Saint John the Apostle School was honored to welcome Manny Pimenta on Wednesday, February 26th, as he brought the wonders of space exploration to our 7th-grade science class. A longtime space advocate, engineer, and entrepreneur, Mr. Pimenta is the founder of Virtual Moon and has dedicated his career to promoting Lunar exploration and STEM education.

Mr. Pimenta has a special connection to SJA, as both of his daughters, Erica and Ashley, attended and graduated from our school. He credits their strong foundation in education at SJA for their successes—Erica is now a pediatric oncologist with an MD, PhD who completed her residency at Harvard, and Ashley has built a thriving career in the music industry.

During his visit, Mr. Pimenta transported our students to the Moon through an incredible Virtual Reality experience. Each student had the opportunity to witness the Apollo 11 Eagle landing while standing on the lunar surface—a breathtaking moment of awe, trepidation, and ultimately, pure amazement. He also brought space memorabilia, including a scale model spaceship surrounded by toy cars to demonstrate its true size and proportion, making the experience both interactive and educational.

We are incredibly grateful to Mr. Pimenta for sharing his time, knowledge, and passion for space with our students. His visit inspired curiosity and encouraged our future scientists, engineers, and explorers to dream big.

Thank you, Mr. Pimenta, for bringing the Moon to SJA!  For more information about this program, visit VirtualMoon.space