I just got an update from geocaching.com about the Geocaching Travel Bug that hitched a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio to the International Space Station. This is a great way to interest students (and us older folk who geocache about geography and science.
From the email:
Nearly 100 days have ticked by since geocachers cheered as a Travel Bug® rocketed toward the International Space Station. It’s in the capable hands of astronaut Rick Mastracchio. Like everything else on the space station, the Travel Bug has a mission. Mastracchio is using the Travel Bug to teach students back on Earth about geography and science. The Travel Bug’s page is the chatroom of a teacher’s or parent’s dreams. More than 1,200 posts have been logged so far, as classrooms (and even Geocaching HQ!) asked questions and Mastracchhio answered them from the weightlessness of low Earth orbit.