At the NSTA conference I had the opportunity to hear Barbara Morgan speak about her
flight on STS 118 last summer. She was still full of enthusiasm and awe of the experience
which brought some closure to the tragedy of the Challenger so long ago. One of the things which struck me about her experience was her persistence in achieving her goal of getting to space. Another is how fresh and exciting it was to her after such a long process. The potential for spaceflight to engage our students is still there, and clearly it has some amazing ‘engagement’ potential – it kept Barbara going for 22 years! I encourage teachers to promote what astronomers and space travelers do, especially because it combines so many areas, from engineering design to ecology. Having such a multi-disciplinary magnet is a great advantage to upper elementary and middle school teachers looking for ways to do science while hitting other areas like writing and math. Watch the International Space Station go over your house – check out http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html for the best viewing times. Share the excitement with your students!
