NASA'S Head Of Education To Meet With D.C. Elementary Students

Ann Marie Trotta

Headquarters, Washington

WASHINGTON -- NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin will meet with first and third grade students at Ferebee-Hope Elementary School in Washington from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 8. This is one of the school's Black History Month events and will focus on the importance of reading.

Melvin, a former space shuttle astronaut, will share his flight experiences, highlight contributions of African Americans to the space program and read the book "The Moon Over Star" aloud to the children. The book tells the story of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing and how that event inspired the main character, a young African-American girl named Mae.

The event is a collaborative effort with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and is part of the organization's DC Initiative. The program annually distributes more than 50,000 free books to help children discover the joy of reading. Carol Rasco, president and CEO of RIF, also will participate in the event.

News media representatives interested in attending should contact Ann Marie Trotta at 202-358-1601 by 4 p.m. EST Monday, Feb. 7. Ferebee-Hope Elementary School is located at

3999 Eighth Street, SE

in Washington. The event will be streamed live on the Web at http://www.rif.org/live.

Betsy Pugel, a physicist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will be on hand to show the students a moon rock and share materials from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission launched in 2009.

NASA's broad education program works to engage teachers and students from kindergarten through the university post-graduate level. The program uses the agency's unique assets and exciting space endeavors to inspire students and encourage them to pursue curricula and careers related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

It is a key part of NASA's effort to help build the nation's future high-tech workforce and cultivate the next generation of explorers. NASA Television will air footage from the event during its Video File feed. For NASA TV schedule and streaming video information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For information about NASA's education programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education.

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