\u201cWallingford Public Library, this is Mission Control Houston.\u00a0 Please call Station for a voice check.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStation, this is Allison Murphy with Wallingford Public Library.\u00a0 How do you hear me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe are ready to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Gulp.\u00a0 When I decided to become a librarian I never, ever thought that I\u2019d be speaking to astronauts.\u00a0 Especially astronauts who are in outer space! This incredible experience was Wallingford Public Library<\/a>\u2019s 20-minute Skype session with NASA astronauts.\u00a0 We were honored to speak with Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer, who were orbiting the earth on the International Space Station (ISS).\u00a0 Peggy Whitson is the first female commander of the ISS and on April 24, 2017 she broke the record for the most total days spent in space by any NASA astronaut. On July 6, 2017, over 200 children, adults, and various local dignitaries gathered in our Community Room to witness what might have been one of the most unique events of their lives.\u00a0\u00a0 For us, this day celebrated the culmination of months of planning, the centerpiece of an inventive, collaborative learning experience that was beyond our wildest dreams.<\/p>\n How did one humble library end up with a direct line to outer space? We all know that libraries are about sharing books, movies, magazines, music, and more.\u00a0 In today\u2019s ever-evolving world, libraries have also become a place where people can gather to share ideas, learn about new topics or technology, and expand their skills.\u00a0 These thoughts were what propelled me to apply to NASA for an In-Flight Education Downlink<\/a> a year before the actual event occurred.\u00a0 The application process was quite daunting (it\u2019s NASA, for goodness sakes!) and included ideas for pre- and post- event programs, educational opportunities, and community outreach.\u00a0 By the time we had checked off all of the details we knew that even if our application wasn\u2019t accepted, we had all of the makings for an incredible summer reading program, so our department committed to making outer space our 2017 summer theme no matter what!<\/p>\n In early December we received an email from NASA that said we were accepted for the downlink and our whole staff did a happy dance around the library.\u00a0 Now it was time to put all of our plans into action!\u00a0 NASA\u2019s downlink letter of intent asked our library to consider specifics such as an Education Plan Overview, which would describe before, during, and after downlink activities for students.\u00a0 One of our challenges was that as a public library, we don\u2019t have a captive classroom audience with which we\u2019d share information about NASA and space.\u00a0 We decided that we would use the library itself, and social media, as learning tools.\u00a0 By applying to the GSAXcess<\/a> website, we received ISS artifacts that were showcased in the display cases outside of our Children\u2019s Room.\u00a0 We also enlarged photos of the astronauts who were currently on the Space Station and provided facts about their backgrounds and what daily life is like in space. No surprise, the kids were most interested in how an astronaut uses the bathroom!<\/p>\n As part of our annual summer reading build-up, all of the children\u2019s librarians visited the eight elementary schools in town.\u00a0 We talked up the excitement surrounding our summer reading program, and thrilled to tell the classes that they would have a chance to see astronauts in space.\u00a0 Our presentations included many book talks about science and space titles, facts about the astronauts, as well as a funny space video that one of our librarians made.<\/p>\n Prior to the downlink, we also orchestrated a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter that pushed out \u201cDid You Know\u2026?\u201d messages about astronaut and Space Station facts a few times a week.\u00a0 These messages were also posted around the Children\u2019s Room desk and became part of the summer reading challenge questions students could \u201cunlock\u201d by reading a certain number of books and adding them to their online reading log.<\/p>\n The downlink also provided us with the opportunity to incorporate other activities that offered unique learning experiences.\u00a0 Our monthly STEM programs for third – fifth graders studied the history of flight by making creative paper airplanes and jet propulsion with stomp rockets.\u00a0 We hired an astronomer to bring his inflatable planetarium to the library and impress hordes of families with an educational and fun star-gazing show.\u00a0 A glow-in-the-dark story time for younger children got them excited about star gazing and we had an art station with space-related crafts.<\/p>\n Through social media, we encouraged patrons to visit the Spot the Station<\/a> website, where they could sign up to receive notification to watch the Space Station (seen as a steady, white dot) flying over their house.\u00a0 We also purchased an Orion telescope<\/a> and outfitted it with a special case and instruction manual so that it could be checked out on a weekly basis and taken home for backyard exploration. When we requested tomato seeds from the Tomatosphere Project<\/a>, we received a set of seeds that had been harvested on earth, and another that had been harvested in space.