OSGC Educational Resources Blog

NASA has just opened an exciting new artifact loan program!

What innovative and inspiring things would your organization or school do with space shuttle tires? NASA has released a call for proposals from museums, planetariums, schools, civic groups, etc for exciting and unusual plans to use and display shuttle tires. This is your organization’s chance to get a real NASA artifact for use in hands-on exhibits, artwork, furniture, or whatever your group can dream up!

NASA is waiving some preservation requirements for these tires due to the nature and number of the tires to allow a wide range of possible uses. The tires may be displayed outdoors, may be cut, drilled, painted or otherwise modified, but all pieces will remain the property of the federal government. Any and all other uses for these artifacts will be considered, but must be approved by NASA and the item will remain the property of the federal government.

The deadline to submit a proposal is June 11, 2008. Please review the official press release below or visit the official website for details: http://artifacts.nasa.gov/space_shuttle_lgt.htm

(NASA PRESS RELEASE: 08-113)
NASA ROLLS OUT NEW ARTIFACT LOAN PROGRAM WITH SPACE SHUTTLE TIRES

WASHINGTON — With the help of the space shuttle program, NASA kicks off a new artifact loan program for museums, planetariums, and other organizations. NASA’s new Artifact Loan Opportunities Program will help organizations borrow NASA artifacts for education and outreach purposes.

The first artifacts available are main landing gear tires from space shuttles. The space shuttle tires, including some flown on missions, are available to proposing organizations that NASA determines best meet the agency’s education and public outreach goals.

This new program gives organizations that are not traditionally associated with the agency the chance to have access to NASA artifacts. The shuttle tires and future available artifacts represent NASA’s many decades of exploration and discovery.

Organizations interested in proposing uses for loaned shuttle tires should be external to NASA. Organizations may include, but are not limited to, museums, schools, and civic groups. The long-term loan of these tires may be used to educate, inspire or inform the public about NASA’s scientific and technological achievements through art, sculpture, furniture, building structures, exhibits or other innovative uses of the artifacts.

The deadline for proposals on this initial opportunity is June 11, 2008.
For information about artifact loan opportunity, visit: http://artifacts.nasa.gov

Are you interested in Microgravity?
Join us at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum IMAX® Theater

Friday May 16, 2008
10:00 – 11:00 am

In preparation for the grand opening of a new space wing at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, students and teachers are invited to attend a special presentation at the Evergreen IMAX® Theater on May 16. Limited space is available so please call (503) 434-4005 if you plan to bring a group or if you require further details. The cost is $9.00 per student for the Microgravity Program and IMAX show or $11.00 per student for the Microgravity event, IMAX, and Museum Self-Guided Tour.

Hear a presentation on microgravity research from the Portland State University Microgravity Team
What is surface tension and why does it matter? What is phase separation? What does our experiment do? We are a group of undergraduate students at Portland State University who designed, built, tested, and flew our experiment on NASA’s C-9 aircraft in Houston in April. Come see what it’s like to experience low-gravity like astronauts do, learn how cool the science is, and bring questions!

Participate in hands-on microgravity experiments
Learn more about the experiments performed in microgravity and the science behind gravity.

Watch a film about microgravity experiments performed by an Oregon State University student
Marci Whittaker, a senior in nuclear engineering at Oregon State University, has set her sights on Mars. First, she has to design a nuclear reactor that will work in space so that we can reach the red planet. It has been five years of hard work, but finally, her prototype is ready to be tested aboard NASA’s C-9 microgravity plane.

Stay to view the IMAX movies!
11:00 am “Fighter Pilot”
12:00 pm “Space Station 3D”

For more information about Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, please visit the official website at http://www.sprucegoose.org/

The Oregon State University Robotics Club will host an open demonstration of their “University Rover Challenge” entry on Saturday, May 10 – part of a national competition among university students to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers. The event will be at the Arts and Crafts Building at the Benton County Fairground in Corvallis, OR.   From 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m. the rover will work to perform tasks in geology, soil analysis, emergency navigation and construction.  The team, funded through a NASA ESMD Design Project award, has also received equipment donations from a corporate sponsor, Parallax Inc.  The demonstration is free and open to the public.

For more information about the University Rover Challenge and the tests planned for Saturday, please visit the Mars Society’s University Rover Challenege website at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/urc

Read more about the OSU Robotics Team at their journal, hosted through the Parallax company, at http://www.parallax.com/tabid/638/Default.aspx