While tourism Paducah for the eclipse.

Many of them will visit the National Quilt Museum.

The theme continues as they can admire exhibits and pieces that tell the story of space exploration.

Our Laura Rogers, who's been really busy, also spoke with a quilter whose work is out of this world.

This is Mission Control, Houston.

Let's begin with your interest in space exploration and your career as an astronaut.

How did that all get started for you?

I decided when I was really young that I wanted to be an astronaut.

I was probably like eight or nine years old.

Dr. Karen Nyberg Childhood dream would one day become reality.

Sitting on the launchpad before we we're going knowing I'm finally doing what I had worked for my entire life.

That was her first time and outer space.

A 14 day mission.

Just appreciating being in that environment and seeing Earth from space.

She would later spend five and a half months on board the International Space Station.

Every second of it was.

Incredible.

She's also reflecting on how she developed another interest, one that would be a creative outlet for her during her time in engineering school.

My mom taught me to sew when I was really young, probably even before I said I wanted to be an astronaut.

So more of a passion for me when I was growing up than even being an astronaut was creating things, sewing, drawing, crafts.

While on the International Space Station in 2013, Nyberg shared videos of herself quilting and space that.

Makes sewing in space very.

Tricky.

She brought fabric and thread and needles with her and did some videos stitching a quilt block on the space station.

And how do you do that in zero gravity?

This is what I've made.

Stitching a star themed quilt square and inviting others to join.

NASA and Quilts Inc put out a call for people to submit a quilt block.

Originally they thought, We'll just make a quilt out of the blocks we receive and it will also contain the block I made in space.

Well, they received over 2400 of these blocks.

That was enough for close to 30 quilts, including submissions from Paducah, home to the National Quilt Museum.

So it's really fun to see those names, to see Paducah, Kentucky, listed in these quilts that are hanging in the exhibition.

The museum is currently hosting a special display of Karen Nyberg work called The Stars Are Aligned, featuring her textile pieces and art quilts, what she calls a combination of her love for drawing and quilting.

We are really loving having Karen Nyberg exhibition here at the Quilt Museum.

I think there's some surprise to see, you know, as an astronaut and a quilter, or to realize that people can do both artistic things as well as other high profile, highly complex jobs.

It's all in correlation with the timing of the total solar eclipse.

The museum celebrating the occasion with other space themed quilts they hope will appeal to guests in town for their interest in science, space and historic events.

Having an exhibition of some of our quilts that fit that theme may draw them further into quilting and open our doors to new audiences, but also open the minds of some of those people to what the world of quilting has to offer and what all people can make with fabric and thread.

People like Karen Nyberg, who has used her talents to pay tribute to those she admires, including Sally Ride.

Of course, I was very interested when Sally Ride took her flight because she was the first American woman to go.

And now Nyberg is influencing future generations to shoot for the stars and let their creativity shine.

Karen's exhibition is a really wonderful way to showcase that and really just kind of have people go, Oh, I didn't know that astronauts were quilters or that you could do this while you were in space.

And it opens up the brain a little bit and gets you excited about what those possibilities can be.

The Stars Are Aligned is on display through July 30th.

Karen Nyberg visits the museum for Quilt Week, April 25th and 26th.

So head back this way.