Elon Musk is opening a preschool in Texas called Ad Astra, Latin for “to the stars.”
The Montessori school is located outside of Bastrop, Texas, about 30 miles away from Austin. The school’s website states that it takes a “hands-on, project-based” approach to learning and incorporates science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) into its curriculum.
According to documents filed with Texas state authorities and obtained by Bloomberg on Tuesday, Ad Astra received an initial permit last month to operate with as many as 21 pupils.
The documents show that the school is located on 40 acres of land and is housed within a remodeled 4,000-square-foot home. Bloomberg visited the site on a weekday morning and saw that the school did not seem to be operational — there was one car in the parking lot and no sign of children on the campus.
The school’s website states that “Ad Astra will be open in the fall” and “we are now accepting applications for the 2024-25 school year.” The school is open to children ages three to nine.
Ad Astra is just one piece of Musk’s educational ambitions. Last year, Musk gave $100 million as a gift to start a new university in Austin. He also donated $137 million this year to set up a primary and secondary school focused on STEM.
Bloomberg notes that Ad Astra seems to have been set up with Musk’s children, and those of his employees, in mind. The school is a five-minute drive away from a SpaceX facility. Musk has at least 12 children, six of whom have been born within the past five years.
Ad Astra has two job openings, one for a primary assistant teacher (ages three to six) and another for a STEM assistant teacher (ages six to nine).