Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Chilton Christian Academy third-grade students will be experiencing outer space through books and virtual reality purchased with a Bright Ideas Grant from the Central Alabama Electric Cooperative.

“I got an LCD projector … I am getting space books and space VR, so we can go through virtual reality and look at space,” teacher Pam Harmon said.

Harmon will use the projector to allow each of the students to see the virtual reality videos. The grant will provide for a one-year subscription to access the virtual reality.

Changes in curriculum have added studying outer space to the third-grade work.

“This is the first year that I have taught the planets and the moon and the stars,” Harmon said.

Harmon should be receiving the books in a few weeks and is excited to get started.

“Each child learns in a different way, so being able to travel through space and not even leave the classroom will be amazing,” Harmon said. “We are going to go to Mars, to the moon (and) … the Apollo 11 lunar landing.”

The LCD projector will also be used for showing other educational videos, such as Magic School Bus content related to what the students are learning about.

Although this is her first time receiving funding, Harmon said she has applied to the Bright Ideas grant program several times over the years.

This year, Harmon enlisted the help of her daughter-in-law Donna in writing the proposal.

Harmon said she first read about the opportunity in the CAEC magazine.