Commander Chris Hadfield sang “Happy Birthday” to the Grade 3 student at J.J. Curling. The rest of the school, who had a Skype question-and-answer session with the Canadian astronaut, joined in too.
The soft-spoken Pelley said the moment, which came after he asked Hadfield how holidays were celebrated in space, was special.
“I felt like I wasn’t even in this school right now,” he said. “I was surprised too.”
After Hadfield led the chorus, he told the students that astronauts tried to celebrate special occasions similar to how they did on Earth — including making a tortilla-layered birthday cake. However, despite the special atmosphere of being aboard a spacecraft high above the earth, special occasions are difficult without family, he said.
The commander was peppered with the expected questions from the students. What was your favourite thing about being in space? How did it feel to return to Earth? How long did it take to become an astronaut? Did anything go wrong in space? How did your family react to you going?
Hadfield had fun with his answers, including using his personal bobblehead doll to demonstrate the impact of returning to gravity on a body, but many of his responses also contained a message for the students.
Grade 6 students Josh Skinner, Ben Smith and Ben Zhu saw it as a privilege to be addressed by the commander, and said they found the question-and-answer period to be interesting and informative. They all heard one message in particular — to challenge themselves to be all they can be.
“Eventually everybody is going to die, so just make the most of your life when you have the chance,” Smith said.
Hadfield said it wasn’t just important to take worthwhile risks to become an astronaut, but that it’s true in all facets of life.
Zhu said he will challenge himself to achieve academic excellence in all subject areas.
They each took on a bit of a challenge in participating in the school’s Space Camp expedition in Montreal earlier this year.
Pelley hopes he will get the chance when he is in Grade 6.
“I am interested in space, and I like to do things that have to do with school,” he said.
Twitter: @WS_CoryHurley
Commander Chris Hadfield sang “Happy Birthday” to the Grade 3 student at J.J. Curling. The rest of the school, who had a Skype question-and-answer session with the Canadian astronaut, joined in too.
The soft-spoken Pelley said the moment, which came after he asked Hadfield how holidays were celebrated in space, was special.
“I felt like I wasn’t even in this school right now,” he said. “I was surprised too.”
After Hadfield led the chorus, he told the students that astronauts tried to celebrate special occasions similar to how they did on Earth — including making a tortilla-layered birthday cake. However, despite the special atmosphere of being aboard a spacecraft high above the earth, special occasions are difficult without family, he said.
The commander was peppered with the expected questions from the students. What was your favourite thing about being in space? How did it feel to return to Earth? How long did it take to become an astronaut? Did anything go wrong in space? How did your family react to you going?
Hadfield had fun with his answers, including using his personal bobblehead doll to demonstrate the impact of returning to gravity on a body, but many of his responses also contained a message for the students.
Grade 6 students Josh Skinner, Ben Smith and Ben Zhu saw it as a privilege to be addressed by the commander, and said they found the question-and-answer period to be interesting and informative. They all heard one message in particular — to challenge themselves to be all they can be.
“Eventually everybody is going to die, so just make the most of your life when you have the chance,” Smith said.
Hadfield said it wasn’t just important to take worthwhile risks to become an astronaut, but that it’s true in all facets of life.
Zhu said he will challenge himself to achieve academic excellence in all subject areas.
They each took on a bit of a challenge in participating in the school’s Space Camp expedition in Montreal earlier this year.
Pelley hopes he will get the chance when he is in Grade 6.
“I am interested in space, and I like to do things that have to do with school,” he said.
Twitter: @WS_CoryHurley
