ASHLAND — Amanda Drouhard always wanted to connect with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, better known as NASA.
“I’ve loved science and space since I was a little thing,” Drouhard said. “My father was a fighter pilot, and there’s not much farther you can go.”
Drouhard’s path took a few diversions from NASA, though. She got a degree in nursing and had children. She found a home at St. Edward Catholic Church, and her children found a home at St. Edward School.
Drouhard started volunteering in the library, then moved into a position as the school nurse, before finally settling in as an eighth grade teacher. But throughout it all, she never lost her love for science and space.
So, when St. Edward School teachers had the opportunity forwarded to them to attend an educator training about the eclipse at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, attendance was a no-brainer for Drouhard.
The training, put on by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, focused on the eclipse.
It offered materials, lesson plans and experiments for teachers to do with their students ahead of the solar event.
Drouhard also toured the facilities, and had the opportunity to experiment with virtual reality, simulators and meet several NASA interns. Plus, she got to take home a NASA photo ID to show off in her classroom at St. Edward School.
Drouhard said she believed she was the only teacher from Ashland County who attended the training.
Bringing it back
Drouhard then got to return to St. Edward School with several activities for her students to do surrounding the eclipse.
She teaches science lab to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at St. Edward, and walked them through making a model of the solar system, pinhole eclipse viewers and solar eclipse bracelets that glow when exposed to UV light.
St. Edward School is also providing all students with eclipse glasses so they can view the eclipse safely. That’s something Drouhard thinks is important. As a trained school nurse, she wants all parents to know their children can’t look directly at the eclipse, other than right at totality.
Even though Drouhard is working to engage her students, she said she isn’t certain students are grasping the novelty of the event yet.
With improvements to technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence, she thinks students nowadays have a heightened awareness of what the world offers beyond their own doorsteps.
In her estimation, it makes the job of imparting these events’ importance falls on her shoulders.
“As a science teacher, you have to get them to buy in,” Drouhard said.
It’s Drouhard’s hope that the NASA lessons help students get excited about the once-in-a-generation event.
For her students’ part, they all said they enjoyed participating in the science labs. Many also said they have plans to watch the eclipse with their families on April 8.
Drouhard and her children also have plans for eclipse day. They’ll be watching from atop a hill on their family farm.
“The excitement is real,” Drouhard said.
