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50 years later, S.C. State Museum visitors remember watching the moon landing

50 years ago on July 20, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Half a century after mankind took its first steps on the moon, the Apollo 11 mission still inspires and awes the people who remember. 

It was a technological and unprecedented marvel as millions of Americans tuned in. The mission to walk on the moon was inspired by President John F Kennedy. 

In celebration of the 50th anniversary, the State Museum is hosting a special exhibit on Apollo 11. Museum employees like Tom Falvey are still captivated by what they watched half a century earlier.

"I believe I remember my parents bringing me downstairs to our little TV in the corner to watch those first steps," Falvey said.

Falvey was seven when he watched men walk on the moon and said it inspired his imagination.

"I have this memory of that I know that I wanted to be an astronaut. I remember jumping around my house like I was walking around the moon like in 1-6th gravity. So you know every kid wants to be a fireman or a baseball player or something, I wanted to be those things as well as an astronaut," Falvey said. 

As Falvey and America huddled around their televisions and radios, Richard Bohr took a different approach with his two daughters.

"This was in Louisville, Kentucky. I set up my telescope in the backyard and had my two daughters out there," Richard Bohr said. "We were watching the moon as the TV was announcing the landing. I think it was more a joke than anything, we spotted a silver thing sliding onto the moon as the television announced the landing."

And for another museum visitor looking back at his childhood memory, he said he knew it was important because even the adults were excited.

"I remember my dad was very excited and he wanted to make sure, that when it was time to watch, which I believe it was at night, I think so, can't remember for sure. He made sure that I was out there and ready to go, and I remember I had my little model of what I felt like was a spaceship. And we were actually watching the TV, and I knew who Walter Cronkite was, he was a famous newsman. Probably one of the most famous newsman ever as time went by. I just remember realizing how important this must be, because not only was my dad excited about it, this guy on the news who we saw all the time was very excited and emotional," Steve Dabney said. "I just felt that he was very emotional about it. I remember thinking, hey this is something really important going on."

50 years later, Dabney said he hopes humanity returns to the moon and uses it to create new advancements and explore even further.

The South Carolina State Museum's space week begins Saturday July 20 and continues through July 28. Admission is free for children ages 3-12 all week. 

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