Ooh. Ahhh. Wow. And that was the grown-ups.

Linda Godwin, the NASA astronaut and Jackson native who has flown four missions into space, was at Alma Schrader Elementary School on Monday morning to talk to students about the space program -- but she entertained and inspired almost everyone who attended.

"I really do like to do this, and I used to do it more," said Godwin, who now has a 3 1/2-year-old child at home. "Every time I talk to kids, I think I have to do this more often because it's just the best. It's so gratifying."

About 360 kindergarten through fourth-grade students at Alma Schrader Elementary School in Cape Girardeau listened and asked questions about space travel during a visit by astronaut Linda Godwin on Monday.

Godwin talked about and showed video clips of her shuttle launches, a spacewalk, life in a weightless environment and living on the International Space Station.

The children were mostly quiet, keenly interested. They laughed or gasped in all the right spots -- whether it was the fiery takeoff, Godwin's hair standing up without gravity or an astronaut participating in a spacewalk.

Floating bubble of water

Perhaps what drew the biggest laugh was when Godwin showed a video of a fellow astronaut with a gravity-free bubble of water. He then stuck M&Ms into the water, and they floated around inside.

"He was making that video to send home to his children," Godwin explained.

She tailored her presentation for the young audience. On the subject of her hair standing up: "It's probably best to be bald or have really short hair."

On take-offs: "It's rumbly and you're excited, but it's not as violent as a roller coaster."

About eating in space: "You can eat cereal, but with powdered milk. I could eat spaghetti. I also could eat Goldfish crackers because they don't make a lot of crumbs. When you eat, the crumbs fall on your plate. But not in space."

Toward the end, she showed a picture of the astronauts who died in the Columbia tragedy earlier this year.

"The best thing we can do for their memory is to fly again," she said. "That's what I'm sure they'd want us to do."

Godwin was at the school because Alma Schrader had won a drawing of all Scott City, Cape Girardeau and Jackson elementary schools that had participated in an aviation contest this year for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport's Air Festival.

The children made posters commemorating 100 years of powered flight, which included images and writings on the space program. Godwin was asked to give the talk and accepted.

The fourth-grade class that won was from Alma Schrader. Now in fifth grade, the class was bused from the middle school to attend Monday.

Alma Schrader principal Ruth Ann Orr said it is an invaluable experience for the children.

"How often do you get to meet an astronaut?" she said. "It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some of these students. It shows the kids that there are things they are learning in class that pays off."

The children said afterward they really enjoyed the presentation.

"It was great," said Blake Kidd, 10. "I liked seeing how that guy put the M&Ms in the water. I thought that was cool."

Elizabeth Ward, also 10, said the slide show was "really neat. I really liked seeing the movie where the rocket went up. I'd like to do that someday."

Adults who watched Godwin interact with the children said what she does is admirable.

"She is so encouraging for the students and such a good example for them," said Jackie Wortmann, director of the NASA Educator Resource Center at Southeast Missouri State University. "Every time I've met her, she's just so very inspiring. I think the kids take that with them."

'We need to go to Mars'

Some of Godwin's comments did encourage the children to consider the space program.

"We still can only go to lower orbit," she said. "We need to go back to the moon and we need to go to Mars. Maybe some of you will be able to help us with that or even go there yourself."

Godwin said that as the children went through school, if they find that they like science, math or even drawing -- NASA might be an option.

"We need people who can do all sorts of things, even figure out how to make better fuel so we can get to places faster," she said. "When we go to Mars, we'd rather it not take six months to get there."

After her talk, Godwin addressed recent concerns stemming from the Columbia disaster that left seven dead. Godwin thinks manned flights should continue.

"I think having people there adds more interest in the space program," she said. "The debate is also always between robotic missions and human missions. I think there's a place for both."

Godwin said, however, that there are some times only humans will do.

"You can't program a computer to face every contingency," she said. "It takes a person to assess a new situation. A person is needed sometimes to see how it should be done. Astronauts have to struggle with the risk, just like people do with a lot of careers."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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