Markale Tyler-McLean is only in second grade, but he may have found his passion already.

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"I love space,” he says/ "It's something you discover about."

And at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, the District's only in-school planetarium is helping him and fellow students reach new worlds.

For two decades, the domed-room was a storage unit. When first-year principal Sharon Wells stepped in, she knew she had found a treasure.

"It just made sense to use this is a viable functioning tool for our students and maximize our resources," Wells says.

She and other parents worked hard to clean it up. Wells painted some walls herself. She says her job is to ensure students receive the best education. And if it required her time, then that was okay with her.

Now, students say, they're ready to take on space, and beyond it.