MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 3, 1999

JPL "THE SPACE PLACE" OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND

       With hand-on activities and exhibits, demonstrations and audiovisual presentations, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's 1999 Open House this weekend will showcase space exploration, studies of Earth and new technologies.

       The Open House will be presented Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

       Always a popular event, the JPL Open House last year drew some 52,000 people in two days to the 177-acre facility in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. JPL is NASA's leading center for the robotic exploration of space, and is currently flying or planning missions to Mars, Jupiter and its moon Europa, Saturn, Pluto, comets, asteroids and more. The Laboratory's research also includes studies of Earth and its environment, and searches for the origin of planets, stars and galaxies.

       This year's event features a special children's area offering space- and science-related activities. A new audiovisual presentation about JPL, "Welcome to Outer Space," will also be shown.

       JPL is located at 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, off the 210 (Foothill) Freeway at the Berkshire Avenue/Oak Grove Drive exit. Limited parking is available at the JPL main gate on Oak Grove Drive, and a larger parking lot is located on the east side of the Laboratory, accessible from Windsor Avenue from the Arroyo Boulevard exit off the 210 Freeway. Trams will run non-stop between all lots and the Laboratory's main gate.

       Food, beverages and souvenirs will be available for purchase during the event. For more information about JPL or the Open House, visit the JPL website at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ .

       JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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