NASA'S Head Of Education To Meet With D.C. Elementary Students

[NASA News <hqnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Feb. 03, 2011

Ann Marie Trotta 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1601 
ann.marie.trotta@xxxxxxxx 

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-022

NASA'S HEAD OF EDUCATION TO MEET WITH D.C. ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin 
will meet with first and third grade students at Ferebee-Hope 
Elementary School in Washington from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST on 
Tuesday, Feb. 8. This is one of the school's Black History Month 
events and will focus on the importance of reading. 

Melvin, a former space shuttle astronaut, will share his flight 
experiences, highlight contributions of African Americans to the 
space program and read the book "The Moon Over Star" aloud to the 
children. The book tells the story of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing 
and how that event inspired the main character, a young 
African-American girl named Mae. 

The event is a collaborative effort with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) 
and is part of the organization's DC Initiative. The program annually 
distributes more than 50,000 free books to help children discover the 
joy of reading. Carol Rasco, president and CEO of RIF, also will 
participate in the event. 

News media representatives interested in attending should contact Ann 
Marie Trotta at 202-358-1601 by 4 p.m. EST Monday, Feb. 7. 
Ferebee-Hope Elementary School is located at 3999 Eighth Street, SE 
in Washington. The event will be streamed live on the Web at: 



http://www.rif.org/live. 



Betsy Pugel, a physicist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 
Greenbelt, Md., will be on hand to show the students a moon rock and 
share materials from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission 
launched in 2009. 

NASA's broad education program works to engage teachers and students 
from kindergarten through the university post-graduate level. The 
program uses the agency's unique assets and exciting space endeavors 
to inspire students and encourage them to pursue curricula and 
careers related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

It is a key part of NASA's effort to help build the nation's future 
high-tech workforce and cultivate the next generation of explorers. 
NASA Television will air footage from the event during its Video File 
feed. For NASA TV schedule and streaming video information, visit: 



http://www.nasa.gov/ntv 


For information about NASA's education programs, visit: 



http://www.nasa.gov/education   

	
-end-



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