Roger That!
Roger That! began at Grand Valley State University as a way to honor Grand Rapids native and Apollo 1 astronaut Roger B. Chaffee while celebrating the past, present, and future of space exploration.
How it began
In 2016, faculty in anthropology, physics, and engineering at Grand Valley State University began planning an unusual two-day event built around Roger Chaffee's legacy. The first Roger That! symposium was held in 2017, marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy.
From the beginning, the goal was broader than commemoration. Roger That! was designed as a meeting place for scholarship, public history, science, art, education, and the sheer fascination of spaceflight.
A mini academic conference, astronaut keynotes, museum programming, music, workshops, field trips, and K–12 activities all became part of the same celebration.
What Roger That! has become
The event grew from a one-time commemoration into an annual public symposium organized by Grand Valley State University in collaboration with the Grand Rapids Public Museum. It brings together academic speakers, astronauts, artists, historians, scientists, educators, students, families, and space enthusiasts.
Astronaut guests have included Guion Bluford, Nicole Stott, Story Musgrave, Leroy Chiao, Eileen Collins, José Hernández, Robert Satcher, John Herrington, Jeanette Epps, and others.
Other speakers have included Roger Chaffee's daughter Cheryl L. Chaffee, Brother Guy Consolmagno, artists and illustrators, historians, scholars, and space professionals.
The event also includes Design That!, a challenge for younger students that invites them to imagine and design solutions related to space exploration.
Why it matters
Roger That! is intentionally interdisciplinary. Space exploration is not only an engineering problem or a scientific project. It is also historical, cultural, ethical, artistic, social, and deeply human.
That mix is what has made the event distinctive from the beginning: serious scholarship alongside public engagement, astronauts alongside students, remembrance alongside curiosity.
Visit the official Roger That! Conference site at Grand Valley State University →