12/09/2006
Mission: Space at Washington Oak
By NICOLE WIETRAK


COVENTRY - 3...2...1...Blast off! Fifth grade students at Washington Oak Elementary School were treated to a special presentation on Wednesday when former astronaut in training Donna Taylor visited the class to talk with them about the planets, stars, astronaut training and even how to eat green beans in space.

Taylor, a school teacher and teacher advocate with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), applied to NASA's Astronaut Corps. in 2003 to become an astronaut
Taylor was rated within the top 10 percent of the nearly 8,000 applicants but unfortunately she was not selected as one of the top two candidates who then went on to pursue missions in space.

Although she currently works as a full-time mom at her home in Massachusetts, Taylor still reaches out to schools to educate kids about the wonders of space.

Taylor is a member of NASA's Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers (NEAT) program and part of the program's goal is to convey to students the importance of science and math education.

Taylor's visit to Washington Oak could not have been more appropriate, considering NASA's Discovery shuttle launch that was set for Thursday evening.

Taylor explained to the students that the goal of the astronaut's 11-day mission in space is the continued construction of the International Space Station - rewiring the orbiting laboratory and adding a segment to its existing structure.

The presentation also allowed the school to put its newly secured $35,000 Hewlett-Packard (HP) Technology for Teaching grant to good use.

Washington Oak's grant enabled the school to purchase five HP Tablet PCs, five HP multimedia projectors, five HP digital cameras, five HP all-in-one printer / scanner / copiers, software and accessories. Using the new technology, Taylor showed the students a multimedia presentation of her experiences in NASA as well as videos of space training methods such as the "vomit comet," space launches and actual astronauts in space.

Fifth grade teacher Victor Colomb, who set up the presentation with Taylor, said he hopes the students took with them a valuable lesson about the NASA space program.

"She's a great human resource to show the kids about NASA with the personal experiences that she's had and she's a great female role model for science," said Colomb about the value of bringing Taylor to speak with the students. "And also it showcases the HP grant that we earned and utilizes that technology."

"The kids seemed really excited about learning about the science aspect of space and since we're doing electrical kits in class, the technology kind of carries over," he said, adding that the students were also excited to learn how they too could become astronauts.

Taylor told the students that NASA estimates it will send a crew to Mars in the year 2030, and that the astronauts that participate in that mission will be in the 30 to 40-year-old age group.

"The first person to go to Mars is sitting in elementary school right this second," said Taylor to the wide-eyed group. "So you guys and girls could actually become the first Martians in history."

After the presentation, the students seemed to have made up their minds that their future profession would certainly involve a closer look at the stars.

"I think astronauts are cool because they aren't afraid to go into space and they are known to the whole world," said 10-year-old Ali Collins.

"And they discover planets!" chimed in her buddy, Jill Munroe.

While many of the students were confident in their decision to become an astronaut when they grew up, 10-year-old Zachary Rodrick was still on the fence.

"I'm either going to be an astronaut or an artist," he said, noting that his fear of heights might play a role in his decision making. "I'd prefer to be an astronaut, because I'd like to float around the room."