Astronaut Walheim to speak at Fresno State’s NASA workshop

Atlantis shuttle astronaut Rex Walheim will be at California State University, Fresno’s NASA Educator Resource Center on Saturday, May 10, to discuss spacewalking, during a workshop for middle and high school science and mathematics teachers.

Walheim, an Air Force colonel, has participated in five spacewalks during 12 years as an astronaut, most recently during the STS-122 mission earlier this year.

He will be joined by NASA education specialist Anthony Leavitt for the workshop, “Space Exploration: Earth, Moon, and Beyond,” presented by the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. Leavitt is in charge of NASA education programs in the northwestern United States and Hawaii and has presented other workshops at Fresno State.

The Kremen School NASA center was established in 1996 as part of the space program’s educational outreach to help teachers learn about and use NASA’s educational resources. It is one of six such centers in California and the only one established at a university.

Walheim’s Fresno State appearance will one be of three stops in the central San Joaquin Valley beginning May 9 in Visalia. His father, Lawrence M. Walheim Jr., resides in nearby Exeter. He also will visit Kastner Intermediate School in Fresno and that evening will be the guest of honor at a reception hosted by Fresno State President John D. Welty.

On May 10, Walheim will spend the day at Fresno State presenting an afternoon workshop on “Weightlessness in Space” and speaking at a luncheon hosted by Dr. Paul Beare, dean of the Kremen School of Education.

Leavitt will discuss “Puffy Head, Bird Legs – Effects of Living and Working in Space” during the morning phase of the workshop.

The free NASA workshop is open to middle and high school science and math teachers who must register in advance. Other educators are welcome as space permits, said Otto E. Benavides, an associate professor in the Kremen School, and director of its NASA Educator Resource Center and Instructional Technology and Resource Center in Kremen Education.

“This rare and innovating workshop is a unique opportunity for local educators to interact with an astronaut who has been in space, conducted spacewalks and can provide a firsthand account,” Benavides said.

Teachers interested in attending the workshop should contact Carolina Rubio 559.278.0444 or e-mail caro8604@csufresno.edu or register online (link below).

For more information about the Fresno State NASA center, contact Benavides at 278.0379 or ottob@csufresno.edu
<mailto:ottob@csufresno.edu>