RPCS Welcomes Baltimore Native Astronaut to STEAM Week

The first full week of March is a very special week in the RPCS Lower School – STEAM Week, a week dedicated to everything science, technology, engineering, art, and math. This year’s theme was outer space and students participated in multiple daily activities, including launching handheld rockets, creating oil pastels of the aurora borealis, making sun-activated jewelry, building constellations out of marshmallows and toothpicks, and more. Additionally, the students had the opportunity to meet several special guest speakers, including Essex native and veteran scientist, author, pilot, and NASA astronaut, Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Jones led an inspiring presentation for all of our Lower School students, including our friends in third grade from Gilman School! He began by sharing where his love of space exploration began – from a $0.25 picture book he received from his grandmother when he was 10 – and his journey grew from there. Dr. Jones joined the Air Force Academy where he could hone his skills to become a test pilot for NASA. However, after being turned down twice from the NASA program, he went back to school and earned his doctorate in planetary sciences from the University of Arizona, which led him to studying asteroids and robotic exploration missions for NASA, and engineering intelligence-gathering systems for the CIA.

His recitation of his journey to space paused here for a moment, as he emphasized to the students how important it was for him to be able to adapt and be persistent in the pursuit of his dreams. Dr. Jones shared that from the moment he decided to be an astronaut, it took him 30 years to get into space.

The audience was held in rapt attention as Dr. Jones then talked about his four space shuttle missions to orbit the Earth, along with the three spacewalks he led to install the centerpiece of the International Space Station (ISS), the American Destiny laboratory. He showed photos of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed from his shuttle, along with regular and radar photos of a volcano exploding in Japan. Dr. Jones also shared photos, videos, and detailed explanations of his launch to affix the Destiny laboratory to the ISS.

He provided some copies of his book, Ask an Astronaut, and encouraged those with an interest in space exploration to do three things: become a really good reader, get good grades in math and science, and to always be flexible when reaching for their dreams.