David King, director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and former astronaut Dr. Roger Crouch will visit Murfreesboro, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 21, and Tuesday, Nov. 22, to share NASA’s future exploration mission goals and the Vision for Space Exploration with students at Hobgood Elementary School. The visit is part of NASA’s Explorer School Program, a national effort to engage students with hands-on classroom projects and computer-based math and science tutorials that teach problem-solving skills and real-life challenges faced by NASA engineers.

King and Crouch will discuss how science and space research enhance everyday life on Earth and the role of today’s students as the future generation of explorers. Students also will learn about future career opportunities they can pursue with NASA.

When: Monday, Nov. 21, 6:30 p.m., and Tuesday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. CST

Who: David King, director of the Marshall Space Flight Center; former NASA astronaut Dr. Roger Crouch, a veteran of two space shuttle missions logging more than 471 hours in space

Where: Hobgood Elementary School, 307 Baird Lane, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Members of the media are invited to attend the Nov. 21-22 visits. Media availabilities will be held on site at Hobgood Elementary at 7:30 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. Tuesday CST, following the scheduled programs. For media interested in arranging interviews with King and Crouch, please contact the Marshall Center Public and Employee Communications Office at 256/544-0034.

Hobgood Elementary School, which includes kindergarten to 6th grade students, was named a NASA Explorer School in the spring of 2005.

Created in 2003, the Explorer School Program is a three-year partnership between NASA and selected schools to provide opportunities and materials for teachers to spark student interest in science, math, engineering and technology. The program is sponsored by NASA’s Office of Education in Washington. NASA selects schools each year to participate in the program. To date, there are 128 Explorer Schools in 46 states and the District of Columbia with more than 40,000 students involved in the program.

For information about the NASA Explorer Schools Program on the Internet, visit: http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

For information about NASA on the Internet, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/home