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Igniting interest
Published October 29, 2009
Boaz Intermediate School fifth graders Cristina Ramirez and Noah Williams reached out and touched the NASA space shuttle Discovery on Wednesday.
Sure, it was a 1/25th scale model of the shuttle, but the two students appeared genuinely impressed.
Joe Davis, of NASA, showed the students the space shuttle model and hoped to ignite their interest in science and engineering.
“If we can just get kids interested, it would be great for the country,” he said.
Ramirez and Williams were among the students who are enjoying NASA Week activities at all five Boaz schools. Scientists from all over the country, including three from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, are visiting the schools and providing presentations and hands-on demonstrations. The scientists visited the middle school Tuesday and will visit the high school today.
“We’ve got some great scientists explaining to our children what’s actually going on in space exploration,” BIS principal John Beck said. “It’s very interesting.”
Students, like fifth-grader Baylee Grace, said they’re learning a lot.
“I learned the spacesuit weighs 300 pounds,” Grace said. “I thought it weighed like regular clothes.”
Fifth-grader Lydia Lowery was interested to learn what astronauts do during their off time in space.
“When they’re in space, they play music when they don’t have to work,” she said.
Fifth-grader Nathan Cornutt was fascinated by how astronauts sleep in space.
“They sleep in coffin-like things, and they strap them down and hook them up so they won’t float away,” he said.
Fourth grade science teacher Rachel Noles said the students seem motivated.
“They ask better questions than the teachers,” she said. “It’s been exciting for me to see them get excited about learning new things about space. I feel like having the scientists come here and explain everything more in depth has helped our students understand the universe better.”
BIS gifted specialist Lynn Toney said the NASA Week activities are also kicking off the Civil Air Patrol’s ACE program at BIS. ACE, or Aerospace Connections in Education, is a program focusing on aerospace awareness, character and physical fitness.
Most teachers and students at BIS were donning yellow T-shirts Wednesday with the ACE acronym reading “Aerospace is Cool in Education.”
“All the teachers will teach 12 ACE lessons or more, and every student will receive ACE certificates at the end of the year,” Toney said. “We want all our kids, K through 12, to be aerospace-minded. We see aerospace and aviation as a big part of the future for Boaz, Marshall County and the state of Alabama. We want our kids, if they’re interested, to be able to go right into it.”
Vivian Brown, of the Boaz Board of Education; Kristi Hopper, of BIS; and Toney collaborated to make the NASA Week schedule of activities particularly meaningful for students at all the schools.
Boaz Middle School principal Allen Johnson is pleased with the result.
“Anytime we can bring in experts in the field and expose our kids to their experiences, it’s awesome,” he said. “It’s what learning is all about.”
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