NEW: Teaching kids to aim for the stars
Astronaut brings space exploration to life at library event
NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus was at the Collinsville Public Library talking about life on the International Space Station and her career in NASA as part of the Mississippi Valley Public Library District's summer reading program.
Children from throughout Collinsville were invited to come listen to her talk about her work."I think it's important to come and encourage kids to fulfill their dreams," Magnus said.
Attendees heard Magnus talk about her life before going into space and about actually getting there.
"You know what? You can do anything you can put your mind to," she told the children.
Magnus went to the International Space Station for her first flight in October 2002 and spent 11 days in orbit around the earth before returning home.
She presented a video about her trip there and then answered questions from children and parents in the audience, such as "What made you decide to become an astronaut?", "What do you do for fun?" and "Where's the bathroom on the spaceship?"
Asked what it was like to be in zero gravity, she said it was hard to describe, but compared it to scuba diving or laying on a lake in an inner-tube.
"It's a very relaxing feeling," she said.
Magnus was been raised in Belleville and decided to become an astronaut in junior high. After that, she went to college at the University of Missouri-Rolla and earned her bachelor's degree in physics and then her master's degree in engineering. She then earned her doctorate from the School of Material Science and Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Youth services librarian for the Mississippi Valley Public Library District Maureen Schreiber said that the speech tied in with the library's summer reading theme of "the library and beyond."
"We hope children try to reach their goals and the library is a place for them to get their information," Schreiber said.
Magnus also went to the Alton Public Library and O'Fallon Public Library to give similar speeches.
She said she's being prepared for a second flight later this summer but will return to speak at other libraries soon as well.
For more information on the Mississippi Valley Public Library District's summer reading program, call 344-1112.
