BRANDYWINE — Every kid who has ever looked up into the stars and wondered what it must be like to be an astronaut and float through the heavens has probably wished they could ask one of those space travelers what it’s really like to be hundreds of miles above earth.
Thanks to a special program through The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, five students from Brandywine Elementary School had the opportunity to ask a real astronaut at the International Space Stations questions recently.
The five students, Eleanor Bowman, 4th grade; Jordyn Foley, 4th grade; Bryson Baker, 4th grade; Ryder Kopernak, 3rd grade; and Braxton Smith, 4th grade, were randomly selected to video tape a question for American astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren while he’s stationed in outer space.
Lindgren then listened to the questions submitted by the students and answered them during a live broadcast from the International Space Station on Aug. 30, 227 miles above earth.
Four of the five students selected to asks a question actually went to the Children’s Museum last week to watch Lindgren answer their questions live while the fifth student, Jordyn, stayed at school to join in with the other BWES students, teachers and administrative staff who took part in a “space” themed day of learning, which included principal Austin Theobald joining the fun, dressing up like Star War’s Darth Vader.
Ryder was curious about the space, in space, and asked Lindgren if he has his own room in the International Space Station or has to share quarters.
“He said ‘Yes,’ he had his own room,” Ryder said. “But, I already knew it because I found out when we watched a video about the space station.”
Eleanor was still in disbelief that she actually had the chance to ask a real astronaut a question while he was in space. She asked, “What is your least favorite thing about being in space and why?”
Lindgren — who is also a trained physician — answered, “Being away from family,” Eleanor said.
Theobald, who told his third and fourth grade teachers about the opportunity, had students who were interested write their names on a slip of paper and they then selected five names randomly to tape video questions for the astronaut.
The school’s assistant principal and district curriculum coordinator, Brian Dinwiddie, drove the students to Indianapolis while the rest of the school had a fun-filled, space-themed day. The day was complete with cosmic brownie treats and tang drink as they watched the interaction between the astronaut and the four students live via the internet.
Jordyn, who had the chance to ask a question but remained at school, asked Lindgren what kind of food he was able to eat while in space.
“He said he was having meatloaf for dinner,” Jordyn said, somewhat surprised. “It was so exciting.”
Lindgren even floated some water and peanut M&M’s through space to show the students what it was like handling food in the space station where there is less gravity.
Dinwiddie said it was amazing to watch the students as their questions were answered from outer space.
“We were sitting there waiting for their question to come up and be on the screen so the astronaut could answer it, and when they did see themselves on the same screen as the astronaut, the look on their faces was really something,” Dinwiddie said. “I don’t think I’ll forget this experience.”
Braxton asked Lindgren how many personal items he was able to take into space and what did he take with him?
Lindgren showed the students something his son had made in a camp — a tiny Gnome.
“He also brought a Frisbee,” Braxton said. “He wanted to see how it would float in space.”
Braxton said he was “amazed” to have a chance to speak to an astronaut, so much so the experience made him think about maybe someday becoming one.
Bryson was curious about how multiple astronauts from different counties and speaking different languages communicate with eachother while at the International Space Station. Unfortunately, NASA runs a tight ship and the Brandywine student’s question didn’t get answered in their allotted 20-minute time period.
Still, the opportunity to be a part of a group who actually had an interaction with an astronaut while in space was a special experience.
“I thought it was awesome and amazing to see the other kids get their questions answered by a real astronaut at the International Space Station,” Bryson said.
Like many, young and old alike, Bryson said he’s often wondered what it’s like to be in outer space, especially after he saw the space station one night.
“It was really dark outside, but you could see it,” Bryson said.
Theobald noted, educators love an opportunity to teach children about more than just reading, writing and arithmetic. He said the school was all abuzz about outer space on the day the students traveled to Indianapolis. They were even going to watch as NASA prepared to launch Artemis 1, but unfortunately the launch was scrubbed.
“I think it’s really important that students have an opportunity to have a memorable experience,” Theobald said. “We’re creating core memories for kids.”
He noted the Artemis 1 Mission, for the first time ever, has a female launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, an engineer. He likes sharing information about those types of things with students.
“So if maybe being an astronaut isn’t for all kids, letting them see the other opportunities, the roles out there is good for kids,” Theobald said.
To view the encounter between the students and the astronaut and Indiana students, visit, https://youtu.be/tasiTlFVXro.
