Girl sets her sights on bringing astronaut to Henderson school
Samantha Johnson is shooting for the moon and hoping at least to land among the stars, or with any luck find someone who has been among them.
The 6-year-old Sunrise resident is on a mission to meet an astronaut.
“I want to know how they can breathe in their helmets,” she said. “I want to know what the colors look like out there.”
But it’s not just for her.
She hopes to also teach her Henderson classmates at Pinecrest Academy of Nevada, 1360 S. Boulder Highway, about space by bringing an astronaut to school.
“I really hope it’s a girl astronaut,” she said.
On a Saturday morning, Samantha sat at her living room coffee table constructing a puzzle of the solar system.
“Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,” Samantha said while pointing at each planet.
Her father, Anthony Johnson, asked her questions about space.
“The sun is a star,” she answered when he asked what made it different.
Samantha has been obsessed with space for the last few months, her parents said.
“We thought it was a fad, really,” Johnson said. “She has been absorbing everything.”
But the subject proved to be something she can’t outgrow.
“She said she wants to grow up and be an astronomer,” he said.
The Johnson family began building and launching model rockets last year. The spare bedroom — spaced-themed with a solar system dangling above the bed — has the remains of all Samantha’s projects.
“She builds them, and we launch them,” Johnson said. “She has even brought over friends to do so.”
Even though Samantha said she liked watching them explode, she also developed a deeper curiosity about space and NASA.
Trying to teach her, her family has done everything from buying her a telescope to taking her to science centers to learn about the subject.
Now she wants to learn from someone with firsthand knowledge about traveling beyond Earth’s atmosphere, and she is trying to involve her class.
Johnson added that he is glad she is engaging other students to increase their curiosity about space and science.
“In other countries, they teach algebra to kids starting at 6,” he said.
To Johnson, it’s not just about getting a guest speaker for the class. It’s about education.
“If a child wants to learn, they shouldn’t have to beg for it,” he said.
So far, Samantha has reached out to state officials and science centers and has even written to President Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.
“She wants to leave no stone unturned,” Johnson said. “She said she would even get Russia to help if she needed to.”
Even though she hasn’t heard back from many people, Samantha has received interest from around the world and coverage on television news stations, Johnson said.
“She keeps getting more and more determined,” he said. “This is her project. We are just helping any way we can.”
This isn’t the first time Samantha has gone to extreme lengths to learn about a subject. When she was 4, her dad gave her information about marine life, which included a poster of a whale.
She told him that didn’t show her enough information.
In response, her father took her whale watching so she could get a better glimpse at marine life up close.
She also developed a fascination with Amelia Earhart and wants to see an exhibit honoring her.
“I don’t even know how she learned about her,” Johnson said. “She was teaching me about her.”
The Johnson family is looking into sending Samantha to space camp. Most camps require children to be at least 10.
“We have found one that is open to 6-year-olds,” Johnson said. “We are trying to get the funds to send her there.”
For more information or to help with Samantha’s efforts, visit her facebook page or her fundraising page.
Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.
