After visiting space herself, former NASA astronaut educates future STEM stars in Seattle

According to NASA, just 280 people have visited the International Space Station. Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger was one of them.

"Nothing compares to looking back at Earth," she told KUOW's Kim Malcolm.

The former Earth sciences and astronomy teacher in Vancouver, Washington, began her journey to the stars after a student asked her what she'd later learn was a rather common question among high schoolers: How do you go to the bathroom in space?

She didn't know either. In her quest to find an answer, she discovered NASA was hiring teachers for the 2004 class of incoming astronauts. She applied, and the rest is history — literally. She was a member of the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station in 2010.

"It's pretty hard to have a bad day in space," Metcalf-Lindenburger quipped, comparing the sensation of floating through the station to Superwoman in flight.

Now, she's on a new mission from her home in Lake Forest Park, on Seattle's east side: She's trying to get kids interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — the STEM fields.

Her experience in space has shaped her view of the planet and her approach with her students.

"If we think about Earth really as connected, which it is, and not as divided, which is arbitrary by humans, then we actually can do some important things," she said, explaining that the planet's water, atmosphere, and natural resources are parts of the whole. "My goal is just to keep that primary in front of people's eyes — from young people, who can absolutely act within their communities, to the young at heart, who are in the places of making policy."

In that way, she said she wants to teach people to treat Earth like a spaceship, where "we take care of the whole crew and not just one part of the crew."

If you want to join Metcalf-Lindenburger's crew here on Earth, you have a chance this weekend. She'll be speaking at the Museum of Flight on Saturday at 3 p.m. The talk is free with admission and with museum membership.