Brunswick teacher participates in Teachers in Space program

BRUNSWICK – Karen Iuzzolino-Paquin, a middle school science teacher at St. John’s Catholic School, has been selected as one of five teachers across the nation to participate in the Teachers in Space Human Flight Program.

Iuzzolino-Paquin joined educators from New Jersey, New York and Texas on Nov. 3 in a microgravity flight provided by Zero Gravity Corporation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The teachers compared the performance of miniaturized builds of classroom experiments in multiple gravity simulations; collected data on their heart rate, ECG, blood oxygen, breathing, and other human vital signs; and became familiar with the Zero-G experiment environment to establish and test training protocols for these flights.
The purpose of the program is to prepare teachers for participation in actual spaceflight activities that will inform their work with students. With the training and resources from the Zero-G flights, teachers will be better qualified to work with their students in designing and building flight-ready experiments that can be flown on multiple launch platforms.
Teachers in Space is a nonprofit organization focused on stimulating student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by offering teachers extraordinary space science experiences and industry connections. The organization held a special workshop for Maine educators last summer in Brunswick.