Scientist, Astronaut Encourages Students to Reach for the Stars

The Chestnut Hill Local
April 28, 2005

Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, President and CEO of COSI (The Center of Science and Industry, Ohio’s nationally recognized science center), wants every child to have the opportunity to touch a star. As part of a two day visit to the Springside School in Chestnut Hill, underwritten by the school’s Physics for Every Girl grant from the E.E. Ford Fondation, Dr. Sullivan, a veteran of three space shuttle missions and the first American woman to walk in space, spoke passionately about her experiences as a scientist, an astronaut, and an explorer of sea and space, and about the importance of science and scientific learning.

“Scientist-in-residence” at Springside last week, Dr. Sullivan worked with students in the Middle and Upper School science programs.

Students from a 9th grade physics class worked with Dr. Sullivan on a laboratory experiment mapping a simulated ocean floor using sound waves. Dr. Sullivan, former Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, talked about oceanography and how scientists map the ocean floor. The girls were intrigued to learn that Dr. Sullivan had mapped portions of the ocean floor where the Titanic sank and where the events depicted in the movie "The Perfect Storm" took place, and that she had discovered and named three underwater mountains

Dr. Sullivan also met with students from a 6th grade earth science class, answering questions on a variety of topics, including geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy, and talking about her adventures in space.

Erik Dreisbach describes Dr. Sullivan’s visit to his classroom:

”A cool ‘ wow’ moment in my class was when Kathy described how to make a
’cloud of M&Ms’ when you pull down on an open bag of M&M's [in space]. The students also liked it when she told them that instead of "passing" food at dinner, you "send" food, or even people. Dr. Sullivan did a wonderful job describing her experiences to our 6th grade students. Her words inspired, enlightened, and entertained. After her talk, and after numerous autograph requests, it was apparent that the girls not only saw Dr. Sullivan as an accomplished scientist, but also as an inspirational role model. This was truly a memorable visit!”

One of the highlights of Dr. Sullivan’s visit was her Monday evening lecture, part of Springside’s Illuminating Women speaker series, in which she shared with parents, teachers, and students her experiences in space and her concerns for the future of science and engineering in the United States.

Dr. Sullivan showed beautiful and compelling slides of her shuttle missions – her vacation pictures – and gave the audience an engaging and terrifically funny look at space exploration. Promising “the stuff you don’t get on CNN,” Dr. Sullivan conveyed all the danger and excitement, the seriousness and the fun, of her shuttle missions, dubbed “the world’s very best business trips.”

She addressed such diverse topics as the crucial role every individual in the mission team plays to the success of a shuttle mission and the training she’s undertaken to be a part of those missions, to what it’s really like to be in zero gravity (“it’s very, very cool”) and the logistics of living in space – eating (she prefers to be as untethered and as near the ceiling as possible during meals), sleeping (“Ladies, there’s no snoring in space!) and going to the bathroom (it’s basically the same as on earth, but with a checklist you have to follow, since it’s true that “in space your mistakes follow you around.”).

Dr. Sullivan also spoke about how her experiences in space have impacted her.

“Space travel is a transformative experience,” she explains. “And the part of the mission that changes you the most is the journey to getting there. Like an Olympic athlete, once you reach the medal podium, you see all of your training, all of your investment, in a fresh light.” For astronauts, all the training, the learning to work as a team, comes together for the mission. “What changes is what you learn about yourself – what you needed to do, what you needed to change to make [the mission] happen.”

For students trying to decide what to do with their lives, Dr. Sullivan has some advice:

“The question to ask yourself is not what do I want to do, but what do I love? How do I want to live? Do I want to be with lots of people or with no people? Indoors or outdoors? Think of things you like to do and think of the kinds of work that gives you those people and places.”

Vicki Grogan, a 9th grade physics student, took Dr. Sullivan’s advice to heart.

“After seeing all of the wonderful things that Dr. Sullivan has done in space, I became very inspired. I have been having some trouble figuring out exactly what I should do in life, whether it be music, arts, or any other class that I am taking. After Dr. Sullivan talked about how she managed to go through college switching her major, it gave me a little relief that if that ever happened to me everything would be alright. After hearing about how life on a spacecraft, I really wanted to experience what it would be like! All of the experiences that Dr. Sullivan talked about in her visit to space made me want to know even more about space and what humans are doing out there.”

Dr. Sullivan also expressed her fear that the United States is falling behind in its dedication to science and scientific education.

In the course of her lifetime, she noted, the fantasy of space travel became a reality. The United States’ investment in space exploration had a great impact on the country’s economy, educational systems, and science and engineering enterprise. But the United States isn’t on the same track anymore. And other countries, seeing the positive effects of space exploration and hungry for the same rewards, are outstripping the U.S. in science and engineering. Countries we previously relied upon for science and engineering talent are now the places where successful enterprises are being built, creating more opportunities for scientists and engineers at home. And the United States is not investing in scientific learning. Whereas students in the United States once ranked at the top for science, as compared to other countries, Dr. Sullivan’s statistics showed high school seniors now rank at or near the bottom.

Dr. Sullivan worries about the next generation of potential scientists and astronauts. “What do we tell our kids now about their chances of being part of space exploration?” she asks. “Do we say we used to do it and it was very cool, but we don’t do that anymore?”

As an advocate for science education at COSI, and as scientist-in-residence at Springside, Dr. Sullivan is committed to encouraging the next generation: “It’s really cool to touch a star. There are plenty of stars out there. Dream it. Believe it. Fight for it. Strive for it. Go get one.”