On this day in history, NASA was created.
Happy birthday, NASA! Not only are you an important part of fifth grade science (and history, as far as I'm concerned), but you are a part of what makes America a great nation.
As I told the kids during the past year as we studied it, my Uncle Jimmy on my Grandpa's side (Yes, his name was "Jimmy Carter", but he wasn't that Jimmy Carter) was an engineer for NASA. Up to a certain point in my life, I was convinced that I would one day be an astronaut. That is, until everybody started telling me that astronauts would have to know a lot of math, and by the point I decided to focus in on math, it was too late.
But the fifth grade me? Yeah, he was going to go into outer space. So a little part of me will always be attached to NASA and the space program, even if it's only through heredity.
It's in my blood.
Happy birthday, NASA! Not only are you an important part of fifth grade science (and history, as far as I'm concerned), but you are a part of what makes America a great nation.
As I told the kids during the past year as we studied it, my Uncle Jimmy on my Grandpa's side (Yes, his name was "Jimmy Carter", but he wasn't that Jimmy Carter) was an engineer for NASA. Up to a certain point in my life, I was convinced that I would one day be an astronaut. That is, until everybody started telling me that astronauts would have to know a lot of math, and by the point I decided to focus in on math, it was too late.
But the fifth grade me? Yeah, he was going to go into outer space. So a little part of me will always be attached to NASA and the space program, even if it's only through heredity.
It's in my blood.
2 comments:
That's terrific!!! NASA and space are a very important part of my life as well being "Jimmy" Carter's daughter! My dad used to take me to work with him to the wind tunnel and we saw the coolest experiments. Not that I understood a word of what he was saying, but it was so great just to watch it. Here's a factoid I LOVE sharing with folks...when the space shuttle would take off, all the white smoke poured out of the bottom. That was actually one of the last things my dad worked on before he retired. According to my dad, the white smoke isn't exhaust...it's water turning into vapor. They would pour millions of gallons of water on the base as it took off to absorb the sound. Cool, huh? Thanks for sharing this, Jeff.
That's so awesome! Thanks for sharing--I will definitely pass that along to my students in the future.
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