Eye On Education: Two Worcester Teachers Take On NASA Mission
WORCESTER (CBS) -- Stacy Lord and Howie Fain are always looking for new ways to teach their students together in their East Middle School classroom.
This summer, the Worcester duo will reach new heights. They are the first Massachusetts teachers ever selected to be part of a NASA mission called "SOFIA."
"We are going to the stratosphere," says Fain. And they are traveling in a 747. It's the world's largest flying telescope.
This August, the teachers will spend a week in California. Their mission will include two 10-hour overnight flights to help scientists conduct a series of experiments.
"It's not only what we can see, it's what we can't see," says Fain.
The teams use a massive infrared telescope to get a better understanding of our universe. Constellations that look like a bright white light to the naked eye are alive with brilliant colors through the telescope.
And that's where Lord comes in. She's not a science teacher.
"Even NASA sees the importance of the arts," says Lord.
She teaches art at the middle school, many times right alongside Mr. Fain's science class.
"The art is a portal to an understanding and an appreciation and the sensibility about space," says Fain.
Fain teaches science on one side of the room while Lord helps students interpret that science education into art on the other side.
"It definitely enhances the learning because when you're learning all that and then putting it into art, it makes it better," says 7th grader Megan Joslyn.
The teachers can't wait to share their sky-high adventure with their students.
"I want to come back with a better understanding and to understand how that information equals the visualization of these invisible forces," says Fain.
"I'm always looking for a challenge and something new to show my kids," adds Lord. "It's a thrill of a lifetime, quite honestly."
