Rocket Fever Goes Virtual With Real Rocket Launches!

Downey, CA, July 15, 2020: This year, the Columbia Memorial Space Center’s (CMSC) high-flying annual event—the Rocket Fever Festival—will be held virtually on August 15, 2020. From 10am-2pm, this one-of-a-kind experience allows space enthusiasts of all ages to watch discussions with real rocket scientists and engage in online activities, plus watch rocket launches every hour.

A highlight of the event in past years, when live, has been that each young person who attends receives a free, launchable model rocket kit. To keep that tradition going this year, and thanks to a partnership with Estes Rockets, the legendary leader in model rockets, the first 700 young people who registered for the virtual event received a FREE model rocket kit mailed directly to them! A limited number of those registered participants will be allowed to send their completed rocket back (shipping included) to the Space Center and watch live, online, as it is launched from the grounds of the Space Center on August 15.

“Rocket Fever is the only live rocket launch event in an urban area,” said Benjamin Dickow, President and Executive Director of the Columbia Memorial Space Center. “We’re thrilled that thanks to our generous sponsors Financial Partners Credit Union and Estes Rockets, we still are able to offer a fun, engaging and educational event for the public again this year, despite the challenges.

“Rocket Fever has become a Southern California tradition and Financial Partners has been honored to sponsor Rocket Fever for the past decade,” said Nader Moghaddam, Chairman of CSMC and President / CEO of Financial Partners Credit Union. “The Credit Union began here in Downey over 80 years ago. To honor our aerospace history, we look for innovative ways to continue to support STEM education and prepare our youth for the jobs of today and the future. This year’s event will be engaging and fun and ideally reach more kids than ever before.”

This unique and unforgettable experience is being put together by the Columbia Memorial Space Center thanks to the sponsor of this event, Financial Partners Credit Union. Rocket Fever has been a Southern California tradition for nearly 10 years and is the only urban rocket festival around.

For more information about Rocket Fever and the Columbia Memorial Space Center, please visit www.columbiaspacescience.org.

About The Columbia Memorial Space Center

Columbia Memorial Space Center is a space museum and hands-on STEM learning center located just south of downtown LA in Downey, CA, on the former site where all of NASA’s Apollo spacecraft and Space Shuttles were designed and built. The mission of the Space Center is to ignite a community of critical and creative thinkers. The Center includes LA’s only public robotics lab and Southern California’s only Challenger Learning Center, a one-of-a-kind space mission simulator. Through engaging programs, world-class exhibits and unique events, the Space Center strives to be the most accessible STEM opportunity in Southern California.

About Financial Partners Credit Union 

With the mission of building lifetime financial partnerships, Financial Partners Credit Union serves over 86,000 members in California and stands at $2.1billion in assets. Financial Partners’ focus remains the same today as it did when the Credit Union was founded by eight aviation workers in 1937: saving money, making money, and saving time for its members. Membership is open to everyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Diego County. Visit FPCU.org or call 844.TRY.FPCU for details.