecking Crew,” which included a fight with Dean Martin. He had also crossed paths with Bruce Lee in martial arts circles. Their friendship — sometimes, as sparring partners — led to an iconic faceoff in the 1972 movie “Return of the Dragon,” in which Lee fights and kills Norris' character in Rome's Colosseum.

He went on to act in more than 20 movies, such as “Missing in Action,” “The Delta Force” and “Sidekicks.”

“I wanted to project a certain image on the screen of a hero. I had seen a lot of anti-hero movies in which the lead was neither good nor bad. There was no one to root for,” Norris said in 1982.

In 1993, he took on his most famed role, as a crime-fighting lawman in TV's “Walker, Texas Ranger.” The show ran for nine seasons, and in 2010, then-Gov. Rick Perry awarded him the title of honorary Texas Ranger. The Texas Senate later named him an honorary Texan.

“It’s not violence for violence’s sake, with no moral structure,” Norris told the AP in 1996, speaking about the show. “You try to portray the proper meaning of what it’s about — fighting injustice with justice, good vs. bad. … It’s entertaining for the whole family.”

Norris also made a surprise comedic appearance as a decisive judge in the final match of the 2004 movie “Dodgeball.” He only on occasion has taken acting roles in recent years, including 2012's “The Expendables 2” and the 2024 sci-fi action movie “Agent Recon.” He's due to appear in “Zombie Plane,” an upcoming film starring Vanilla Ice.

Chuck Norris: the man, the meme, the legend
It was around the time of “Dodgeball” that his toughman image became the stuff of legend, literally: “Chuck Norris Facts” went viral online with such wildly hyperbolic statements as, “Chuck Norris had a staring contest with the sun -- and won,” and, “They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mt. Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard.”

Norris ultimately embraced the absurdity of the meme craze, putting together “The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book,” which combined his favorites with supposedly true stories and the codes he aimed to live by. He would also write books on martial arts instruction, a memoir, political takes, Civil War-era historical fiction and more.

“To some who know little of my martial arts or film careers but perhaps grew up with 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' it seems that I have become a somewhat mythical superhero icon,” Norris wrote in the forward to the fact book. “I am flattered and humbled.”

That book raised money for a nonprofit he founded with President George H.W. Bush that promoted martial arts instruction for kids.

The intentionally outlandish statements featured in the 2008 Republican presidential primary, when Norris endorsed Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and shot an ad playing on the “Chuck Norris facts.”

President Donald Trump's supporters later promoted Trump Facts in the same vein, and political pundits tried it as well, describing the commander-in-chief's decision to seize Venezuela's sitting president, Nicolas Maduro, as a “Chuck Norris Moment,” and its initial effect on oil prices a “Chuck Norris Premium.”

Norris was outspoken about his Christian beliefs and his support for gun rights, and backed political candidates for years — he even went skydiving with Bush for the former president's 80th birthday. As for Trump, Norris endorsed him in the 2016 general election and wrote guest columns praising him without explicitly endorsing him the in the days before the 2020 and 2024 elections.

Norris has five surviving children: stunt performers Mike and Eric with his late ex-wife Dianne Holechek, twins Dakota and Danilee with his wife Gena Norris, and Dina, the result of an early 1960s “one-night stand” revealed in his autobiography.

Norris celebrated his birthday just over a week before his death, posting a sparring video on Instagram.

“I don't age. I level up,” he wrote.

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