The James A. Lovell Legacy Fund
Join Captain Lovell & family, their friends, and supporters to raise critical funds so the Adler can continue to inspire future generations of explorers the same way it did for Captain Lovell more than 80 years ago.
A Legacy of Perseverance
In the early 1940s, when Jim was a young boy, he found himself wandering the halls of the Adler Planetarium looking for parts for his new hobby of rocketry. Instead, what he found was a deep inspiration for the concepts of astronomy and space exploration. This passion led him to an extraordinary career with NASA as one of the first astronauts and a crew member of the early manned-space flights of Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and the fateful Apollo 13.
In his own words, Jim was “attached” to the Adler Planetarium from the beginning and over the last several decades he has donated his most important space artifacts and served as a key member of The Adler’s board of trustees and an advocate for its growth and sustainability efforts.
A Resilient Future
The Adler is committed to bringing that same experience that young Captain Lovell had to people of all ages for generations to come. We want each person who walks through the doors of our iconic art-deco building to find what he found here: a universe, a community, and an irresistible call to explore whatever captures their imagination. Everyone should see the Adler as a safe place to try and fail and try again, an approach he’s successfully demonstrated throughout his life.
We all will face unexpected challenges and even failures. It’s what we make of these moments—how we readjust, learn, and grow, that matters. The Lovell Legacy Fund will help the Adler encounter these unexpected moments. As our home here on Chicago’s lakefront ages, as the needs of our guests evolve and change, this fund will allow us to respond nimbly and creatively. Funds will be used to support the care and evolution of our home to ensure we can welcome the next explorers and leaders to excel in today’s industries and in those not yet imagined.
