Why Space Still Has the Power to Inspire Students
Many Americans look back fondly on the idealism that imbued President Kennedy's bold announcement of a national goal to put an American on the surface of the moon. Yet here we are over fifty years of technological advancements later, and many adults allowed themselves a smug little chuckle when another politician mentioned the idea of returning to the moon. Earlier this week Newt Gingrich talked about his support for an American initiative to build a permanent lunar colony within the next ten years. Prone to grandiose language, Gingrich may have been simply pandering to Florida primary voters, but even so, an American return to the moon is a great and worthwhile goal.
All politics aside, the idea of a moon base is neither far-fetched or silly to discuss, and many experts point out that Gingrich's supposed lunacy is grounded in mainstream science. While space exploration might not be financially practical right away given the current budget woes of the United States, that shouldn't stop us from talking about it. Americans should take pride in discussing, planning, and striving to expand our nation into space. Just as President Kennedy's man on the moon speech inspired the children of the 1960s, we can inspire today's students with confidence to think bigger and work harder in the hopes of being a part of something truly historically significant.
Mentions of big dreams and dramatic national milestones are far from empty rhetoric. Even without motivational leadership from Washington, kids in 2012 are still breaking educational ground thanks to imaginations fueled by thoughts of reaching outer space. Take a look at a couple cool examples of why we grown-ups should not discount the power of the ingenuity, enthusiasm and curiosity present in youth.
Lego Man In Space
Just a few days ago, two teenagers from Canada launched a figure from the iconic Lego toy line into space using a helium filled weather balloon. As icing on the cake, they caught dramatic video of the yellow-headed character floating high above the surface of the Earth and uploaded it to YouTube.com. Working for four months on the homemade Styrofoam craft, Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad finally got their reward when the camera footage and GPS trackers showed the Lego man had reached a height of 85,000 feet. Inspired to do the project by a few internet videos of similar flights done at MIT, the teens successfully completed their mission at a cost of about $400. In return for all this effort, their YouTube video has gone viral with millions of views.
Imagine what could happen if America had a coordinated effort at the federal level to encourage this type of enthusiasm for exploring space.
DARPA 100 Year Starship Study
On an encouraging note, dedicated teachers and a few government agencies like DARPA and NASA are treating some lucky students to the inspirational concepts behind space exploration. In a project called the 100 Year Starship Study (100YSS), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency asked scientists, futurists, and other thinkers to consider how humans might prepare for a journey to colonize another planet. Little did the symposium organizers know, some of the experts at their conference would be a group of 8th graders.
In an article on the 21st century education site plpnetwork.com, 8th grade teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron describes how her authentic, project-based approach to writing instruction and a friend's call to NASA eventually landed a few of her students the role of youthful experts at 100YSS. How cool is it that one hard-working teacher was able to facilitate a learning experience where science, writing, and the real world intersect! No doubt, some of her students will go on to pursue science and technology career paths as a result of this experience.
Outer space's power to inspire and educate is as alive for kids today as it was for their parents and grandparents. Perhaps some of the students mentioned above will even plan manned space expeditions for real one day...that is, if the adults will only let them. Parents, teachers, and anyone else with influence on the lives of our kids need to be careful that we don't pass on our cynicism to the next generation. To modernize an old idiom for the space age, little satellites have big ears, so let's make sure we're beaming out the right signals.
NASA, Space, darpa, education, kids, moon, newt gingrich, science, technology 
Reader Comments (3)
We can do the moon and mars. We need the technology eventually and we need our children engaged. My son loves Star Wars like nothing else and I think it is partially the idea they are fighting in the stars.
More than even this, I want to visit the moon one day. I want to place my feet there and have dinner overlooking earth and be swept away by its beauty and good fortune. It can be done and I believe this nation should do it. I am not getting any younger.
Your post inspired me.
I love the piece and hope Dugan's dreams can come true, but we might taking a Chinese Spacecraft to the moon sooner than an American one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/world/asia/china-unveils-ambitious-plan-to-explore-space.html?pagewanted=all