NH students shoot for the stars with help from NASA scientist

NORTH HAVERHILL, N.H. (WCAX) - Students in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, had a special visitor Thursday with a message from space -- The sky does not necessarily have to be the limit.

When a gym is packed with 4th through 8th graders and no one is talking, you know the lesson plan is having an impact. “I have been a fan of space for as long as I can remember,” said 8th grader Morgan Woolfort.

And who better to tell the story of space exploration than those making it happen. Rosa Avalos-Warren, a mission specialist with NASA, has taken part in more than 30 missions, including the recent Artemis I launch that is leading the way for a mission to Mars. “It’s just so amazing, and all these scientific discoveries, it’s just mind-blowing,” Woolfort said.

After a 50-minute presentation, the student got to ask their questions -- and the hands shot up. “I love that curiosity because that means that even just providing them some part of space exploration, they will go on and find and investigate about careers,” said Avalos-Warren.

student Iwan Jones says he likes history. “I think space exploration is and will be a large part of our history,” he said.

Oliver Musty, a 4th grader, is interested in astrophysics. “The video about Artemis I -- I thought that was pretty cool because you got to see where it went, also it explained about lasers and stuff,” Musty said.

K-12th grade students from Bath, Piermont, Woodsville, Haverhill, Benton, and Warren all took part. Michael Galli, principal at the Warren Village School, organized the event. “I wanted them to meet someone so they can see that it is possible, it’s possible to dream and achieve great things,” Galli said.

Rose Roy, a student from Bath Elementary School, is still figuring out if she wants to shoot for the stars. “That might be a little big for me but I think it would be pretty cool,” she said.

Students from every school in the district took part in the event. There were three presentations in total. A launch pad for careers that are out of this world.

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