El Camino College Welcomes Students Grades 5-12 to Onizuka Space Science Day
A free day full of science discovery and fun is planned throughout the college campus
In collaboration with the Torrance Unified School District, El Camino College will host its annual Onizuka Space Science Day on Saturday, March 14 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This popular, fun and FREE event is open to all school-aged students and offers an opportunity to meet a former or current astronaut. This year, former NASA Astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger will be the keynote speaker and will lead a full day of exciting science exploration throughout campus.
Onizuka Space Science Day is dedicated to Ellison Onizuka, a Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut who perished along with six other crew members during the tragic events of 1986 – 40 years ago this year. Coordinated by the El Camino College Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Memorial Committee, and sponsored by Honda, Chevron, El Camino, and the El Camino College Foundation, this signature event is open to all students in grades five through 12.
Astronaut Metcalf-Lindenburger earned her bachelor’s degree in Geology from Whitman College in Washington and taught Earth Science and Astronomy for five years at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington. She was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a mission specialist in May 2004 and later served as the Astronaut Office Station Branch lead for systems and crew interfaces. In 2010, she was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-131 (April 5-20, 2010) and logged more than 362 hours in space. The mission was accomplished in 15 days and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.
In June 2012, Metcalf-Lindenburger commanded the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 16. In this underwater habitat, the international crew of four aquanauts and two habitat technicians carried out simulated spacewalks. She retired from NASA in 2014.
After Metcalf-Lindenburger’s presentation, students will immerse themselves in a variety of interactive science experiments, activities, and demonstrations led by El Camino College professors, students, and guests from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and other institutions. Robotics, biotechnology, physics puzzles, math games, zoology, and a geography escape room are just some of the sessions on the agenda, along with adventures in marine science, astronomy, and DNA studies. For the finale, students will team up to design and construct a device to safely deliver an egg dropped from 34 feet.
The El Camino Community College District encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation, or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible, but no later than seven days prior to the event.
El Camino’s Onizuka Space Science Day 2026 will continue rain or shine. For more information, view www.elcamino.edu/spacescienceday.