\u00a0 We planted both groups in our indoor \u201cgrow station\u201d housed in our makerspace and had fun guessing if one batch would produce a more alien-looking plant than the other.<\/p>\n We were thrown a curve ball when NASA changed the downlink date a few weeks before the event, but the bonus was that we learned we now be speaking to both Jack and Peggy!\u00a0 During the buildup to the downlink children submitted questions that they wanted to ask the astronauts, but only 20 could be selected to read them to Peggy and Jack.\u00a0 Some of our favorites included questions about missing family and friends, what did the astronauts bring from home to space, and if they\u2019d seen any aliens.\u00a0 The team of 20 students ranged from kindergarten – fourth grade and about a week before the event they all came to the library for a practice session and diligently waited in line to practice reading their questions in front of the laptop that would transmit their voice to the Space Station.<\/p>\n The staff of the library caught on to the excitement before the event too, by making Downlink Day tee shirts in our makerspace.\u00a0 They also loved freebies that NASA sent us, such as pins, posters, bookmarks, and solar eclipse glasses.<\/p>\n On the day of the downlink 200 registered students, family members, and staff gathered in our Community Room, collectively holding our breath and hoping that the technology would work and we\u2019d have a clear connection to space.\u00a0\u00a0 We limited the registrants to town residents so that they would have the first opportunity to participate.\u00a0\u00a0 A nearby meeting room was designated our overflow space, where over 30 patrons watched the downlink projected through NASA television.<\/p>\n One of the things the NASA production team had warned us about during one of our many planning conference calls was that the speakers on the Space Station are actually quite old, due to the cost of sending anything new to space. In order for the astronauts to hear the students asking questions everyone in the room would need to be silent. With such a large group with kids in grades K-5 we knew this would be a challenge! So as part of our meticulously prepared plan for the event, our team of four children\u2019s librarians included a \u201cpractice\u201d run ten minutes before the event was set to start. After explaining the situation, our Head of Children\u2019s Services told a few space jokes, got everyone laughing, and then made a signal for everyone to quiet down.<\/p>\n At the predetermined time, a voice from the Johnson Space Station spoke out over the sound system, and suddenly Peggy and Jack were right there in front of us on the screen, bobbing gracefully without gravity, and ready to chat with the children of Wallingford. Each child stepped up to the microphone when it was their turn, asked their question, and went back to their spot to hear the answer. For 20 minutes over 200 people were spellbound by the awesome astronauts on screen and the work they do every day. Even the smallest kindergarteners were silent and still, until the last question was asked and Jack and Peggy took a (gravity free) bow – then the room erupted with the most enthusiastic applause you can possibly imagine!<\/p>\n The best take-aways from this incredible day?\u00a0 The first is that we could connect with our community in so many different ways and share the amazing science of space with a population that ranged in age from preschoolers through adults.\u00a0 Most importantly, though, this day introduced children to two very smart, dedicated, and talented NASA astronauts.\u00a0 We think it\u2019s inspired quite a few new applicants to a future class for NASA.\u00a0 As Charlie, a young girl of ten commented, \u201cIt\u2019s a really big step because it used to be that women weren\u2019t as important, but now with the female space commander, it means they are<\/u> really important.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though our downlink was limited to the folks who were at the library, the experience carried a ripple effect to many more through the press coverage.\u00a0 NPR radio, local television stations and newspapers covered the story and shared our amazing day with their viewers, readers, and listeners.\u00a0 This widened the scope of who we were able to reach, confirming that the library is a place to have an out-of-this-world experience!\u00a0 Here\u2019s a short video<\/a> that shows the highlights of this special day.<\/p>\n ****************************************************************************<\/p>\n Today’s guest blogger is <\/em>Allison Murphy. Allison is a Children\u2019s Librarian at Wallingford Public Library in Wallingford, CT. When she\u2019s not singing, dancing and reading in storytime, Allison is trying to spy the International Space Station as it flies over the library. Allison can be reached at <\/em>amurphy@wallingfordlibrary.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Astronaut](\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/space-suit-487x650.jpg\")
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