CHATHAM COUNTY, NC--- Horton Middle School may seem like an ordinary middle school. But what happens inside is out of this world!
This semester, students in Rose Wignall's sixth-grade class have had the privilege of learning about moon rocks using actual samples from the NASA Apollo missions which were taken directly from the surface of the moon.
Miss Wignall attended a workshop in Maryland in 2015 in order to become eligible to request the samples. She says, to her knowledge, no other science class in North Carolina has ever used actual moon rocks from NASA during a lesson.
The samples, which are stored in a "James Bond-esque” case, under lock and key, are solidified in a protective covering known as a "lunar disk". The Chatham County Sheriff’s office assisted in security.
The samples helped students learn about a theory that the Moon was formed by debris from Earth after a large asteroid strike. Students researching the theory were able to compare the moon rock samples to rock samples found on Earth finding that the rock types exist in both places.
“The same rocks on Earth can be found on the moon! And some are even volcanic,” said one student. “It’s cool to think that, you know, these little rocks were once really on the moon!” said another.
Since obtaining the rocks, grades and participation have blasted upward. Wignall said she plans on requesting the rocks again next year, and encourages other science teachers to become eligible as well.