HomeMy WebLinkAbout23. Waive Admission to CMSC during Rocket Fever FestivalCITY l r'
TO! HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL I
FROM: OFFICE OF
BENJAMIN DICKOW,1, EXECUTIVE DIRECTO
COLUMBIA•
SUBJECT- FREE ADMISSION • THE COLUMBIAMEMORIAL
ROCKETit
That the City Council waive admission fees to the Columbia Memorial Space Center during the
annual Rocket Fever event, August 18, 2018.
The Columbia Memorial Space Center (GMSC) will be holding a community -focused event
called Rocket Fever on August 18, 2018. This will be the 8th year that the Space Center holds
this event, the only one like it in the Los Angeles region. Rocket Fever allows the Space Center
to present STEM programming to the community of Downey, engaging the diverse audiences in
the city and its surrounding communities. This event celebrates the City of Downey's rich
historic association with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as its
investment in the future of STEM through its top-notch programs and assets in the city's schools
and at the Space Center. At Rocket Fever, guests are invited to build their own Estes rockets
and watch them launch next to the Space Center. More hands-on STEM activities, booths from
some of our fellow science organizations such as the Boeing, Orange County Rocket Society,
Discount Rocketry, live music and food trucks round out the day.
In order to make the Space Center as accessible as possible to new or returning members of
the community during the event, staff is recommending that the City Council approve the
waiving of admission fees to the CMSC on Saturday, August 18th, the day of operation during
Rocket Fever. This request was prompted by the generous support of Downey's own Financial
Partners Credit Union, who has agreed to cover the cost of the free admission. It is their hope,
and that of the CMSC, that by waiving the admission fee, the Space Center can be accessible
to the largest amount of visitors to Rocket Fever.
None. Through their sponsorship of the event, a gift from Financial Partners Credit Union will
cover lost revenue from the requested fee waiver.