Students LEARN ABOUT: AMS STEM
Info and photos provided by Mrs. Brenda Williams and Mrs. Kate Nelson
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stronaut Anne McClain, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army who serves as both an engineer and NASA astronaut, spoke to a STEM class at AMS. Astronaut McClain flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in December 2018 and returned to Earth in June 2019. On December 9th, 2020, McClain was announced as one of NASA's Artemis astronauts. The goal of the Artemis program is to land "the first woman and the next man" on the moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region, by 2024. Anne McClain spoke to Mrs. Williamsâ first period STEM class, which is made up of 7th- and 8th-grade students. Mrs. Williams recorded the virtual chat, allowing all of her STEM students to watch the presentation. So how did an Astronaut for NASA get connected with a STEM class at Argyle Middle School? Kate Nelson, a mom of one of Mrs. Williamsâ students, Mary Nelson, informed Mrs. Williams that Anne McClain was a family friend and that she would be interested in doing a virtual chat with the AMS STEM students. The Nelson family has known Anne for quite some time as she and Ryan Nelson, Maryâs dad, both served in the Army together. They flew the same helicopter and were classmates at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Class 143. After receiving this information, Mrs. Williams contacted a NASA representative who set up the virtual chat with Astronaut Anne McClain. The students asked several questions. Some of the questions were: ⢠Why did you choose to become an astronaut, and how old were you when you decided to become an astronaut?
⢠What was the toughest part of your astronaut journey, and what made you keep going? ⢠How much training do you need to become an astronaut and go to the ISS? ⢠Were you nervous about going to space for the first time? How did you feel when you strapped into the rocket the first time? ⢠What effects did microgravity have on your body while you were in space, and how did it feel to get back to Earth and live with gravity? How long did it take to re-adjust to gravity on Earth? ⢠What is your favorite thing to eat on the ISS, and do things taste different when you're in space? (Things do taste different in space). Anne McClain was very thorough when answering the studentsâ questions. Anne used analogies to bring her space experiences to life for the students. She also included pictures from her journey to the ISS. When setting up the presentation with the NASA representative, Mrs. Williams provided specific information regarding the Flight and Space curriculum that had been recently taught in STEM class. The students had learned about the Oxygen/Carbon
Dioxide System and the Water Recycling System aboard the ISS. Anne McClain expanded on these topics and provided diagrams to explain the systems. Mary Nelsonâs mom, Kate, said that Mary was super excited to see Anne in her virtual class and listen to her share her experience of being on the International Space Station! âI think all the kids really enjoyed listening to her experience, how things work on the ISS, the experiments she performed, and what it is like being in space,â said Mrs. Kate Nelson. âWe are keeping our fingers crossed that Anne is chosen as the first woman to walk on the Moon,â said Mrs. Williams.
