In brief: Montclair celebrates moon landing anniversary

Montclair will host an Apollo 11 commemoration event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing when Neil Armstrong and Montclair’s own Buzz Aldrin became the first men to step onto the surface of the moon. The commemoration will take place on Saturday, July 20, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton Ave.

We encourage everyone to join us for this family-friendly event. Mayor Robert Jackson will read a proclamation in recognition of astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

There will be giveaways of the Buzz Aldrin book “Reaching for the Moon”– quantities are limited and will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis, so get there early to grab a copy! There will also be a special drawing for “To the Moon and Back: My Apollo 11 Adventure,” the 2018 book by Aldrin and Marianne Dyson, beautifully illustrated by Bruce Foster.

To acknowledge Buzz Aldrin’s academic accomplishments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) where he received his doctorate in 1963, Yin Chang, co-founder of L3 Academy – a Montclair learning center that offers STEM programs for kids – will have team members from the academy’s award-winning robotics club provide demonstrations.

Rags Buchner who heads up Boy Scout Troop 40 in Rahway, NJ will have his Apollo 11 spacecraft replica on display in front of the library.