A trip to the moon is as near as the NASA exhibit for these two young visitors.

There’s a mutual admiration society at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007 involving NASA and members of the show crowd. NASA exhibit staffer Mark Thornblom says, "The people here seem to know a lot about what we do… Yeah, they’re a savvy group."

Mark is an Oshkosh newbie this year whose day job is as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. A 10-year-old boy who proved to be very articulate in the details of NASA’s new Ares space booster program especially impressed him. "I was absolutely blown away by his knowledge," Mark says. It became a friendly challenge, with Mark asking questions about Ares and the boy firing back answers just as fast. And this wasn’t a one-time phenomenon. "A lot of the kids here know a lot," Mark adds.

For some show visitors, the "Aha!" moment came when they saw NASA’s comparisons between the rigors faced by the Jamestown colonists 400 years ago and those expected to challenge the upcoming batch of moon and Mars explorers. It’s all about food, water, and shelter, then and in the future.

Darlene Mendoza is impressed with the way AirVenture visitors grappled with NASA’s new airborne infrared telescope mounted in a modified 747SP. They wanted to know more about how the airplane can fly at 41,000 feet with a special 16-foot door open in the aft fuselage. Darlene says the visitors she interacts with here come prepared with aeronautics knowledge.

Lawyers Adam Long and Warren Mathies traveled from Boonville, Indiana, to see the wonders of AirVenture. "I think it was cool to see about the Ares" moon and Mars rocket system, Adam comments. Warren saw some synthetic wing material that intrigued him; he may become an aircraft homebuilder one of these days. They both agreed that the eagerness of NASA staffers to share their world was obvious, and enjoyable.

AirVenture visitors all over the grounds clutch white plastic NASA bags, emblazoned with the familiar agency logo. Behind the scenes, Richard Manco from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio tallies about 7,000 of the colorful bags given away at the show this year, along with posters and thousands of NASA emblem stickers.

Bryan Palaszewski came from Glenn Research Center to staff the exhibit. Known for his education connections, Bryan says, "teachers are visiting in droves." He provides educational materials that teachers from budget-poor districts especially appreciate receiving.

"Some school districts are very poor," Bryan explains. "They can barely get any materials at all."

He sees a cross-section of rich and poor districts represented by teachers who travel to Oshkosh from around the country. Bryan takes all this very seriously, and if he doesn’t have the right educational material here, he is known to hand out his business cards so teachers can follow up.

But he seasons his serious mission to help educators with an engaging sense of humor, too. When a visitor asked him to explain how a scramjet works in 15 words or less, Bryan counted his response to be 35 words. The visitor "went away happy." And that’s what matters.

Kristina Hendrix from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama says AirVenture visitors have told her they "like that we’re out talking to people" instead of just hosting press conferences. "They’re very excited about the space program and happy that we’re going back to the moon."

Several members of the Nicoson family from Hartford, Wisconsin, emerged from the NASA exhibit with the ubiquitous white bags and posters and stickers. The posters "will be all over the wall," Jill Nicoson promises. The Nicosons found the NASA exhibit to be "very educational." This is their first time at AirVenture, but they say it will not be their last.

There’s one informal measurement of the NASA exhibit’s popularity: Even when the weather is nice outside, people still want to come inside to see what NASA is currently all about. Chuck Novak from Hinckley, Ohio, is a model builder who ducked into the building and was intrigued by a model of a modified F-15 that he plans to replicate. Chuck considers himself "pretty NASA-savvy already."

It boils down to enthusiastic NASA staffers showing neat technology to aerospace-savvy AirVenture visitors. And that’s enjoyable for all parties.