NASA Kicks off New Space Station Exhibit with Live Space Chat with San Diego Students

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Jun 23, 2014, 10:31 ET

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Local students and educators will gather at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego at 10:25 a.m. PDT (1:25 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, June 25, to speak with NASA astronauts Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman, currently orbiting Earth aboard the International Space Station.

The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Media interested in covering the event must contact Julie Karlo at 619-238-1233 ext. 804 or [email protected]. The science center is located at 1875 El Prado in San Diego.

Space station Expedition 40 Commander Swanson and Flight Engineer Wiseman will answer questions and discuss how research conducted in space benefits humankind. The 20-minute space chat will kick off a series of events planned as part of Destination Station: San Diego – a new NASA multimedia exhibit at the Fleet Center.

Students will ask the astronauts questions about life, work and research aboard the orbiting space station. Teachers have been preparing the students at for the conversation with the crew by incorporating NASA activities in their lessons, creating awareness about the International Space Station and encouraging students to pursue careers in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

San Diego area schools and community groups participating in the event include: Barrio Logan College Institute, Broadway Heights Community Council, Elementary Institute of Science, Feaster Charter Elementary School, Logan K-8 School and South Bay Family YMCA.

Destination Station is a new NASA traveling exhibit that showcases space station research opportunities, informs the public about current station activities and communicates the current and potential future benefits of the station on everyday life here on Earth. The exhibit opens July 7 and is free with admission to the Fleet Center through September 2.

Linking students directly to the astronauts aboard the space station provides students with a unique, live experience of space exploration, space study, the scientific components of space travel and life in space. This in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve STEM teaching and learning. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching From Space education program, which promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

and

http://www.nasa.gov/destinationstation

To follow social media updates from Wiseman and other Expedition 40 astronauts, visit:

https://twitter.com/astro_reid

and

http://instagram.com/iss