It was an out-of-this-world experience for a group of elementary students in Old Bridge.

Retired NASA Captain Jon McBride spoke with students Friday at James McDivitt Elementary School. He shared his experiences, and says that he hopes to inspire the next generation to get involved in space exploration.

“We’re encouraged by the new administration that they’ve actually elevated NASA's budget for the first time in I don't know how many years,” McBride said. “We need to get it back to where we can really do some meaningful research and scientific development, like where we were back in the ‘60s and ‘70s when we were doing all these fantastic things."

McBride said that this was the first time that he had a chance to speak at a school that was named after one of his heroes. James McDivitt was an astronaut during the Apollo missions and was also an U.S. Air Force pilot.