Welcome to the Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum

A progression of transportation from bikes to planes and into space!

A photograph of Deke Slayton in his space suit, without the helmet, in front of 2 American flags.

Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, Deke Slayton was one of America’s first astronauts—part of the Mercury 7 group that was formed by NASA in 1959. Throughout his 20+ year career with NASA, Deke was instrumental in shaping the early days of US manned space flight. In 1975, he was part of the joint American and Soviet crew for the Apollo-Soyuz docking mission—the very first international space mission, which paved the way for the International Space Station.

Bicycling Capital of America

Sparta, Wisconsin is the “Bicycling Capital of America” because it is home to the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail—the first Rails-to-Trails in the country in which unused railroad lines are converted into bike trails. It is one of the most popular bike trails in Wisconsin, and in 2008 it was added to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame.

Admission

Adults: $7.00
Seniors 65+: $6.00
Children ages 5 - 14: $5.00
Children 4 & under: Free

AccessIbility

The Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum is on the second floor of the Museum Complex. Due to the building being constructed in 1923 and being on the National Register of Historic Places, there is neither an elevator nor assisted access to the second floor.

Hours Of Operation

10:00am - 4:00pm
Tuesday - Saturday
Closed on holidays

Picture of the front of the Deke Slayton Space & Bicycle Museum

Visit us

We are located on the second floor of the Museum Complex building in Sparta, Wisconsin. Originally built in 1923 as a Masonic Temple, it is part of the “Historic Four Corners”—the only intersection in Wisconsin boasting a building recognized by the National Register of Historic Places on each corner!

Exhibits

The Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum tells a “Progression of Transportation” story starting with bicycles, going on to airplanes, and into space. We have over 70 bicycles on display, two full-size airplanes, a piece of the Wright Flyer fabric that has been to the moon, artifacts on loan from NASA, and Wisconsin’s only viewable piece of moon rock!

Summer Space Camp at the Deke Slayton Space & Bicycle Museum

Space Weeks

Every summer we offer two week-long day camps: Junior Space Week for students going into grades 3 - 4, and Deke Slayton Space Week for students going into grades 5 - 8!