John Herrington, the retired Navy aviator who in 2002 became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space, is coming to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City on Monday, Nov. 23. The evening pairs a screening of the dome film Into America's Wild, in which he appears, with a talk and audience Q&A. General admission is $10.

Who John Herrington is

Herrington was born in 1958 in Wetumka, Oklahoma, and is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. He grew up in Colorado Springs, Riverton, Wyoming, and Plano, Texas, received his Navy commission in 1984 and was designated a naval aviator in 1985. NASA selected him as an astronaut in April 1996.

His one spaceflight was STS-113 aboard the shuttle Endeavour, from Nov. 23 to Dec. 7, 2002. The crew delivered the Expedition Six crew to the International Space Station, and Herrington made three spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes, including work on the station's Port 1 truss. He carried the Chickasaw Nation flag and a traditional flute with him. The Monday visit to Garden City falls on the 24th anniversary of that launch.

He retired from the Navy and NASA in July 2005, has since spent much of his time speaking to young people about education, and is a member of the Chickasaw Hall of Fame.

The film and the evening

Into America's Wild is narrated by Morgan Freeman and follows three travelers through American landscapes: Herrington, Alaskan bush pilot Ariel Tweto and long-distance hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis. It is part of the Cradle's dome theater lineup.

The schedule runs like this:

  • 7 p.m.: screening of Into America's Wild
  • 7:45 p.m.: John Herrington on his path to becoming an astronaut, his time in space and his part in the film, followed by questions from the audience

More at the Cradle this season

The museum on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard holds more than 75 aircraft and spacecraft across eight galleries, from the Hempstead Plains and the two world wars through the Jet Age and space exploration. Two more family dates are already on its calendar:

  • Festival of Games: Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • A Very Grinchy Pajama Party: Friday, Dec. 18, with activities from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and a movie at 7.

How to go

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