Spring Ridge Students Leave Their Mark with ‘Signatures in Space’

During lunch in the cafeteria May 2 and 5 students at Spring Ridge Middle School joined more than 500 other schools around the world by signing Student Signatures in Space posters to celebrate “Space Day 2008!”

Student Signatures in Space provides elementary and middle school students the opportunity to send their digitized signatures into space and feel a personal involvement with the crew and the mission. Jointly sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin, the program is part of the award-winning Space Day educational initiative.

“Our goal with Student Signatures in Space is to spark kids’ interest in technical studies by giving them a personal connection to the space program,” said Barbara Reinike, Space Day program manager for Lockheed Martin. “Classes usually follow their signatures mission together from launch to landing, so it really piques the students’ interest in the whole process. Counterpart lesson plans that incorporate math and science activities help teachers take the learning experience to the next level.”

To this end, Lockheed Martin provides several space-themed lesson plans as well as classroom and school-wide activity ideas, which are featured on the Space Day web site at www.spaceday.org.

The Space Shuttle mission designated to carry this year’s signatures has tentatively been identified as STS-126, a flight to the International Space Station that is scheduled for next fall.

After the signatures return from space, the poster will be returned for permanent display to Spring Ridge Middle School along with a flight certificate and picture of the crew that carried the signatures into space.

Since the program began in 1997, nearly 4.5 million students have participated in Student Signatures in Space. There is no cost to schools to participate. However, because of space constraints on each mission, participation is limited to approximately 500 schools each year.

Lockheed Martin is the founding sponsor of Space Day, which takes place on the first Friday of each May. Over the years, the program has evolved into a massive grassroots effort dedicated to the extraordinary achievements, benefits, and opportunities in the exploration and use of space. The ultimate goal is to promote math, science, technology, and engineering education by nurturing young peoples’ enthusiasm for the wonders of the universe and inspiring them to continue the stellar work of today’s space explorers.

This year’s event will be celebrated by hundreds of thousands of students throughout the world. On May 3, Lockheed Martin held an annual educational event at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

More information about Space Day is available online at www.spaceday.org.