06.12.

06

Debbie V. Nguyen
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(281) 483-5111

RELEASE: J06-067

LOCAL STUDENTS IN NASA PROGRAM SCORE WITH HOUSTON

DYNAMO

NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez will make the ceremonial first kick at
the June 17 Houston Dynamo game in recognition of more than 130
Houston students who have reached the goal of becoming one of NASA’s
21st Century Explorers. Fifteen 21st Century Explorer Student
Ambassadors, who helped kickoff the project, also have been invited.

After completing a three-week after-school program, the students

received passes to witness other Houstonians making some goals of
their own. Pre-game activities include the broadcast of a 30-second
announcement congratulating all the students, followed by NASA news
clips starring the 21st Century Explorer Student Ambassadors
appearing on the Jumbotran. Both activities will be in English and
Spanish.

NASA’s 21st Century Explorer project is a bilingual program that aims

to inspire and motivate 3rd- to 5th- grade students, especially in
underrepresented and underserved populations, toward interests in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The project's educational packages, as well as an after-school

program, depict NASA's Vision for Space Exploration of going back to
the moon, then on to Mars and beyond. The educational packages, which
follow national education standards, also contain a glossary, quiz,
book, several Web-based resources, and educator and student sections
of a hands-on activity.

During the pilot after-school program, students participated in

hands-on activities that helped answer questions like, “Why do
astronauts eat tortillas instead of bread?â€​ and “What will replace
the space shuttle?â€​ They also presented their final projects at a
fair held at Baylor College of Medicine.

“Through the students’ participation in this project we feel they are

on a path to getting the right skills to become future explorers and
helping to keep the nation a leader in space exploration,â€​ said
Jaqueline Cortez, 21st Century Explorer Project Lead. “One of them
may even be one of the first people to step foot on Mars.â€​

The after-school program, which kicked-off in May 2006, was held in

three Independent School Districts in Harris County: Hollibrook
Elementary, Westwood Elementary and Treasure Forest Elementary in
Spring Branch ISD; Felix Morales Elementary and Kruse Elementary in
Pasadena ISD; Gregory-Lincoln Elementary; Wharton Elementary, J. Will
Jones Elementary in Houston ISD; and Amigos Por Vida-FFL, a charter
school.

All hands-on activities and associated materials can be accessed free

in both English and Spanish on the Web at:

http://ksnn.larc.nasa.gov/21Century/

For more information on NASA and its other education programs on the
Internet, go to:

www.nasa.gov

-end-