Kingsbridge teacher brings NASA LiftOff experience to inspire students in space science

We’re not talking about the next generation or 50 years from now, we’re talking about today; our students could go to space.”

Alejandro Mundro, Kingsbridge International High School teacher

At the NASA LiftOff Summer Institute, teachers get to spend their summer becoming the students, which is exactly what Alejandro Mundro, a Kingsbridge International High School teacher, did. 

Mundro has been teaching math, science, and astronomy at Kingsbridge International for the last seven years and, along the way, his passion for science has only grown. 

When he was approached with the opportunity to attend the NASA LiftOff Summer Institute, he readily applied and attended for free after being given a grant from the New York State Space Grant Consortium, which helps fund state educators who are working on NASA-related projects. 

The LiftOff Summer Institute began in 1990 for the professional development of middle- and high- school teachers working in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. The program centers around NASA’s space science and missions, with participants given the opportunity to learn from NASA scientists and engineers, participate in hands-on activities, and interact with like-minded educators in attendance.

 Attendance at the multi-day event was held in person at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research.

According to Mundro, a large duration of the part of his time at the institute was spent studying plant life beyond Earth. The four-day program included a project allowing educators to study the growth of plants in space and ask critical questions on how plants can survive and what they need to do so.

 When the educators weren’t learning from the simulations and projects, they were learning from each other, as they were each given the chance to share a lesson from their classroom. 

The experience, Mundro said,  was reminiscent of the exercises he employs in his own classroom. Every year, his students discuss the numerous NASA missions to Mars and what each trip discovers about the planet and space. With space survival already a conversation topic in his classroom, Mundro said he was prepared for the lessons he learned in Texas. 

Moving forward, Mundro said that he is excited to bring the lessons he learned back to his own classroom. 

“I knew that I could create an even deeper connection with students by teaching them about the research and science,” he  said. “I believe that creating these opportunities for students and their families to learn has a much deeper impact.”

Venturing back into the classroom also gave him the chance to meet not just rocket scientists but astronauts, the people whose lives are often dependent on the exact research he has spent years studying. Making the connection between the people and the science was a big deal for Mundro, considering he believes the study of plant life in outer space is essential for any future long-term human space exploration. 

Despite already having conversations with his students about plant life in space, Mundro expressed a desire to create projects for his classroom that gave them a chance to ask the probing questions on how both humans and plants could live in space, examining the conditions needed, how society would function, what jobs people woud have and what plants would society grow. 

While this is an area of study he is certainly invigorated by, Mundro finds sharing his love for science with his students gives them the chance to learn from someone dedicated to the content, which, in turn, motivates and engages them, not just in the material but in their futures as well. 

“We’re not talking about the next generation or 50 years from now, we’re talking about today, our students could go to space,” Mundro said. 

For Mundro, both the institute and his work in the classroom is bigger than just teaching students about outer space, he wants to be a role model for his students because he believes students need to see people of diverse backgrounds in various fields, including space exploration. 

Teaching the students about what lies beyond also helps them to become part of the solution, bringing science to them so they can understand and learn from it so, someday, society can benefit from their studies.