A popular answer to the, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question in elementary school is, “An astronaut!”
So when a bona fide astronaut shows up to an elementary school in that iconic flight suit, and shows pictures from space, he’ll have the attention of hundreds of young students.
On Monday, Kissimmee’s Ventura Elementary had two astronauts on hand to talk about what it’s like to be in space — and how they need to learn math and science to follow in their footsteps.
Matthew Dominick, a U.S. Navy pilot, is in training to fly into space to go to the International Space Station. Former Senator Bill Nelson, who flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia – the mission directly before the January 1986 Challenger accident – while serving in the U.S. Senate, is now NASA’s lead administrator.
“Fifty years ago we went to the moon, and now we’re going back to stay, work, learn and live there,” Nelson said. “Why? Because we want to learn how humans can live off the Earth, so we can then go to … Mars!”
That line was met with applause from the third through fifth graders in attendance.
“Somebody in this room will go into space,” Nelson said, noting that there are more vessels, like Space-X, Starliner and Artemis 1, that are sending astronauts to the Space Station, and they’ll eventually be the ships that send them to the moon and beyond.
Nelson and Dominick then took questions from the students, about being in space and what it takes to get into the space program.
Dominick, a dad to two daughters, seemed to have fun with it, connecting with the students with his answers.
“I’m just a 40-year-old child,” Dominick said. “I love this stuff. This is moving humanity forward. My last military job was training and fighting to keep humanity from going backwards. We spend billions of dollars on our future.
Part of his message is that breaking ground in science, much like life and “adulting” isn’t easy, and that reaching the stars — and your dreams — takes persistence.
“The first time I applied to be an astronaut, I didn’t get selected,” Dominick told the students. “I remember not getting pick for a baseball team at your age.
“Imagine looking down at your boots and shuffling in the moon. Imagine that … let’s go! This is a dream. That’s every kid. I’m in a ‘pinch me’ job. Every kid has that curiosity of turning over rocks in the yard; ‘What are these bugs?’”
Ventura Elementary Assistant Principal Amanda Soto was like many other teachers after the presentation, taking photos with Nelson and Dominick. She said she was thrilled at the opportunity to welcome them for an afternoon.
“It’s access, exposure and inspiration,” she said. “We can talk about engineering and what it its, now the kids get to see it in real life.”
Nelson, putting his NASA administrator hat on for reporters later, said the first missions going back to the moon will likely start in 2025, followed by one mission a year.
“We are not going to fly until its safe,” he said.”
