NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Saluted by the first flights of numerous student-folded paper airplanes, Craig Steidle, retired admiral and NASA's Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, joined Space Shuttle astronaut Marsha Ivins in a very special spring break visit with students and teachers at Kennedy Elementary School in San Diego. The school hosted NASA guests April 13.

Image left: Craig Steidle, NASA's Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, reminded students at San Diego's Kennedy Elementary School they are explorers, now, and for the future. NASA photo by Tom Tschida

The school is one of the first 50 Explorer Schools around the U.S., sharing with NASA in an ongoing series of aerospace education projects. Admiral Steidle asked the Kennedy students, in grades four through six, if they knew any explorers. Responses typically included "Lewis and Clark," to which the admiral replied "and if you look around here, there are other explorers right in here."

He continued: "What we're doing in NASA, we're going to need some explorers in the future," encouraging his young audience to see themselves in that exciting way.

Astronaut Marsha Ivins projected pictures from space as she talked about life in orbit. The questions came hot and heavy from the students: "How do you find water on Mars?" "Have you seen a real alien?" Ivins and Steidle shared answers with their enthusiastic hosts, and then it was time for group photos and informal chat.

It was a remarkable day -- how often do an astronaut and an admiral come to school, and what does it take to get kids to return to school during a holiday break? The answers were found in a pile of paper airplanes at Kennedy Elementary School.

Image right: A flurry of young hands in the air greeted astronaut Marsha Ivins as she answered questions from students at Kennedy Elementary School in San Diego on April 13. On the left is school principal Evva Cross . NASA photo by Tom Tschida

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, located on Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert, is Kennedy Elementary School's partner in the Explorer School program. You may visit NASA Dryden Flight Research Center online at: www.dfrc.nasa.gov

Frederick A. Johnsen
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center