December 2021 | Vol. 7 Iss. 12
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TEACHER GOES TO MOON AND BACK TO GET STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT SCIENCE By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
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arth science teacher Andrew Holmes goes to the moon and back to inspire students’ interest. “As a NASA-certified instructor, I have the unique opportunity to request actual moonrocks so that my students in our diverse demographic can experience something they never thought they would live to see,” Holmes said. “Billionaires have the opportunity to see space, but my students, who may one day work for them or become one themselves, need to see what is out there to motivate them.” Holmes, who teaches at West Jordan Middle School, requested moonrocks for an earth science lab in October. Students examined samples of rocks and soil and made observations based on what they’d learned about earth’s rocks and soil. Some samples were enclosed in glass but students were able to actually touch some of them. “It’s something other people don’t get to do,” ninth grader Albert Serrano said. “It’s cool to know it’s from the moon.” Ninth grader Phoenix Wright said being able to touch the moonrocks was better than just learning about it from a picture or video. “You can do a lot more observation when it’s right in front of you,” she said. Holmes had some concerns about using the moonrocks in his lesson. They arrived just as a popular TikTok challenge was encouraging kids to steal from their school. However, the security for the samples is tight; Holmes completed a specialized training and followed a strict protocol of how and where the West Jordan Middle ninth graders compare rock and soil samples from the moon with what they’ve learned about Earth’s geology. (Jet Burnham/ rocks could be stored and displayed. He was not allowed to post City Journals) Continued page 4
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