Ashton kids examine 'meteor'

What? You didn’t hear the massive explosion or see the blinding flash when a meteor struck the front yard of Ashton Elementary last month? You're not alone. No one did. But the students sure learned a lot from investigating the scientific find anyway.

OK, a rock from space didn’t really hit – the roped-off impact site was a simulation. But groups of students investigated the site with University of South Florida professors as if it were the real thing as part of science and technology learning. Along the way, they got hands-on lessons in geology, space science, scientific methods and more.

The Education Foundation of Sarasota County funded the weeklong endeavor.