Rocket fuel in a math class brings space engineering to Marlboro students.

Two former NASA engineers joined a Marlboro Elementary teacher to teach Algebra I through projects in which eighth graders design colonies on moons like Enceladus and Io, using algebra to solve engineering problems and model resources.

At Marlboro Elementary, eighth graders are learning Algebra I through projects about human settlements on moons such as Enceladus and Io. The unit was created by math teacher Jesslyn Mullet with help from Linda and Don Fuhrman, who spent decades at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Fuhrmans are semi-retired and moved to Marlboro after careers in aerospace. The class turns algebra concepts into tools for engineering problems related to space missions. Key details: - Students pick a celestial body, research its environment, and design a viable human colony using algebraic methods. - Linda and Don Fuhrman helped design problems that mirror real engineering tasks and taught topics including scientific notation, trajectories, and computer-aided design with SketchUp. - Pupils have calculated mass, gravity effects, entry trajectories, and resource needs such as water; Linda reported a class calculation that found "millions of tons of water" would be required without recycling. - Upcoming lessons include exponential functions to model food production for colonies. - If students pass the end-of-year test, they can skip Algebra I in high school and begin Geometry. - Henry Hobbie is named as a member of the class but was absent when the article's reporter visited. Summary: The collaboration gives a small Vermont school access to hands-on STEM learning and frames algebra as a practical tool for real-world problems. Next, students will work on exponential functions to model food production for their colony designs, and they will take a year-end test that could let them bypass Algebra I in high school.