Delphian displays moon rocks

Submitted photo##A rock brought home by astronauts who visited the moon. When the rocks were first brought to earth, scientists weren't sure if they would be dangerous. Turned out they are benign.

SHERIDAN — The Delphian School is displaying moon rocks on loan from NASA through Monday, Dec. 12.

The school worked with the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum to create an interactive exhibit. It includes information about Apollo missions that landed on the moon, where the astronauts collected rocks, along with hands-on experiments and a virtual reality moon landing experience.

NASA lent the moon rocks to the Delphian School because of the efforts of teacher Diego Martinez. He took a NASA moon rock certification course when he was teaching in Colorado more than a decade ago.

Since joining the Sheridan school, he has taken students to the Space X facility and introduced them to Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk. Martinez said he wants to continue to inspire students “to reach for the stars.”

The Delphian School is honored to host the moon rocks, assistant headmaster Mark Siegel said.

“These are considered national treasures and symbols of mankind’s ability to make dreams come true,” he added. 

The school is located at 20950 S.W. Rock Creek Road in Sheridan. Teachers, administrators and club leaders who want to bring groups to see the exhibit are invited to call 503-843-5865 or e-mail events@delphian.org.