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More than 20,000 votes were cast for the Heinz History Center’s #MoonBox campaign, asking Western Pennsylvanians what item would represent Pittsburgh as part of the first commercial Moon landing in 2021. Their choice? A Kennywood token.
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Pittsburghers will send a Kennywood token to the moon

courtesy of Heinz History Center

Pittsburghers will send a Kennywood token to the moon

It’s one giant leap for a little token.

The piece of Pittsburgh culture that locals will send 240,000 miles to the moon is a shiny gold token from Kennywood.

More than 20,000 votes were cast for the Heinz History Center’s #MoonBox campaign, asking Western Pennsylvanians what item would represent Pittsburgh in Astrobotic’s MoonBox program as part of the first commercial moon landing in 2021.

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More than 51 percent of the vote went to the Kennywood Park token.

Seated in the second cart, Zachary Hallenbeck, middle left, 13, of Alexandria, Va., Dave Altman, middle right, of Plum, Ally Ackman, front left, 17, and Zackery Franks, front right, 22, both from Washington, ride the Kennywood Thunderbolt coaster on Sunday, June 3, 2018 at Kennywood Park. Hallenbeck, Altman, Ackman, and Franks are riding the Kennywood Thunderbolt coaster for 50 consecutive rides as part of the 50th Anniversary of the roller coaster.
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Heinz History Center receives grant to digitize documents, 2,000 pictures of Kennywood Park

“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. “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!”

Second place, with 14 percent of the vote, was a micro SD card with the theme song to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” followed by a teeny tiny Smiley Cookie with 9 percent of the vote, the result of an Eat’n Park write-in campaign.

The list of choices included a Heinz pickle pin, soil from Moon Park in Moon, a piece of a Pittsburgh Steelers’ Terrible Towel, a photo of Toni Haggerty of Primanti Bros., and a City of Pittsburgh flag pin.

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The Pittsburgh-based space robotics company Astrobotic partnered with the Smithsonian-affiliated History Center on the campaign, which celebrates the final weekend of the museum’s “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission” exhibition.

First Published: February 15, 2019, 2:27 p.m.

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More than 20,000 votes were cast for the Heinz History Center’s #MoonBox campaign, asking Western Pennsylvanians what item would represent Pittsburgh as part of the first commercial Moon landing in 2021. Their choice? A Kennywood token.  (courtesy of Heinz History Center)
 (Heinz History Center)
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander that will deliver the first commercial payload to the Moon is on display in the History Center’s Destination Moon exhibit, which will close following Presidents Day weekend.  (Heinz History Center)
courtesy of Heinz History Center
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