Students find out what it's like to sit
inside a space capsule.

(BRADENTON, FL - May 15, 2007) Retired Astronaut Dan Brandenstein stood in front of an auditorium full of students from Kinnan and Abel Elementary Schools and urged them to reach for the stars - literally.

Brandenstein, a former Navy Pilot who flew four missions on the Space Shuttle and logged over 789 hours in space, was the keynote speaker at Space Day, which was sponsored by Lockheed Martin and hosted by Kinnan. Students from Abel bussed over to Kinnan to take part in the Space Day festivities.

Space Days are held at schools across the nation throughout the year to spark children's enthusiasm and interest in careers in science, math, technology and engineering.

“A lot of folks my age who have been involved in the space program are getting ready to retire so there's going to be a lot of openings that need to be filled,” Brandenstein said. “The future of our country is wrapped up in these kids so I talk to them about getting an education, setting goals and doing something they enjoy for a career. It worked for me.”

A student gets some help wearing
Anti-Gravity boots.

In addition to getting to meet a real live Astronaut, the nearly 1,000 students who took part in Space Day at Kinnan rotated between 35-different activity stations where they got to see and experience all kinds of space-oriented learning opportunities. The activity stations included Anti-Gravity Boots, where students learned what it feels like to walk on the moon; Stomp Rockets, where students learned about rocket trajectory; Balloon Races where students learned about rocket propulsion; a Traveling Space Museum and an Orion Flight Simulator where students got to steer a miniature version of the Space Shuttle.

“By going to Space Day you can learn things and have fun too,” said Nick Highton, a student in Melissa Wilson's fifth-grade class at Kinnan. “I learned that satellites in space use solar panels to get electricity from the sun.”

Students Zachary Smith and Tyler Stuart
meet Astronaut Dan Bradenstein.

Joshua Aponte, a classmate of Highton's said he may be interested in a space-related career.

“I might want to be an engineer because I like to work with technology and I like to build stuff,” Aponte said.

Kinnan principal Kris Bayer said Assistant Principal Joshua Bennett, Media Specialist Beth Marshall and the office staff at Kinnan deserved the credit for making Space Day a huge success.

“Really, it was a school-wide effort,” Bayer said. “We're hoping it will become an annual event.”

Students watch a robot try to make a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich.