On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the school community of Istituto Comprensivo Statale Rita Levi Montalcini in Rome gathered at Teatro Italo Svevo for the final ceremony of the Moonshot programme — a moment of celebration, recognition and shared pride for the students, teachers and families who took part in this year’s journey.
The event marked the conclusion of a year of scientific experimentation, curiosity and classroom discovery. More than 180 children, together with their parents, teachers and school leadership, took part in the ceremony, receiving their certificates of participation and celebrating the work completed throughout the programme.
For Novi Education, the ceremony was also an important opportunity to return to the field — to the classrooms, teachers and students for whom Moonshot was designed.
Valter Spano, Co-CEO and Founder of Novi Education, attended the event and warmly thanked Maria Pia Foresta, the school principal, Michela Pia Sanchirico, the school coordinator, the teaching staff and the programme’s supporter, Banca Ifis.
His message was one of gratitude to everyone who helped make Moonshot part of the school’s educational life: the leadership team that welcomed the project, the teachers who guided students with dedication, the sponsor that supported the Italian rollout, and above all the children, whose participation, energy and imagination gave the programme its true meaning.
Moonshot is built around a simple idea: that science becomes more powerful when students can experience it. Developed with Space Center Houston, the programme brings space exploration into the classroom through hands-on activities, teamwork, reflection and age-appropriate scientific challenges.
In Rome, that idea became visible in the most direct way: through children who had worked, questioned, built, experimented and imagined themselves as part of a larger mission.
The final ceremony was not only the end of a school-year pathway. It was a reminder of why Novi Education exists: to bring institutional authority, scientific imagination and rigorous educational design into real schools, with real teachers, for real students.
As Moonshot continues its development across Italy and beyond, moments like this remain central to the programme. They show what happens when a school community embraces a new way of learning — and when students are invited not only to study the future, but to feel that they can help build it.
