I cried when Challenger broke apart (I was in 5th grade) and I was nerdy enough for Jean Luc to repeatedly tell me that space was the final frontier.
Doug, Bethany, Anna with John Glenn butter sculpture at the Ohio State Fair
But I was never captivated by space, or science in general. My disinterest became disdain as my high school and college science courses brought long study nights and lowered my grade point average.
Then, one day a three-year-old started talking to me about the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and she happened to be my daughter. Soon, I was joining Miss Frizzle on the Magic School Bus to explore the age of dinosaurs, inside the body, and our solar system. (And if you don’t know the Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole, head immediately to your local library.)
We learned constellations and where to find Venus in the sky. We studied ancient types of telescopes and early astronomical findings, and I finally understood a little bit of the wonder and yearning that space holds for so many.
Before I heard Neil deGrasse Tyson talk about the Cosmic Perspective, my daughter Audrey had already given me a version (in reference to the futility and overall insignificance of tween boys). She will be (The Next) Generation Space, and she will boldy go where no ONE has gone before.
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