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The Pan American Games, also known as the Pan Am Games, is a major sporting event in the Americas that features summer sports. These take place every 4 years in the summer before the Summer Olympics are held. The XVIII Pan Am Games were held in Lima, Peru, in 2019. The first Pan Am Games were thought up in the 1930's, and the first games were slated for 1942, but these were postponed due to WWII. The first Pan Am Games took place in 1951 in Buenos Aires, with 18 sports offered. The following year, the second Pan Am Games were held in Mexico before switching to being every 4 years.

The 1987 Pan American Games, also known as the X Pan American Games, took place from August 7th-the 23rd and included over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in North, South, and Central America. Competitions in 30 sporting events took place in 23 venues around Indianapolis, Indiana, and 1,015 medals were awarded. The official logo for the 10th Pan Am Games consisted of 5 stylized X’s, the Roman numeral for 10. The mascot was Amigo, a green parrot that represented friendliness and festivity. Both the logo and mascot were created by local Indianapolis residents. The opening ceremony was held on the main straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of the Indianapolis 500. The X Pan Am Games were financially successful, bringing in $175 million dollars to the local economy and cost around $30 million to put on, making Indianapolis the first Pan Am Games to break even. This also led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to consider Indianapolis for their headquarters and in 1997, they made the move to Indianapolis.

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The Adler Planetarium located in Chicago, Illinois, was opened in 1930 as the first planetarium in the United States. It is named after founder Max Adler to enable all citizens the chance to observe the sky like astronomers. It was also featured at the Chicago exposition and is considered a National Historic Landmark. Today, the planetarium receives more than half a million visitors annually and features many outreach programs designed to get citizens, and especially kids, into science.

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The foundations of the Kennedy Space Center can be attributed to Public Law 85-568 signed by President Eisenhower in 1958.  This law established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known more commonly by their acronym NASA. After land on Merritt Island, Florida, was acquired, the facility finally opened in 1962 and was named after President John F. Kennedy. The facility holds a special place in American and human history, for developing and launching the Apollo programs, including sending the first man to the moon in 1969.

In 2020, the SpaceX Dragon, the first rocket with returnable parts, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center.

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In 1990, The University of Indiana and the United Church of Christ collaborated to create an on-campus event for practicing Christians. The inaugural event, called “Faith Works, UCC Experience 1990”, lasted four days. There were activities such as workshops, music, art, and speeches. Thousands of people attended the event.

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The 1987 Pan American Games were the 10th Pan Am Games, a sporting event competition that runs alternatively to the Olympics in summer. These are also known as the X Pan American Games, which took place over two weeks in August. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in North, South, and Central America participated and 1015 medals were awarded. This event took place in 23 venues across Indianapolis and there were competitions in 30 sports. The official mascot was Amigo, a green parrot that represented friendliness and festivity. The official logo for the 10th Pan Am Games consisted of 5 stylized X’s, the Roman numeral for 10. The mascot and the logo were both designed by Indianapolis residents. The opening ceremony was held at the site of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The X Pan Am Games were financially successful as they brought in $175 million dollars to the local community and cost around $30 million to put on, making Indianapolis the first Pan Am Games to break even. This also led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to consider Indianapolis for their headquarters and in 1997, they made the move to Indianapolis.

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Kings Island is an amusement park near Cincinnati, Ohio, which first opened in 1972. It is open seasonally from the spring until the fall. It boasts 364 acres with over 100 attractions such as 14 roller coasters and a 33-acre water park. It is owned by Cedar Fair, which owns and operates other amusement parks across North America, including the famous Cedar Point. There are 9 areas of attractions; Action Zone, the Coney Mall, International Street, Oktoberfest, Planet Snoopy, Rivertown, Soak City, Halloween Haunt, and Winterfest. Notable attractions include roller coasters such as Flight of Fear, The Beast, and Mystic Timbers, as well as Soak City Water Park, and international attractions like a one-third scale replica of the Eiffel Tower that gives guests a view of the entire park. Kings Island was the second most visited amusement park in the U.S in 2017 behind the number one spot, Cedar Point.

