Michael Flynn, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Laboratory in Moffett Field CA, was recently in Utah to discuss an ongoing research project with the Bureau of Reclamation’s staff. While here, he took the opportunity to discuss water conservation and other “green” technologies with Navajo school children in the southeastern portion of the state.
In presentations to 4 different Navajo schools in Montezuma Creek and Navajo Mountain, Flynn–who works on deep-space recycling systems for NASA–discussed the importance of water recycling and “green” technologies in America’s space program. He also highlighted some of the possible applications for such technologies here on Earth.
When he mentioned that astronauts were required to drink their own treated urine and other recycled liquids, his comment evoked groans from the young crowd. In all, Flynn made presentations to over 200 young people, encouraging them all to stay study math and science. He also mentioned NASA’s internship program which is actively seeking participation from Native Americans. Accompanying us was Kris Martin, a Navajo college student from Crown Point NM. Martin has been on three internships with NASA and is an excellent role model for younger Navajo students.
While Flynn and Martin made presentations to both high schoolers and 5th and 6th graders, the younger children seemed the most enthusiastic. After his presentations, the latter group always had a wider range of questions. Flynn noted that NASA studies indicate that the best time to influence the future of children is during their 5th grade year.
The principal of the Montezuma Creek grade school gave us a tour of several of his classrooms and they are very impressive. The school has bright, enthusiastic teachers and a lot of technology. In the 6th-grade class, all the students had tablet computers. And every classroom is equipped with a smart board. The science lab was well outfitted and the teacher was interacting extremely well with the students.
There is a great deal of hope for the future.