Something out of this world made a visit to the College of Education’s Science and Social Studies Methods class this spring.

Butler students in the Elementary and Middle Secondary programs, as well as invited fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from two local elementary schools, had a rare experience engaging with moon rocks and meteorite samples from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Since the early 1970s, NASA has run a program for educators through the Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science arm in Houston that provides sample disks and classroom activities to teachers. However, the teachers must undergo training and certification.

Growing up, COE Professor Dr. Catherine Pangan watched as her mother, Dr. Barbara Hagerman, a former seventh-grade science teacher, received her training in the 1980s by NASA and was then allowed to handle lunar and meteorite samples.

“I saw how inspired her students were to be able to have the lunar samples in their classroom,” Pangan says. “And in 2017, almost 40 years later, I received the training and certification to bring that excitement to Butler students and classrooms around Indianapolis.”

During the experience, the visiting students learned about the samples and participated in hands-on activities like lunar surface modeling and robot end-effectors as they learned about Apollo 11. The lunar samples were from the Apollo missions, and the meteorite samples were taken from Antarctica, Africa, and the United States and included fragments from Mars.

Of course, there is always a significant safety protocol for having the samples in an educational setting. Pangan enlisted and is grateful for the help of both Butler’s Public Safety team and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to ensure all safety protocols were strictly followed during the classes and while the samples were being stored outside of the classes.

The classes with the younger students provided a great opportunity for discussions around the history and the technology involved in the first moon landing, and Pangan adds the timing was perfect. “It was thrilling to be able to bring the samples around the time of the eclipse this year.”