After astronomical attendance at recent open houses, JPL launches new ticketing system
Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s annual Open House is no more.
After the past two annual events each drew crowds of up to 45,000 attendees — many of whom had to stand in line for more than an hour and whose vehicles filled the facility’s parking lot to capacity in a matter of minutes — organizers were forced to find a more practical way to share JPL’s missions with the public.
Their answer? A move to a free ticketing system that allows would-be visitors to register online for up to five tickets per family and select their own ETAs in advance. The new two-day event, aptly named “A Ticket to Explore JPL,” is set to take place the weekend of June 4 and 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Said tickets will be available online at jpl.nasa.gov starting April 25 at 9 a.m. and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
Veronica McGregor, JPL’s manager of news and social media, explained the new system aims to cap attendance at about 15,000 visitors per day to prevent a build-up of cars on city streets and keep organizers from having to turn people away, which happened last year.
The hope is this new experiment will provide a safer, more enjoyable and less chaotic experience for visitors and the employees who work the event, she said.
“We’re excited people are so interested,” McGregor said of the decades-long tradition. “(But) in the last few years we’ve had more and more attendees ask if we would ever consider switching over to a ticketed event.”
Because of the switch, she explained, the event can no longer be billed as an “open house.” But aside from the name, the event in June is expected to feature the same exhibits, speakers and attractions for space lovers of all ages.
“It’s the same event, just a different way to handle the entry,” McGregor assured.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
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