NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A suited astronaut joined NASA associate administrator for education Dr. Adena Williams Loston during her presentation to students and parents at the Experimental Aircraft Association's giant AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wis. July 31. (NASA photo by Tom Tschida)

NASA's associate administrator for education, Dr. Adena Williams Loston, told a full house at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture gathering in Oshkosh, Wis., that NASA needs the bright minds of the next generation of explorers. "We absolutely need you."

Speaking July 31 at the largest aviation event in the world, Loston told a gathering of adults and children that NASA wants young people "to begin thinking about doing what no one has ever done before." She showed a fast-paced video with a hip-hop narrative exhorting kids to "integrate technology... redefine reality."

The event, in a special area of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) campus called KidVenture, gave Dr. Loston an opportunity to talk about NASA's forthcoming Scholarship for Service program in which students may be able to receive college tuition in return for service with NASA once they graduate.


Dr. Adena Williams Loston, NASA associate administrator for education, encouraged questions from her audience at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., July 31. (NASA photo by Tom Tschida)


She engaged a young boy in the front row who said his name is Carter, about the possibility of designing a home in outer space. Carter said he could do this, and later Dr. Loston told the crowd: "The goal is that one day the Carters of the world will go to Mars or help NASA go to Mars."

NASA has had a hand in more than 30,000 discoveries, including things that make artificial hip joints and tennis shoes possible, she told the AirVenture crowd. And NASA is taking its discoveries to the classroom, using science to inspire students, teachers, and the general public.