FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Senior Scientist to speak at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum.
Ashland, Oregon - ScienceWorks and the Rogue Valley Symphony are excited to announce a special
partnership. We are presenting a talk by Ashwin Vasavada on Thursday, April 20th at 2:30pm, at
ScienceWorks that coincides with the Rogue Valley Symphony’s concert series “Celestial Pathways”
taking place over the following three days in Medford and Grants Pass.
Vasavada’s Thursday afternoon talk is titled "Ten Years on Mars with NASA's Curiosity Rover" and is free
to all ages.

Vasavada has been with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for many years, and is the Project
Scientist for the Curiosity rover.

Now in its eleventh year on Mars, Curiosity continues to reveal Mars as a once-habitable planet. Early in
Mars's history, rivers and lakes persisted for millions of years and created the landforms that Curiosity
explores today. In addition to water, there were also carbon-based molecules and other "building
blocks" of life. This talk will summarize the scientific findings from this mission, the challenges of
exploration, and what lies ahead.

Over the weekend following Vasavada’s presentation, the Rogue Valley Symphony’s “Celestial Pathways”
concert series will feature Gustav Holst’s The Planets, a seven-movement suite depicting the astrological
and emotional qualities of each planet, including Mars. This sonic spectacle turns into an immersive
experience of cosmic proportions with added choreographed visuals of the solar system by
Seattle-based visual artist Adrian Wyard.

Talk by Ashwin Vasavada:
Thursday, April 20, 2:30pm, ScienceWorks in Ashland, Oregon

Rogue Valley Symphony concerts:
Friday, April 21, 7:30pm, Craterian Theater in Medford, Oregon
Saturday, April 22, 7:30pm, Craterian Theater in Medford, Oregon
Sunday, April 23, 3pm Grants Pass Performing Arts Center
Concert tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.rvsymphony.org or by phone at
541-708-6400.
The talk by Ashwin Vasavada is free for all ages.

Contact:
Aaron Moffatt
Interim Executive Director, ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum
aaron@scienceworksmuseum.org
541-531-8291

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ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit museum dedicated to inspiring curiosity and
wonder through scientific exploration and hands-on experiences. Thanks to hundreds of volunteers and
community members, ScienceWorks has served nearly one million visitors and 100,000 K-12 students
throughout Southern Oregon and Northern California since 2002.