This morning, I opened my email to find the most amazing news…. I’m going to Huntsville, Alabama for the Space Camp Tweetup? Wait…what’s a tweetup, you wonder? Well, here’s more info. This launch is special. It’s the final space shuttle launch….ever. Shuttles have been launching my entire life! It’s hard to believe that after this one, we’ll move ahead in a new direction. It’s exciting to think about what’s around the corner in science and in space travel. I think about the students I watched Discovery with, and when they grow up, they’ll look back on the shuttle launches and remember when and where they watched it. It’s history. We shared it, on a rainy afternoon in my classroom, eating popcorn, and screaming when the shuttle lifted off. It was one of those moments that make you realize why you love teaching.
I won’t be travelling alone, Virtual Von Braun will be going with me. He’s already got his flight suit on! I look forward to kicking off this online project in the place where all of these ideas started, rockets were built, and innovation sprang into action. When it comes to teaching our students to reach for the highest goal, push their creativity, dream big, and solve problems, space science IS the perfect model for that. It’s truly what learning is all about.
