In March of 2016, students at Hygiene Elementary travelled to Pluto for the school’s first large STEAM event. The students were tasked with learning more about the planet with each grade taking part in specific design challenges, including creating sustainable food sources, water filtration, space exploration and more. The year-long learning adventure culminated in a showcase of each design challenge, a transformation of the school gym to look like Pluto, and the sealing of a time capsule with artifacts from the project.
On September 3, 2025 the current students of Hygiene Elementary opened the time capsule, nearly nine and half years after it was initially sealed, the same time it would have taken them to travel to the dwarf planet had they left in March of 2016.
Students celebrated this momentous occasion with cheers and claps as principal Renee Collier, and literacy teacher, Maridee Moll, unscrewed the cap and began pulling out artifacts. Inside, students were thrilled to see pictures of previous students dressed in Plutonian gear, memorabilia from when former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao visited the school, and even a Milky Way candy bar.
Former Hygiene Elementary students spoke about their time learning about Pluto and the Hawk Air experience, “I never imagined I would see an astronaut in my life,” said Nick Kobza, who’s now a junior at Longmont High School. “The design process taught me a ton of lessons I’ll never forget.”
After all the artifacts from the time capsule were examined, students transitioned to celebrate their own Hawk Air learning adventure which will be the United Arab Emirates. Students will learn about the UAE while completing STEAM design challenges for a comprehensive, hands-on learning experience.
When speaking about the impact of the Hawk Air experience, Principal Collier said, “What the students remember out of Hygiene really is Hawk Air. They bring their passports that we make in kindergarten and ask where the students are going this year.”
As the celebration came to a close, students reflected on how far Hygiene Elementary has traveled in both imagination and learning since that first journey to Pluto. The time capsule served as a reminder of the creativity and curiosity of past Hawks while inspiring today’s students to reach even further. With new adventures ahead, Hygiene Elementary continues to empower young learners to dream big, design boldly, and carry forward a legacy of innovation.