OUTER REACHES
A local elementary school will be linked with the International Space Station Thursday while celebrating NASA Stem Day.
The Sept. 7 event at Dames Ferry Elementary School has been in the planning stages since November. It has culminated with a day filled with presentations by community partners in addition to a conversation with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Katie Christensen is a music teacher at the school and is the media coordinator for the event. She said STEM leaders Ashley Ivy and Christin White initiated the process and worked through the application and interview process.
The school received notice of its conditional acceptance in January, and the Sept. 7 date was finalized with an April phone call from NASA.
Community partners who will be participating at DFES are Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia College, GCSU Science Education Department, MGSU School of Aviation, Georgia Power, Air Evac, Delta, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Mercer Chemistry and Robins Air Force Base Museum of Aviation. The presentations will include STEM sessions, engineering design challenges and career lessons.
Author Kim Eldridge will read from her book “The Sky is the Limit.”
Christensen said the presentations by the partners will take place from 8 to 10 a.m., and the link with the International Space Station is anticipated between 10:25 and 10:45 a.m. A large screen will be set up outside for parents and community sponsors to be able to watch, and students will watch from their classrooms.
The coordinator said there will also be virtual presentations later in the afternoon with Geoff Gidden, aerospace engineer, and Sean Tighe, Boeing Starliner.
NASA’s office of STEM Engagement at the Johnson Space Center facilitates these events that are designed to inspire students in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
