Visit Las Cruces Space Festival in April

Family travelers looking for an out-of-this-world experience can mark their calendars for the Las Cruces Space Festival

. April 7–10, Spaceport America will host the festival with a mission of “Making Space for Everyone.”

Beginning April 7 at 5:30 p.m., Mesilla Valley Mall will hold a career fair to connect people with aerospace career and education opportunities. The following day, visitors can look to the skies for a special Celestron-sponsored stargazing event.

On April 9, from 9 a.m. to noon, Plaza de Las Cruces will host an array of interactive and hands-on activities. Two missions to Mars at the Challenger Learning Center of Las Cruces will also take place April 9 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

A space trivia competition and free sci-fi movies will also be offered to guests at Rio Grande Theater throughout the festival. Showings, all beginning at 7 p.m., will include Gravity

April 7, Interstellar April 8, Space Camp April 9 and 2001: A Space Odyssey on April 9.

On the final day of the festival, visitors can explore the world’s first commercial-built spaceport 10 a.m.–2 p.m. At Spaceport America, visitors will have the chance to see the hangar, a fly-in, mini rocket launches and STEM activities. At the end of the festival, one winner of a raffle will receive a StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope.