A central Iowa school is one of only 25 in the nation, and the only one in Iowa, chosen as a NASA Explorer School. Phil Roeder, spokesman for the Des Moines Public Schools, says Harding Middle School has been singled out for the honor and a three-year partnership with the space agency.
Roeder says the school will get a $17,500 grant from NASA to help pay for new technology and curriculum tools for teaching science and math. Students will also be working with NASA on experiments, some of which could eventually find their way into space. He says an astronaut will visit the school next week to "launch" the program, which should prove an excellent opportunity to get young Iowans fired up about space.
Roeder says some students may be able to get scholarships for NASA’s summer space camp and it should be a great way to bring more students into science and math who might otherwise not be excited about it. It’s not just students either. He says teachers at Harding will have the chance to grow professionally through summer workshops at NASA’s Marshall Space Center in Alabama.