NASA astronaut Mike Fincke visited with Grissom ES students on March 10 to help HISD’s Nutrition Services Department celebrate National School Breakfast Week.
First, he presented a video that showed him and his fellow astronauts enjoying their mission on the International Space Station and fueling their bodies for space travel.
“We have fun with our food because it floats. Do you know why it floats?” asked Fincke. “No gravity!” shouted the students.
Fincke explained how space food needs to be packaged to stay fresh and nutritious so astronauts can remain healthy while in space. “We especially enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables we get when a care package is delivered with a supply cargo from earth.”
The students wanted to know how Fincke became an astronaut. “I had a dream, I worked hard in school, got good grades, went to college, and then I applied to be an astronaut,” he said. “And if you have a dream and work hard, you can be anything you want to be.”
After his presentation, Fincke joined the students for lunch and was excited to learn that yogurt and granola were on the menu. “Those are two of my favorites,” he said. Fincke also enjoyed the Wow butter with celery. “I’ve never had soy butter,” he told the dietitians. “It was really good.”
When lunch was over and it was time to return to his class, one student told Fincke, “Astronaut Mike, this was the best day of my life!”
National School Breakfast Week recognizes the importance of eating a healthy school breakfast. Breakfast is free to all HISD students every school day.
This is so sweet! I think it’s absolutely fantastic when the people which kids look up to come to visit them and make a big impression. Locally, a lot of the hockey and ball players will go to schools and meet with young people. Heartwarming!!