Taunton Students Touch the Moon

For Howell resident Patricia Hillyer, standing in front of a group of students is nothing new. Most days she teaches seventh grade science at .

This week Hillyer got to bring something extra special to the students at as she is also a part of NASA's Lunar Rock Specialist Program. In locked cases Hillyer brought real moon rocks that had been collected from the missions of Apollo 15 and 16 for the students to not only see, but touch as well. 

In addition to the second graders at the school Hillyer also made a similar presentation to the fifth grade which includes her son TJ. "When he went to bed last night he said I'm so excited, you're so awesome," she said. "That made my day."

That stamp of approval is one of the many highlights for a program Hillyer said she has enjoyed being a part of and bringing to students of all ages. Her interest, she said, started with an internship at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and grew from there. After doing research on a zero gravity flight Hillyer said she started training with the lunar rock program. 

Not only did she learn more about the rocks but also what they mean to the country. "They train you to remind the students that they're national treasures but also give some lessons to do," she said. 

At a time when space shuttles are being shipped to museums to be displayed to the public Hillyer said it is important to keep a future generation of scientists excited about space. "I want to keep reminding students how important it is and how precious they [the rocks] are so they really understand how valuable the moon rocks are and what it meant for those men to go out into space without having any idea of what consequences could be." 

Knowing how incredibly valuable the rocks are makes being a part of the program that much more special. "I want to just think about that someone has entrusted me with these precious items and that I have the ability to get these kids excited about it," she said. 

Hillyer said being able to do what she does is beyond what she could have imagined growing up. "I came from low income housing. I didn't think I would graduate high school. I didn't think I would go to college," she said. "I never in a million years would say when I was graduating high school that I would be standing here with moon rocks or flying in zero gravity or holding an assembly with 75 second graders by myself."

Having exceeded her own expectations for herself, Hillyer said she hopes to inspire others to do the same. "I'm a part of NASA as far as I'm concerned and that's awesome."

Judging by the reaction of the students who could not wait to hold the rocks, they thought it was pretty awesome too.