BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Brevard County teacher is working hard to train the next generation of space explorers.
On Tuesday, she and her class got a big surprise from ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
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Along the space coast, history is made every day and just a few miles from those launches, the next generation is learning how to take things even further.
South Lake Elementary students learn in the smart lab with Rhonda Ripperberger.
“So here at South Lake in the smart lab, I teach students how to integrate a ton of hands-on activities that relate to fields of study that they would eventually go into in the real world,” Ripperberger said.
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In the lab, students learn coding, engineering and other skills that lay a foundation for space exploration.
“When people think of the space industry, I think they automatically jump to rockets and shuttles landing on the moon, exploring Mars. And those aspects are really exciting. But there’s a lot that goes into getting our astronauts and our explorers into space,” Ripperberger said.
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Her unique learning experience even caught the eye of “Good Morning America.” Anchor TJ Holmes surprised Ripperberger with $10,000 from Donors Choose. It’s a fundraising platform specifically to raise money for classrooms.
“This is gonna change a lot here. I’m so excited and I know our students will be too,” she said.
It’s a little extra help to keep kids reaching for the stars.
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