A visit from a top-rated author/scientist typically costs thousands of dollars, but a partnership between Story Time From Space, Big Kid Science, and astrophysicist/author Jeffrey Bennett is now making it possible for many schools and communities to reduce that cost to ZERO. It’s all part of their mission to improve STEM education for children everywhere.
The free visits will be offered by Dr. Bennett, who is volunteering his time and will pay his own travel costs to schools and communities selected for this special program. Asked why he has decided to offer these free visits now, Dr. Bennett said, “I’ve always felt it’s important to promote STEM education, and feel a particular urgency as we approach the:
- 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing (July 20, 2019) and the
- 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s speech to the United Nations in which she urged the world to action against the threat of global warming (Nov. 8, 2019).
- one or more elementary school visits,
- additional programs for either K-12 or college faculty,
- a free public lecture on global warming, and
- additional programs tailored to the local community; the latter may include visits to middle schools or high schools, meetings with college students, or talks for business or corporate audiences.
Schools, colleges, and communities are encouraged to apply for this opportunity. Winning locations will be selected based primarily on the potential local impact on STEM education, with preference going to underserved populations. More details and instructions on how to apply for this opportunity can be found at http://www.jeffreybennett.com/visit/.
I had a chance to interview him to learn more.
How did Story Time from Space get started?
The program was started by Patricia Tribe, a former director of education at NASA’s Space Center Houston, and astronaut Alvin Drew. The two of them came up with the idea of having astronauts read stories from space as a way to promote both STEM education and literacy. I became involved when they chose my books to be the first ones that would try to read from space. Alvin did a pilot test of the idea during the final mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2011, reading a pdf of my book Max Goes to the Moon. Based on the success of that test, Patricia began working with the US National Lab on the International Space Station to launch physical copies of books to be read from the station. The program formally began in 2014 with the launch of the 5 books in my children’s series at the time. Note: if you’d like more details on the program origin and how I became involved with it, see this article: https://www.jeffreybennett.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Astrobeat_Sept2011.pdf
Why is it so important to encourage STEM from an early age?
Children have an innate interest in science, so our job as parents and educators is to encourage that interest. Unfortunately, it is too often the case that instead of encouraging this innate interest, societal pressures can discourage it, causing children to lose interest in science as they get older. This has serious repercussions both to the kids themselves, since it means they lose the option of choosing the many great STEM careers, and also for society, since we need an educated citizenry that can understand the many important science and technology based issues we face today.
Why did you decide to do your free school visit program?
I’ve been fortunate to be able to earn a living through my writing of college textbooks, and this is my way of trying to give back and to promote STEM education at the same time. Note that an important part of my program is that I will include presentations for teachers and grownups as well as kids, so that we can all be involved in STEM education together.
How did you get interested in space?
My personal interest probably stems in particular from the Apollo moon landings, which occurred when I was in elementary and middle school. The fact that we are this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing is a major reason why I decided to embark on the free visit program now.
Dr. Bennett is the author of six children’s books that have been flown to the International Space Station for the Story Time From Space Program, as well as of numerous critically-acclaimed books for the general public and best-selling college textbooks in astronomy, astrobiology, mathematics and statistics. His books have sold a combined total of more than 1.5 million copies. He has previously spoken at nearly 200 elementary schools, dozens of colleges and universities, and for many groups of scientists and educators both in the U.S. and internationally.
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