Community Corner
Kennywood Token Headed To The Moon
Western Pennsylvanians voted to send a piece of the West Mifflin amusement on the first commercial lunar landing.
PITTSBURGH, PA - The results are in. More than 20,000 people voted to select a piece of Pittsburgh culture to send on the first commercial lunar landing in 2021. With more than 51 percent of the vote, the winner was a Kennywood token.
The winner was announced Friday by the Senator John Heinz History Center, which partner Pittsburgh-based space robotics company Astrobotic on the campaign. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander that will deliver the first commercial payload to the moon.
Voters selected a piece from the West Mifflin amusement park over a micro SD card with the theme song to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and a small Eat ‘n Park smiley cookie. Those finished second and third, respectively, in the balloting.
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Other iconic bits of Pittsburgh on the ballot included a Heinz pickle pin, soil from Moon Park in Moon Township, a piece of a Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel, a photo of Toni Haggerty of Primanti Bros. and a City of Pittsburgh flag pin.
Kennywood officials obviously were pleased over the voting result.
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“We’re over the Moon about the opportunity to represent Pittsburgh in outer space, and we thank the History Center and Astrobotic for making this happen,” Kennywood general manager Jerome Gibas said in a statement. “This Kennywood token doesn’t have an expiration date, so if it ever makes its way back to Earth, it can be used to buy some of our world-famous Potato Patch fries.”
Photo via Senator John Heinz History Center.
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