WKAR and the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University celebrated the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon with a weekend of activities July 19-21. Hundreds of people gathered at the planetarium to mark the occasion with events that included a return of WKAR's Pop-Up Stories.
In case you missed Pop-Up Stories on July 19, we've collected them here. Enjoy!
![Tamara Hicks-Syron photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/85cb0ab/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6574x3698+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2Ftamara_hicks-syron.jpg)
Tamara Hicks-Syron's story was about becoming geeked about science at an early age.
![Jim Karenko](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba28446/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5959x3352+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2Fjim_karenko.jpg)
Jim Karenko was turned on to the science fiction stories about a young inventer named Tom Swift. He brought a copy of a Tom Swift book to tell his Pop-Up story.
![Jackie Payne photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7f7784c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4419x2762+0+0/resize/880x550!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2Fjackie_payne_2.jpg)
As the Apollo 11 spacecraft was heading to the moon, Jackie Payne was worried that her approaching wedding ceremony might take a back seat to news coverage of the mission.
![Tom Sampson photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/be46f1a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5477x3081+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2Ftom_sampson_0.jpg)
Tom Sampson was in the Army when Neil Armstrong took that first step onto the surface of the moon. It took a while for the news to reach Vietnam.
![Leslie Johnson photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b3ff9c1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6323x3557+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2Fleslie_johnson.jpg)
For Leslie Johnson, the astronauts who walked on the moon played a big role in her evolution from English major to studying science later in life.
![Mike Cox photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b8989e1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5372x3022+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2Fmike_cox.jpg)
Mike Cox dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but always figured that he'd never reach that goal because of his eyeglasses.
![John French photo](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0d8801a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwkar%2Ffiles%2F201907%2FMOONFEST_JOHN_FRENCH_1_V1_0.jpg)
John French of Abrams Planetarium wrapped up WKAR's MSU Moonfest Pop-Up Stories event with a tale of meeting Neil Armstrong, and he concluded his story with a song.