Dr. Gregory Pitonza from Canajoharie Central Schools joined a group of 23 teachers from across the United States and Puerto Rico who are building experiments for the Excelsior STEM mission. The teachers gathered for a week-long Suborbital Flight Experiment Workshop, conducted by Teachers in Space under a cooperative agreement with NASA in Palmdale, California. 

The experiments will fly on a suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) being developed by Masten Space Systems of Mojave, CA. The Excelsior STEM mission, sponsored by Teachers in Space, will be the first suborbital RLV mission dedicated entirely to K-12 education. Teachers in Space and Masten Space Systems believe that Excelsior STEM will be the first of many such flights.

Rensselaer Polytechnic President Shirley Ann Jackson traveled to Pittsburgh with President Obama today to help bolster the United States economy.

Paige Edwards has never been the type to turn away from any task.

"I'm not one of those people who likes to be held back."

So she never let the fact that she was born without the fingers on her right hand hold her back.

"I was born that way so I adapted to it," Paige said.

Now she's re-adapting: practicing everyday tasks many of us take for granted, like folding laundry and pouring a drink, with the help of her new bionic fingers.

The electronic hand is battery operated. She controls the motions and the grips using sensors inside.

 "It was something I dreamed about but I never thought it would happen in my lifetime," Paige said.

Paige's mom discovered the Pro-Digits from Touch Bionics while watching a segment on the Today Show right here on NewsChannel 13 a few months ago.