UCF Libraries Ready To Celebrate Space Week!
All Libraries Posted: October 5th, 2026UCF Libraries will be hosting a library-wide celebration during Space Week that highlights UCF’s unique connection to space. We will be in space exploration through exhibits, programs, workshops, student engagement activities, and collaborations across campus!
From October 26 – 31, we invite you to join us in exploring all of our space-related collections, events, and themed-experiences!
Monday
Space in the Popular Imagination
1pm-3pm
A panel of writers, filmmakers, and scholars discussing depictions of space in literature and film from the early 20th century to the present. Panelists will discuss how space is depicted in science fiction and the popular imagination. Michael Furlong, UCF Associate Librarian, will moderate. Light refreshments will be provided. Panelists include Dr. Michael Taylor, Barry Sandler and Dr. Adrienne Dove.
ucflib.fyi/SpacePop2026
Tuesday
Movie Night – Starman (2025)
5pm-7pm
Legendary NASA robotics engineer and best-selling science fiction author, Gentry Lee, has spent a lifetime seeking an answer to the ultimate cosmic question: Are we alone in the universe? At age 82 he has come to a revelatory conclusion.
ucflib.fyi/Starman2026
Wednesday
Mars to Table: Feeding the Future of Human Space Exploration
1:30pm-3pm
In collaboration with Rosen College, join Dr. Amy Gregory and Chef Cesar Rivera-Cruzado as they showcase UCF’s Closed-Loop Culinary Ecosystem (CLCE), a Mars food system that integrates food production, culinary experience, behavioral health, and crew performance.
ucflib.fyi/MarstoTable2026
Thursday
Movie Night – Hidden Figures (2016)
5pm-7pm
Three female African-American mathematicians play a pivotal role in astronaut John Glenn’s launch into orbit while dealing with racial and gender discrimination.
ucflib.fyi/HidFigs2026
WEEKLONG EXHIBITS:
From Orbit to Archives – Exhibit
Discover UCF’s place in the story of space exploration through photographs, memorabilia and more! A Special Collections & University Archives Exhibit inside the 4th Floor Gallery. Exhibition talks will be held inside the Gallery on October 27th at 4:15pm and October 28th at 3pm!
SpaceU: A Universe of Possibilities – Exhibit
This 2nd Floor Gallery Wall exhibit highlights some of the many projects UCF faculty and students are working on.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
Digital Exploration Center Exhibits:
The Digital Exploration Center (DEC) is opening up their Immersion Studio for space-themed experiences all week! Stop by Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm to explore the following:
Animal Astronauts: Going Where No Human Has Gone Before
Before the first humans traveled to space, animals paved the way to the stars. This exhibit chronicles the history of animals in space, highlighting their partnership with humans, their contributions to space exploration, and their sacrifices in the name of progress.
Mission Patches
An interactive exhibit examining the history of mission patches for spaceflight around the world, including patches from fiction. It also explores how UCF Football’s “Space Game” ties the University to the same tradition.
From Project Hail Mary to Reality: Immersion Rooms and Astronaut Mental Health
Learn about the potential use of immersive environments for astronaut well-being on long spaceflights as seen in the film Project Hail Mary and experience different immersive environments for yourself.
Space Tracks
Spotify playlist of space songs curated by library faculty, staff and students
Space Movie Bracket Challenge
An social media bracket of the Top 16 space movies EVER.
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