On September 6, 2025, the IMAP Outreach Program took over the Dr. Dare Lab at the Orlando Science Center for a day full of hands-on exploration about the IMAP mission! From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors of all ages were invited to get to know about the IMAP mission, the mission science, and the spacecraft through six of our outreach activities: Modeling the Heliosphere, Artful Magnetism, Communicating in Color, Coding Curiosities, Mystery Matter, and IMAP I Spy.
More than 200 participants came through the lab during the day, exploring, asking questions, and making discoveries about our Sun's influence. Orlando Science Center staff joined in as facilitators, helping visitors dive into the activities and get to know about the IMAP mission and its science.
In the afternoon, about 50 guests gathered at the Discovery Stage for a 30-minute talk introducing the IMAP mission, its instruments, and its goal to study how the Sun influence impacts our place in space. A wonderfully engaged audience asked thoughtful questions about space weather, the heliosphere, how a NASA mission comes together, and how IMAP will help us understand the boundaries of our solar system.
Visitors also had opportunity to take photos with the IMAP backdrop and props, like the cleanroom suit cutout! - and left with stickers, lithographs, and information on how to watch the launch live.
The event was a unbeatable way to bring IMAP’s story to the local public near Kennedy Space Center in time for IMAP's launch. The IMAP team is so grateful to the Orlando Space Center for the opportunity to build excitement for launch and share a few of our engaging activities to connect their audiences to the excitement of heliophysics missions. We are also excited to have their incredible organization join us as IMAP Outreach Partners! Welcome to the community!