Astronauts aboard the International Space Station talked about their experiences through a live broadcast feed
Live from the International Space Station: Astronauts Connect with Flushing Students at Queens Public Library
QUEENS, NY_ The International Space Station (ISS) made a brief “landing” at Queens Public Library’s Flushing branch auditorium at 41-17 Main Street, where astronauts aboard the station spoke to 200 fifth graders from P.S. 24 about their experiences through a live broadcast feed. Students asked questions on behalf of children from across Queens, and the conversation can be viewed on NASA’s YouTube channel.
Participating astronauts included Chris Williams, a NASA astronaut and flight engineer for Expedition 74, and Jack Hathaway, a U.S. Navy commander and NASA astronaut who serves as pilot for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission.
“This event was an amazing opportunity for students to speak live with astronauts aboard the International Space Station and learn firsthand what life in outer space is really like,” said Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “Our role is to open new worlds for everyone, and we are thrilled to partner with NASA as these astronauts carry out their mission in space, while we carry out ours here on Earth.”
The event was part of QPL’s ongoing STEM education programming. For the past year, branches across the system have hosted programs focusing on life aboard the ISS in a microgravity environment, where astronauts are nearly weightless. With support from Arm Education, Queens Public Library has installed 52 “ISS Above” video screens at library locations and on QPL bookmobiles. The device tracks when the ISS will pass overhead, shows its real-time orbital position and current crew, and streams live views of Earth from the station’s external cameras.
QPL’s STEM education efforts are designed to inspire young people to explore science and technology, with a focus on space and discovery. Last year, QPL launched its first annual Space Month for children and teens, featuring immersive planetarium experiences, miniature Nano Rover design workshops, and conversations with former NASA astronauts.
About the International Space Station:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large research laboratory orbiting Earth that provides a unique environment for scientific experiments in microgravity and human spaceflight. Built through international collaboration, the ISS is jointly operated by space agencies from the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada. Equipped with laboratories, living quarters, solar arrays, and robotic arms, the ISS enables vital research in biology, physics, and the effects of space on the human body, while helping advance technologies for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Program sponsors include ISS Above, Arm Education, and The Explorers Club.
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About Queens Public Library
Queens Public Library is one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the United States, dedicated to serving the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in the country. An independent, non-profit organization founded in 1896, Queens Public Library offers free access to a collection of more than 5 million books and other materials in 50 languages, technology, and digital resources. Each year, the Library hosts tens of thousands of online and in-person educational, cultural, and civic programs and welcomes millions of visitors through its doors. With a presence in nearly every neighborhood across the borough of Queens, the Library consists of 66 locations, including branch libraries, a Central Library, seven adult learning centers, a technology lab at the Queensbridge public housing complex, a community learning center at the Ravenswood public housing complex, and five teen centers. It also has five bookmobiles and two book bicycles.
About ISS Above
The ISS-Above is a fun and educational device that connects people to the International Space Station, and specifically to the humans on board. The ISS Above mission is to bring this magnificent human scientific achievement into homes, schools and offices and to inspire awe in the beauty and fragility of the planet we on Earth call home. Visit: https://www.issabove.com/
About The Explorer’s Club
Headquartered in New York City with a community of Chapters around the world, The Explorers Club is a multi-disciplinary society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and resource conservation. The Explorers Club has been supporting scientific expeditions of all disciplines and uniting our members in the bonds of good fellowship for over a century. Visit: https://www.explorers.org.
About Arm Education
Arm provides the industry’s most efficient and highest-performing compute platform, with more than 325 billion Arm-based devices shipped to date. Together with the world’s largest computing ecosystem and over 22 million software developers, Arm is building the AI experiences of the future for everyone. Arm Education’s mission is to help close education and skills gaps in Computer Engineering and STEM for the benefit of society.
CONTACT: Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, ekern@queenslibrary.org