Kings Island was opened by the Taft Broadcasting Company, which also owned Coney Island on the Ohio River, near Cincinnati, which was prone to flooding. Kings Island was designed to replace the historic Coney Island. Coney Island was founded in 1867, but had closed down all but it’s pool when Kings Island opened in 1972. Coney Island has since expanded out to become a water park. Kings Island was later sold to Paramount and again to Viacom. From 1992-2006, rides were named after movies and shows Paramount owned, but in 2006, Cedar Fair purchased the park changing things to their brand. By 2010, all of Paramount and Nickelodeon’s presence was completely gone from the park. Rides such as Top Gun later became Flight Deck, Tomb Raider: The Ride became The Crypt, and The Italian Job Stunt Track is now Backlot Stunt Coaster. Kings Island has won a few awards over the years, including Golden Ticket Awards 18 years in a row from 2001-2018 for, “Best Kids Area,” from Amusement today and, “Best New Ride,” in 2017 for Mystic Timbers.

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WTPI was a radio station in Indianapolis called, “The Top for Indianapolis,” which referred to its location at the top of the Indianapolis FM dial. 107.9 was first launched as an FM station in 1961 as WISH-FM and had a few changes in management as FM stations began to gain popularity and AM stations were losing listeners. The station shut down in 1976 and remained vacant until 1982 when it was granted to Peoples Broadcasting Corporation. On August 13th, 1984, the FCC assigned the call letters WTPI for the existing 107.9 FM station. It stayed WTPI until 2005 when it changed to--and as of 2020 remains--WNTR.

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Located in the southwest corner of the Mile Square in Indianapolis, the Hoosier Dome, a domed event stadium, was completed in May 3, 1984. The Hoosier Dome was added as part of a 1984 expansion to the Indiana Convention Center as an attempt to draw in more business and tourism to the city. Shortly after the grand opening of the stadium, the National Football League (NFL) team, the Colts, made the move from Baltimore to Indianapolis, where they would make the stadium their home until 2008. The dome’s official dedication day, August 11, 1984, hosted a sold-out Indianapolis Colts game against the New York Giants in an NFL preseason game.

The stadium went on to host numerous events including local commencement exercises, national religious conventions, the Tenth Pan American Games, the NCAA men’s basketball and indoor track and field finals, the Indiana High School Athletic Associations’ boys basketball finals, and the World Gymnastics Championships.

The stadium was originally named the Hoosier Dome until 1994, when RCA paid $100 million for the naming rights for 10 years.

In December 2008, the stadium was demolished as part of a project to expand the attached convention center and was replaced by the Lucas Oil Stadium.

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In the summer of 1985, while the West Coast was celebrating Disneyland’s 30th Anniversary, the East Coast had a different avenue for experiencing Disney Magic. From June 21-August 29, Disney teamed up with Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan to create an unforgettable experience. This show had two film presentations; Return to Oz, which ran from June 21-July 25, and the Black Cauldron, which ran from July 26-August 29. The program started off with a live show featuring Disney Characters and Rockettes performing numbers from Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, Dumbo, and other Disney classics and remained the same through the run of the show.

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Pomp and Circumstance is part of a larger orchestral piece, “Pomp and Circumstance in D Major, Op. 39, No. 1.”, that is typically played at graduation ceremonies. Although it was not originally written to be played at this ceremony when it was composed in 1901 by Sir Edward Elgar, the piece was used as a central theme for Edward VII's coronation and gained popularity. In 1905, Elgar's tune played as a recessional at a Yale graduation after he was awarded an honorary doctorate, making it the song everyone wanted to graduate from then on. The original title comes from the Shakespearean play, Othello.

Hallmark began in 1910 when Joyce Clyde Hall started selling postcards. He had little money—not even enough to take a horse-drawn cab to his lodgings at the YMCA—but he had an entrepreneurial spirit and the determination of a pioneer. Hall quickly made a name for himself with the picture postcards he sold. Rollie Hall joined his brother in business, and the company was named Hall Brothers. On January 11, 1915, a fire destroyed their office and inventory. They took the only salvageable item, their safe, and set up shop again. With $17,000 in debt, they decided to press onward. As postcard sales declined, they recognized the public’s desire for more privacy in their communication, so they started offering high-quality Valentine’s Day and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes. The fateful fire resulted in the Hall brothers’ decision to buy printing presses and begin producing their own greeting cards in 1915. Hallmark eventually made the move to manufacture and sell collectable memorabilia including pin-back buttons, most of which revolve around holidays and other special events.