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Presented by State of Michigan Maritime Archaeologist Wayne Lusardi, he will highlight an assortment of objects, both human-made and natural, that have fallen from space into the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes have served as a training ground throughout the history of aviation. Nineteenth-century balloon ascensions, early military and civilian aircraft development, the quest to break the sound barrier, and rocket launches all occurred on the lakes. Join us to hear some of the stories of how the inland seas relate to outer space!

Wayne Lusardi works for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources with his office co-located with the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary research team in NOAA’s Alpena headquarters since 2002. He researches and helps document the nearly 1,500 shipwrecks located in state waters. He has an extensive background in underwater and terrestrial archaeology, artifact conservation, and material culture studies. Wayne previously worked as an archaeological conservator for the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, where he recovered two missing sailors from the USS Monitor’s turret after its recovery in 2002. He also spent four years on the Blackbeard shipwreck project in North Carolina. Wayne received his MA degree in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University in 1998, and a BS in Anthropology and Geology from Illinois State University. In addition to shipwrecks, Wayne documents aircraft wreck sites in Michigan, including a KC-135 Stratotanker lost south of Alpena, and a Bell P39 Airacobra flown by Tuskegee Airman Lt. Frank Moody that crashed into the lake during a World War II training mission.

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