Guest: Leonard Johnson. Topics: Team America Rocketry, NASA, high powered rocketry, STEM education. Our guest for this Space Show program was Lt. Leonard Johnson who, as an Illinois fire-fighter and paramedic, responded to the 9/11 Ground Zero and Katrina tragedies. We started off segment 1 by asking Len for his thoughts, perceptions, and experiences in working at Ground Zero and then in helping out with the Katrina tragedy. I believe you will find the sharing of his experiences and perceptions with us to be instructive, valuable, moving, and important. We then turned to space and aviation as Len and his St. Andrews Rocket Team just returned from the famous Oshkosh AirVenture. Len spent a few minutes telling us about some of the highlights of the show including seeing White Knight II and the Airbus 380. The students participated in several events and met astronauts and others, so you will definitely want to hear about this student rocket team's Oshkosh adventures. In segment 2, Len described the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), and he told the story of how he built his successful St. Andrews Team as a result of being shut out from the local schools and school administration. TARC is a fabulous program. Listen to the opportunities given to the students to interact with real rocket projects with engineers at Marshall and Glenn. There is no doubt this is an inspiring program. Questions about Teachers in Space and additional ways to inspire were discussed but because of the challenges Len faced with the school system, much of our discussion centered on inspiring and motivating teachers and school officials. As you will hear throughout the show, this does not sound promising in Len's area and I suspect it’s the same in many districts around the country. Questions came up about comparing the peer respect of the racketeer students with the athletes in the school system. You will want to hear what Len had to say about this comparison, both from a student perspective as well as teacher and administrative perspective. In segment 3, we learned that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates came to the TARC National Finals in Virginia, spent the afternoon there, met the students, talked with them, interacted with them, and said they were the future of the country. Don't miss hearing this story. Len then mentioned the NASA INSPIRE program which becomes available to the students after the Student Launch Initiative Program. The St. Andrews Rocket Team student went to the INSPIRE program at the Glenn Research Center. You can learn more about INSPIRE by visiting . http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/INSPIRE_Pro… . Toward the end of the program, Len ready a very inspiring and powerful letter from Betty Grissom to the St. Andrews Rocket Team. You must hear what Ms. Grissom had to say to these young students. If you want to learn more about TARC or the St. Andrews Rocket Team, please visit http://www.orionrocketprojectsli.com . You can email your comments or questions to Lt. Leonard Johnson at firebrick720@yahoo.com .
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