Reach for the Stars

PARK IT: Yesterday, while I was out running errands, Christian took the kids to the park. Because of the long, drawn out construction project here, we haven't spent nearly as much time at parks as we need to/should be. Sigh. 

LIVE, FROM MARS: This afternoon, the kids and I tuned into NASA TV, which isn't exactly unusual, but what we were watching was a first in our solar system's history. We listened to a song being broadcast for the first time from the surface of Mars. Pretty cool.

The tune, by will.i.am, was called "Reach for the Stars."  will.i.am. is a HUGE advocate of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and math) education, and he puts lots of time and money into promoting it and inspiring students. "Today is about inspiring young people to lead a life without limits placed on their potential and to pursue collaboration between humanity and technology through STEAM education.  I know my purpose is to inspire young people, because they will keep inspiring me back," will.i.am said this afternoon.

IMAGE: NASA/JPL

In addition to debuting the song, the hour-long program was full of good news and inspiration. Astronaut Leland Melvin talked about how he overcame barriers and naysayers to become an astronaut, and Adam Steltzner, head of  Curiosity's sky crane team, talked about his circuitous route to his current job. And it was announced that will.i.am's i.am.angel Foundation and Discovery Education are teaming up to bring a groundbreaking youth engagement initiative to bring STEAM education to millions of students nationwide. The new program is called  i.am.STEAM and it's designed to inspire and cultivate the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators. 
Today will.i.am urged students in attendance not to just find a job, but to make their own jobs - to be developers. 

Follow this link and you can see some of will.i.am's remarks, and the song's debut: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=1131


IN BRIEF: This one's going to be short. I've been awake since four a.m. making lists and lists and lists in my head. And we had an early trip to Kent this morning, tagging along with Rick to yet another job interview - and the happy news is he was offered the job, hooray! The rest of the day was hunting and gathering and stacking and sorting stuff for my parents' 50th anniversary party on Saturday. Won't be long now. Tomorrow we'll be hitting the road to head south to continue party prep down there.