John Herrington, the first Native American astronaut to walk in space, has lately cruised across the county promoting math, science and space programs to students on reservations.

A member of the Chickasaw Nation, his achievements are honored in the summer nightly laser show cast on the Crazy Horse Memorial mountain carving.

On May 1, he will discuss his NASA work and his 4,000-mile "Rocketrek" education mission for a Rapid City Arts Council presentation at the Dahl Arts Center.

"The opportunity to host a speaker like John Herrington is a rare gift," said Dahl spokeswoman Darla Drew Lerdal in a news release.

Herrington worked at NASA from 1996 to 2005. His space flight aboard the shuttle Endeavour (Nov. 23-Dec 7, 2002) was the 16th shuttle trip to the International Space Station. The mission involved installing one of the trusses, transferring cargo and returning the station crew after a six-month stay. During the trip, Herrington made three spacewalks with astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, from Spain.

Herrington, an award-winning Navy test pilot, last year embarked on the cross-country ride aboard a state-of-the-art touring bike. It was loaded with a laptop, broadband phone, digital and video cameras and a GPS locator for his advocacy trip for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Dahl and South Dakota Gear-Up, the state initiative to boost Native education, have worked to bring Herrington to the Black Hills for a presentation.

"Being an astronaut is about as extreme as you can get, and his bicycle trek makes him a perfect fit for our Dahl Mountain Culture Festival," Drew Lerdal said.

Herrington's program will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, in the John T. Vucurevich Center.

Tickets are $12 in advance and for Dahl members. The price is $15 day of show. Seating is limited to 250.

Tickets may be purchased at the Dahl, 713 7th St., during business hours, online at www.thedahl.org or by calling 394-4101, Ext. 200.