Students in Scott McClintock's fifth grade class have had a rare opportunity recently to get an up-close look at real moon rocks.

McClintock, who has been certified by NASA to accept moon rocks on loan for a specified time, is teaching a unit on space and thought actual moon rocks would be a nice addition.

"There are only 840 pounds of moon rocks on earth now - that's all there is," he said recently. And since the United States no longer has a rocket capable of going to the moon, the moon rocks now on earth are irreplaceable, he said.

The rocks - breccia, basalt and anorthosite - are embedded in an acrylic plate along with samples of moon "soil" (actually dust, McClintock said, or "regolith"). Because of the high iron content in the rocks, he said, exposure to the high moisture content in our air would turn the rocks red.

The students' reactions to seeing the moon rocks are not as excited as those of previous generations, McClintock said.

"The excitement for kids is gone because it's just not a big deal anymore," he said.

The rocks came from the John Glenn Research Center (formerly the Lewis Research Center) in Cleveland after McClintock applied to borrow them.

Part of the application dealt with his security plan for the rocks, requiring him to lock them in a safe when they are not being used for educational purposes.

Jefferson Elementary will host the moon rocks for a couple more weeks, and will take them to Harrison Elementary (where McClintock's wife teaches) for Harrison's school carnival.

As a tribute to this summer's 30th anniversary of the first moon landing, Jefferson Elementary will host an open house Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. so members of the public can see the moon rocks. [[In-content Ad]]