Easter weekend Saturday, March 31st, 2018
About Yuri's Night
Hosted by the Houston section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Yuri's Night Houston 5k Fun Run is part of an annual worldwide celebration that commemorates the first human in space, as well as the first orbital flight of the US Space Shuttle. Both these pioneering events took place on April 12th - in 1961 and 1981 respectively. As such, our race is always run on, or close to, the 12th April, and is often held in conjunction with a Family Space Day celebration with interactive booths, displays and simple water rocket demonstrations. Yuri's Night celebrations around the world fuel public interest in space exploration, technology, and the aerospace industry.
Hosted by the Houston section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Yuri's Night Houston 5k Fun Run is part of an annual worldwide celebration that commemorates the first human in space, as well as the first orbital flight of the US Space Shuttle. Both these pioneering events took place on April 12th - in 1961 and 1981 respectively. As such, our race is always run on, or close to, the 12th April, and is often held in conjunction with a Family Space Day celebration with interactive booths, displays and simple water rocket demonstrations. Yuri's Night celebrations around the world fuel public interest in space exploration, technology, and the aerospace industry.
New Location
For the first nine years, we held our race at Challenger 7 Memorial Park in Webster, TX. Named in memory of the astronauts who dedicated their lives to the exploration of space, Challenger Park was an ideal location for an event that celebrates human spaceflight. However, the race outgrew the park, and in 2013 we actively pursued options for alternative locations to celebrate our 10th anniversary. An important factor in determining the new location was that it holds an aspect of significance to human spaceflight. After considering several different possibilities, the decision was made to move our race to the City of Nassau Bay, where many astronauts, engineers, technicians and flight directors have lived from the early days of the Apollo program to the current day. The course takes runners by former homes of many of the early era astronauts that lived in the city.
Raising Money for Charity
For the past few years, each race has had around 500 participants, but we are hoping to approach 1,000 participants for future events. All net proceeds from the race are donated to Houston's Expedition Center, an interactive, educational exhibit within the Houston Museum of Natural Science which allows children, as well as adults, the opportunity to expereience and work together on a variety of mock space missions. The precursor to the existing Expedition Center program was first founded in August 1988 by the families of, and in memory of, the astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Along with educating children and adults in STEM subjects, the Expedition Center also teaches important life skills such as team work, excellence, leadership and communication. Since 2009, the Yuri's Night Houston Fun Run has raised over $50,000 for the Houston Expedition Center.
For the past few years, each race has had around 500 participants, but we are hoping to approach 1,000 participants for future events. All net proceeds from the race are donated to Houston's Expedition Center, an interactive, educational exhibit within the Houston Museum of Natural Science which allows children, as well as adults, the opportunity to expereience and work together on a variety of mock space missions. The precursor to the existing Expedition Center program was first founded in August 1988 by the families of, and in memory of, the astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Along with educating children and adults in STEM subjects, the Expedition Center also teaches important life skills such as team work, excellence, leadership and communication. Since 2009, the Yuri's Night Houston Fun Run has raised over $50,000 for the Houston Expedition Center.
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