NORTH KONA— The Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center’s last event on Sunday attracted astronauts, family, friends and first-time visitors.
“The last 30 years, it’s really gone by fast,” said Ellison’s brother, Claude, in opening remarks to a packed room, stairwell and platform.
The museum honors Ellison Onizuka, one of seven astronauts killed in the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. The museum also sought to expand interest in science learning and space exploration.
He grew up in Kealakekua and graduated from Konawaena High School, before going to college and joining the Air Force.
Although the museum will remain open into March, many people came because as it was the last event for the museum, including the ohana of Dennise Alviento and Larry Cabanas, whose daughter Aurora Cabanas was busily inspecting how light operates through refracting lenses.
Alviento said she read about the museum’s closing and made sure they visited.
She’d read a lot about Onizuka’s life, she said, but had never visited the museum before.
Aurora was working her way through one of the many interactive sections of the museum, carefully sorting out the colors of the visual light spectrum and learning how to move things in space.
The science exhibits are bolstered with information about the past and future of space exploration and memorabilia of the Onizuka’s life.
Some of those include photos from his first trip on Jan. 24, 1984, where he served as a mission specialist. One photo shows him about to bite down on a macadamia nut in zero-G. Another has himself and mission pilot Loren Shriver smiling at the camera on their mutual first trip.
Shriver was present, along with his wife, Susan, and current astronaut Michael Fincke.
During his speech, Shriver recalled that Onizuka was wonderful to fly with, fully committed to the mission and full of details about the technical elements of the task at hand.
He could also “cook a mean luau,” Shriver said.
Shriver’s visit in some ways bookended the existence of the museum, as he was there for the opening in 1991 and at the end.
“Loren hand-carried the moon rock here from NASA in a canister, but we’re not ready to have him take it back yet,” said Claude Onizuka.
The museum hopes to find another location to at least display the memorabilia of Ellison Onizuka, said Claude Onizuka.
They are also looking at ways to do science outreach, encourage space exploration and may start a science scholarship, he said.
“It’s been 30 years. We’ve been appreciative of the support,” he said, as the state provided funding for building the site and has supported it since then.
The museum will be closing in March, as the airport redesign dictates its closure. The museum is trying to find a new location.
Politicians also honored Ellison Onizuka, with the county presenting a plaque, a joint resolution of the state House and Senate recognizing him, and Gov. David Ige declaring Dec. 28 as “Ellison S. Onizuka Day” in Hawaii.
A group of legislators also introduced a bill to rename the airport to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport, which has been referred to committee.