Priest River Elementary launches 31st astronaut event

Eyes of all ages were filled with wonder and excitement as rockets soared through the air at Priest River Elementary School’s 31st annual astronaut event, led by fifth grade science teacher Chris Naccarato on Thursday.

The event included a visit from retired astronaut Captain Wendy Lawrence, guest of honor, telling the kids about her four space missions and how thrilling it was to see her years of hard work finally pay off when she got to look through the rocket’s window for the first time.

“If I never got to look out the window for the rest of the trip, I wouldn’t have cared because that first view would have been more than enough,” she said. “I kept thinking to myself, ‘Wow! I did it. I’m really in space.’”

Lawrence talked about what some of her training was like – from learning every detail of her rocket to how to move around in zero gravity – and how it felt to be in space. She recalled feeling like a large person was sitting on her chest as her rocket launched from ground level through the atmosphere.

“I thought to myself, ‘Can I move my arm?’ she said. “And I’d try really hard and it would move about 2 inches before it was forced back down.”

Lawrence showed pictures of the rockets she got to fly in and answered questions from students about space, the moon and if she was over 35 years old – a fact that blew the minds of some of the students.

She also encouraged everyone in attendance to never give up chasing their dreams, no matter what obstacles get in their way.

“Was it hard?” she asked. “Oh yeah, it was super hard. But it was my dream. You owe it to yourself to dream and work hard to try and make that dream come true.”

After Lawrence’s introduction, Naccarato got to put his National Astronauts in Classroom Association students into action. Kids whizzed around the gym, setting up, tearing down and directing a small drone as it maneuvered obstacles to simulate a real nighttime landing.

After a few test runs with the drone, the elementary students shuffled outside to watch the real action on the baseball field. Rockets zipped through the air and crash landed over the back fence as tiny aliens floated to the ground via parachute – a fun twist Nacarrato enjoys implementing with his rocket launches.

The science teacher said he loves watching his students become so engaged with the launches and take pride in their job on the NACA team.

“Everyone has a different job, and they’re all very important to the success of the launch,” he said. “I love seeing my students work hard and find passion in this.”

As for the students at Priest River Elementary, Naccarato’s program is something that will stay with them forever. A mother of a current fifth grade student said she remembers being in Naccarato’s class 26 years ago and wishes she could go back to that time.

“I remember hearing my two older brothers talk about him and remember how badly I wanted him as my teacher,” she said. “And now, 26 years later, here was my son saying he couldn’t wait to be in Chris’s class. We’re moving schools next year, but he said he couldn’t leave without having him as a teacher. Priest River is really going to lose an amazing asset when Chris decides to retire. He means so much to the kids.”