Traveling Space Museum

(Riverhead, 2003) A ten-foot model of the International Space Station, complete with little replica plastic astronauts, hoovers above the colorful art that greets visitors in the entrance to the Aquebogue Elementary School.

Aquebogue Elementary students have been using a space theme in math, reading books about space from special mini-grant purchases, assembling space module models, and coming up with questions to ask the astronauts in the District's scheduled six minutes of communication with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which is part of a special ARISS grant program.

In 2003, the students at Aquebogue were also treated to a special exhibit of actual space suits (or replicas) of space suits worn by Russian cosmonauts, American astronauts and Air Force pilots.

As students filed into the classroom, their eyes lit up as they viewed the colorful array of space suits worn by manikins in the front of the room. Retired Msgt. Tom Piekarski (USAF) and Mr. Bruce Kloete, who owns the space suits, relished the
students' enthusiasm as they shared the history of flight with the children.

They asked for volunteers to come to the front of the room to try on some of the equipment they had assembled and all the hands shot up. Space, with all its challenges and dangers, has delivered a payload of learning activities at the Riley Avenue School this year.