Science Museum Dinner Dance Honors ‘America’s Space Pioneers’

Even without the bubble helmets, they stood out.

Five men with the “Right Stuff” were celebrated at the annual dinner dance of the South Florida Science Museum.

‘’Out of this World: An Evening Honoring America’s Space Pioneers’’ took place April 5 at The Breakers and featured a moderated program highlighting the achievements of Scott Carpenter, Robert Crippen, Charles Duke, Edgar Mitchell and David Scott.

With an authentic Mercury-program space capsule as the astronauts’ backdrop, CNN space correspondent John Zarrella elicited stories of space travel, from hitting a golf ball on the moon – hooks and slices know no cosmic boundaries, apparently — to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean

Ben and Elizabeth Gordon were chairman and chairwoman for the evening, which began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Circle Room, then moved to the Venetian – temporarily renamed ‘‘the Venusian’’ by a few astronomy geeks – for remarks from Lew Crampton, museum chief executive officer.

Crampton announced that effective June 7, the 50-year-old museum will be known as the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, an acknowledgement of the enlarged marinelife space. The evening continued with dinner, dancing, and the announcement of a major gift from the Quantum Foundation.

Frances Fisher, Helene Lorentzen and Heidi Niblack were honorary chairwomen, with Jeffrey Fisher, Matt Lorentzen and John Niblack serving as honorary chairmen.

Committee members included Howard Cox, Elizabeth and Matthew Fifield, Allison and Stuart Haft, Afsy and Dr. Carter Pottash, and Karly and Heath Randolph, Dale Hedrick and Harvey Oyer.

More than 350 people attended.