Former Astronaut John Bennett Herrington worked with students attending the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at UNM today as they competed to design rafts from straws and aluminum foil that could carry a cargo of pennies. The experience is part of a summer science camp in the School of Engineering at the UNM campus.
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society hosted the camp for middle school students from New Mexico and Arizona. The students are mostly from rural communities. Harrington is a member of the Chickasaw Tribe of Oklahoma and one of the first American Indians in space.
The students are spending two weeks at UNM. The camp gives the student first-hand experience with experiments, working in groups and exposure to role models like Herrington and another former astronaut Bernard Harris. The two astronauts talked about their own experiences and struggle to overcome problems and become astronauts.
Herrington told the students about flunking out of college initially because he didn’t want to have a job that would keep him indoors and behind a desk, but he also talked about the rewards of going back to college, becoming a fighter pilot in the Navy and moving into a position with NASA and the space program.
Harris is a physician and former astronaut who put together a foundation to support education, health and wealth. The Harris Foundation, along with the ExxonMobil Foundation are joining together to cover the costs for the summer science camp. This is the first time the Harris Summer Science Camp has been held at UNM.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at June 18, 2009 04:05 PM