Back from the Santa Barbara Book & Author Festival held today. I didn’t exhibit this year, but made the drive to hear Sally Ride speak. I thought some children might not know who she is, but quite the opposite! They loved her, and had more insightful questions about space than I would have imagined young kids could pose. Let’s hear it for dedicated teachers, and parents who encourage their kids’ interest in the scientific fields.
Dr. Ride assured the kids in the audience that “if you’re good at math and science in 5th grade, you’ll be good at math and science in 10th grade, and you’ll be good at math and science in college. You don’t get dumber as you get older!” A lot of adults were pleased to hear that, too!
When it came to autographing books, the line of grownups and kids was long. Even so, there are adults out there who haven’t been tuned in to what’s going on at NASA or to what needs to happen next. So, for their sake, I remind readers that Dr. Ride was our first female astronaut to fly in space; she flew twice on Challenger, and dedicated her first book To Space and Back to the last Challenger crew, who gave their lives in pursuit of the spirit of exploration that is part and parcel of humanity. She currently teaches at UC-San Diego.