Wonder and awe swept over students at the FCPS Career and Technical Education (CTE) Summer Academy as they took in the first images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The dazzling photos of far off galaxies, glittering stars, and colorful nebulae were revealed in a live NASA broadcast watched by space enthusiasts around the world. As part of the big reveal, the CTE Summer Academy brought in a NASA Solar System Ambassador to speak to students about this exciting advancement in the study of the universe. 

“I was looking at the images and I was dumbfounded. They were spectacular!” said Kaylee Bryson, an aspiring astronaut and rising freshman at Woodson High School. “I think space is the realm of the future. There are so many mysteries out there that are left to be discovered.”

NASA Solar System Ambassador Brian Cummins spent about 30 minutes speaking to students, explaining how the Webb Telescope works and answering questions. 

“The Hubble telescope launched when I was their age, so it was great to watch the new images from Webb with the next generation,” said Cummins. “I’m always hopeful there will be one in the group who will be inspired to learn more and maybe go on to a career in science.”

Gideon Lovern, a rising junior at Herndon High School, was surprised by how clear the new photos are. The images from the Webb Telescope are the deepest and sharpest infrared images of the distant universe to date.

“At first I was expecting it to be just like all the other space photos we’ve seen, but they’re really mind blowing,” Lovern said. “Each photo tells a story and has so much information behind it. They really reveal the mysteries of the universe. Today I learned about the past, present, and the future, all at once. That’s pretty cool.”

The NASA visit was part of ‘Flight School’ at the week-long CTE Summer Academy at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Throughout the week students learn all things aerospace, even designing and building their own rockets to launch. 

 “I hope the students today were able to see what a great accomplishment the Webb Telescope is for our country and the world,” Cummins added. “I hope they recognize that we can do mighty things when we work together, and that some of them will develop an interest and passion in space. There’s always something new to learn!”

Down the hall at Lake Braddock SS, elementary school-aged students from across the county were getting their own taste of space-related summer education. All week long, youngsters enrolled in the Tech Adventure Camp learned about aspects of our solar system in a series of STEAM-related activities to coincide with NASA’s big announcement. From designing and testing rockets, to coding robots, to making astronaut pudding, the children had an out of this world experience. 

Learn more about CTE Summer Academy.

Learn more about Tech Adventure Camp.

Watch this video to hear why students love studying space.