How did entertainment help shape the future of space exploration? Join Danica Vallone at the Exploratorium’s After Dark: Out of This World for an engaging keynote examining the powerful relationship between storytelling, public attitudes toward risk, and spaceflight policy.

The presentation will explore how Hollywood and popular culture helped build public interest in space, influenced perceptions of what human spaceflight could achieve, and contributed to the political and cultural momentum behind the Space Age. By tracing connections between entertainment, emerging rocket technology, and the development of the United States space program, Danica will consider how stories have shaped public expectations of exploration in the past and how they may continue to influence decisions about humanity’s future beyond Earth.