PALMYRA, N.Y. — Some Palmyra-Macedon High School students had a chance to share their space research at the largest gathering of astronomers in the world. The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program is all about connecting aspiring astronomy students to data collected by NASA and its space telescopes.
Pal-Mac earth science teacher Joe Perry’s enthusiasm for hands-on learning has taken him all over the world. His scientific curiosity to make science relevant means his students get some cool experiences, too.
“I take kids to national parks that they have never experienced,” said Joe Perry, earth science teacher at Pal-Mac High School. “That type of experience is just like yes, I do not ever get tired of that. It is the adrenaline that makes the 27-year teacher still feel like he is 22.”
The latest cross-country field trip was for astronomical research — first in California, then in Washington, D.C., at the American Astronomical Society Winter Conference.
Students Maddie Sullivan and Perry’s son, Ricky, presented their findings from NASA data on baby stars or young stellar objects to aerospace engineers, astronomy grad students and professors.
“I want to go into aerospace engineering which is building rockets and helping with design and all of that. Seeing all the space telescopes is the end goal of what I want to try helping with,” said Pal-Mac senior Ricky Perry. “I have never gone to anything like this. There was a booth from NASA and Lockheed Martin and all these people talking about their telescopes, so to see all different things is very interesting and something I never thought I would see.”
This program hopes to inspire future space explorers.
“Yes, it is great for me to go on these trips but to be able to share that with the students,” said Joe Perry. “To have a student watch a teacher learn at the same time is something truly special and unique and the fact that I got to share that with my son was really cool.”
Teachers everywhere are encouraged to apply for these opportunites.
Perry has already applied for his next educational field trip. He is hoping to be selected for the National Geographic Society Fellowship, a voyage to Antarctica.