Students at a Washington, D.C., elementary school today joined U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and NASA International Space Station senior scientist and former space shuttle crew member Roger Crouch for a live conversation with the International Space Station (ISS) astronauts at an event commemorating International Education Week and American Education Week.

"International Education Week and American Education Week offer us opportunities to learn more about the history and culture of our own nation and of other nations," Paige said. "From the patriots of the Boston Tea Party and the novels of Mark Twain to the philosophy of Confucius and the novels of Tolstoy, there is much that our students should learn about our international community."

Paige also urged students to study math, science, foreign languages and geography—subjects that will prepare them for success in school, on the job and in life.

"These subjects make projects like the space station possible," Paige said. "The American and Russians who are in the space station right now, the engineers and architects who designed it, and the officials who run it, all studied advanced math and science, and their mission’s success depends on their skills. By advancing the frontiers of science and space, the mathematicians and scientists on the space station are fulfilling a dream as old as humanity."

Frank Owens, education division director at NASA headquarters, who also participated in today’s event, stressed NASA’s commitment to promoting educational excellence.

"Activities like International Education Week prepare our students to live in a truly global society," Owens said. "The International Space Station represents one of the most significant scientific and engineering challenges in history. Only through strong international partnerships are we able, collectively, to build and use this new research laboratory in the sky. And to our students at Adams Elementary School and throughout our nation, it symbolizes the ultimate excitement to which a career in science, mathematics, technology or engineering can lead. Therefore, NASA is committed to using our unique assets like the International Space Station to promote educational excellence for all students here on Earth."

During the 20-minute call, sixth-graders from John Quincy Adams Elementary School in Northwest Washington learned about living and working in space through a question-and-answer session with the three crew members aboard Expedition Three, the orbiting outpost.

The crew comprises U.S. Commander Frank Culbertson, Jr., Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov, and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. The ISS circles the Earth once every 90 minutes and is in orbit 240 miles above the Earth.

Schools around the country were encouraged to watch the program live on NASA Television (NTV) or to tune into the rebroadcast at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m. EST.

The International Space Station is an Earth-orbiting laboratory drawing upon the scientific and technological expertise of 16 nations: the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, and the 11 member nations of the European Space Agency. When complete, the pressurized living and working space aboard the ISS will be about the size of three average American homes.

Research aboard the ISS has already begun, and more than 900 world-class investigators are ready to take full advantage of the unprecedented research opportunities on the orbiting outpost.

International Education Week was established in 2000 to promote the importance of international partnerships and international education in today’s global environment. The ISS theme was chosen this year to highlight events and activities that demonstrate the importance of math, science, technology, engineering and international skills.

Earlier this week, Paige visited the Maritime and Science Technology Academy in Miami, the nation’s only Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, in celebration of National Veterans Awareness Week. Veterans Awareness Week is part of the Lessons of Liberty initiative sponsored by the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs. President George W. Bush launched the initiative on Oct. 30.

For more information about International Education Week, visit http://exchanges.state.gov/iew2001.

NOTE TO EDITORS: NASA Television is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 MHz. Portions of the program will be replayed on the NTV video file feed beginning immediately following the event, and again at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST.

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