Our nation’s students have been involved in an unprecedented learning environment for nearly a year now. Children have had to adjust to a variety of new ways to learn, grow and experience new things and, for many, their world may seem to have shrunk to the bezels of their screens.
Until tomorrow, February 18th!
On that day, NASA will land its 2020 Perseverance Rover spacecraft on Mars, casting our sights from our small planet to the entire universe.
What a rare opportunity -- especially in these times!
From the NASA website, students can engage with the space landing alongside opportunities for their questions to be answered and their interests to be multiplied. Whether they harbor dreams of traveling space themselves or helping NASA build the next rocket ship here on Earth, this is an opportunity for students to explore the opportunities that could lay in their future.
To facilitate learning in this moment, NASA has provided background information and research, grade-level appropriate presentations, and masterful virtual offerings that will take students inside the Rover craft.
My colleague Jim Cowen of the Collaborative for Student Success affirmed the importance of this opportunity for our youth in a Forbes piece this week, stating "[The landing] is a chance to bring math and science to life and for students to contemplate possibilities that lie not just in front of them, but beyond their solar system.”
During a week of brutally cold national weather and continued depiction of harsh realities on our televisions, the Mars rover landing represents a refreshing opportunity to excite our young learners in a positive fashion. I applaud the teams at NASA for not only leading great feats in human development, but for also ensuring these moments capture the imaginations of our youngest generation and motivate them to set their own sights on the stars.
Whether parent, guardian, or teacher, I encourage you to engage with the students in your life around this incredible moment for our nation.
The live stream coverage of the day’s events, along with a wealth of educational resources for students, can be found on NASA’s website here.
Sincerely,
Christi M. Ham
Chair
Military Families for High Standards