Filed under: Aeronautics, Cool Science, Educator Kit, K-12, NASA, Research, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
“Kids in Micro-g!” is a student experiment design challenge geared toward grades 5-8. Its purpose is to give students a hands-on opportunity to design an experiment or simple demonstration that could be performed both in the classroom and aboard the International Space Station.
The winning experiments will have observably different results when the experiments are performed in the “1-gravity” or “1-g” environment of the classroom, compared to when the experiments are performed by astronauts in the “Micro-g” (one-millionth of 1-g) environment of the space station. The apparatus for the demonstration must be constructed using materials from a materials tool kit provided to the astronauts on board the space station. The tool kit consists of materials commonly found in the classroom and used for science demonstrations.
The experiment demonstration must take no more than 30 minutes to set up, run and take down. Experiment challenge winners and runners-up will be selected regionally and nationally by the Education offices of the ten NASA centers. The ten regional winners, one national winner and one national runner-up winner will have their experiments conducted by the astronauts on board the space station in the April-May 2010 timeframe. The experiments will be recorded in HD video and the winners supplied with copies of their video before the end of their school year.
Experiment proposals may be submitted by educators on behalf of their student groups. Proposals may be submitted via e-mail or postal mail during the period from Jan. 4, 2010, through Feb. 19, 2010.
The winning experiment proposals will be announced on April 2, 2010.
For more information about the challenge, including a scoring rubric, proposal requirements and a list of materials available to the astronauts, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/nlab/experimentchallenge.html
Filed under: Cool Science, Educational Materials, Higher Education, K-12, Links to Other Resources, NASA, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities
Innovation, creativity, problem solving — the world of robotics at NASA is all of these things. Bookmark this new one-stop shop on NASA.gov for news about robotics for educators and students. Check out the things to do on the site to see if robotics might be in your future.
Things you can do on this site:
–Answer the question: What Is Robotics?
–Practice your programming skills with the interactive robotic activity.
–Watch and download video and multimedia features about robotics.
–Follow a timeline tracing the history of robotics.
–Check out lesson plans for your classroom.
–Stay up-to-date with information about NASA-supported robotics competitions.
–Visit the Robotics Image Gallery.
–Explore other worlds with NASA through robotic spacecraft discoveries.
–Read about scientists and engineers who design and test robots.
–Browse NASA Web sites for information about robotics.
Visit the new NASA Robotics website at: http://www.nasa.gov/education/robotics
Filed under: Conference, Cool Science, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities
NASA is holding the first-ever TEDx-NASA, a one-day multidimensional event that fosters discussions that will shape the future.
TEDx-NASA is Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Va. A limited number of free tickets are available to the public. For more information and to register, go to http://www.TEDx-NASA.org
NASA is synonymous with innovation and thought leadership; TEDx is about “ideas worth spreading.” TEDx-NASA will provide an opportunity to leverage the strengths of both organizations and present a unique environment for the exchange of game-changing ideas.
NASA’s Langley Research Center and the National Institute of Aerospace have organized TEDx-NASA, dubbed “Space to Create.” The event is a day-long immersion in topics that range from science and technology to entertainment and the arts. Scheduled presenters include:
• Celebrated author Mitch Albom
• Experimental artist Chakaia Booker
• Creativity and innovation coach Gregg Fraley
• Robotics inventor Dr. Dennis Hong
• Astronaut Leland Melvin
• Humorous guitar virtuoso Mike Rayburn
• Space illustrator and designer Pat Rawlings
• Oprah & Friends radio host John St. Augustine
• Motivational entertainer Jana Stanfield
• And many more.
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is most well known for its annual conference that brings together leading thinkers and doers to share their passion for big ideas.
TEDx-NASA is an independently organized event in the spirit of TED that will connect innovators from NASA and around the world with the Hampton Roads audience.
For more information about TEDx-NASA, visit http://www.TEDx-NASA.org
For more information about NASA’s Langley Research Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/langley
For more information about the National Institute of Aerospace, visit http://www.nianet.org
NASA, in conjunction with TopCoder Inc. and researchers from Harvard Business School and London Business School, has kicked off an experimental programming competition. The competition is aimed at developing algorithms that optimize medical kits for long-duration human space exploration.
Competitors will develop algorithms to help NASA’s flight surgeons make decisions involved with optimizing the contents of the medical supplies kit that may one day be carried on board long-term space missions. Submissions will be compared with the results of an existing computer model that has simulated the expected medical occurrences and outcomes for various mission scenarios.
Registration for the event closes on Oct. 28, 2009. The online competition runs Nov. 4-14, 2009. The competition is open to all TopCoder members but will be limited to 480 members. More than $24,000 in cash and prizes is at stake.
For full registration information and rules, visit http://www.topcoder.com/nasacontest
TopCoder is a competitive software development community with more than 220,000 developers representing more than 200 countries that offers competition-based development using a unique model of open innovation.
Filed under: Competitions, Cool Science, Educational Materials, Educator Kit, Engineering, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
NASA is inviting students in grades 5-8 to participate in the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge. The challenge uses real-world scenarios that meet science and mathematics content standards. Students can participate in a formal, informal or home-school setting.
Teams of up to six students will design a water recycling system for the unique environment of the moon. Teams will then test their system on a simulated wastewater stream. Proposals and results are due Feb. 1, 2010.
The winning teams will be announced in May 2010. The top three teams will receive awards. The first place team will receive an expense-paid trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the winning team’s visit to Kennedy, students will gain firsthand knowledge about NASA’s missions, receive behind-the-scenes tours of NASA’s launch facilities, and learn about future aerospace and engineering careers.
For more information and contest rules, please visit http://wlmr.nasa.gov/
On Oct. 28, 2009, Dr. Jay Garland will be hosting a webcast tutorial for educators on the WLMR design challenge from 4-5 pm EDT. The presentation will provide an overview of the contest objectives and schedule, demonstrate methods students will use to create and analyze the wastewater, and answer questions from the audience. The webcast can be accessed at http://dln.nasa.gov
Also available online is the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge Educator Guide. This guide is a starting point for middle school students to research and answer the challenging questions of how to maintain human habitations on the moon and other planets in the solar system. The guide focuses specifically on the need for water recycling. The guide includes background information on topics relating to the moon, Earth’s water cycle and water recycling. Several basic classroom activities on water recycling are also included.
The guide is available for downloading at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/WLMR_Guide.html
Filed under: Astronomy, Cool Science, Higher Education, K-12, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Webcasts
YouTube viewers have the opportunity to “Ask a Nobel Laureate” a question via the Internet. NASA Astrophysicist John Mather, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2006, is the first Nobel Laureate to participate with Nobelprize.org, the official Web site of the Nobel Foundation, and he will answer a selection of video questions uploaded onto YouTube.
Nobelprize.org manages TheNobelPrize YouTube channel and disseminates content from their archives gathered since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901. Mather is the first NASA researcher to receive the Nobel Prize, which he received with George Smoot for their discoveries regarding the echoes of the Big Bang – providing extraordinary glimpses of the beginning of the universe.
Questions must be submitted by Oct. 30, 2009. John Mather will post video responses to a selection of questions shortly after.
To participate online and see questions that have already been submitted, visit http://www.youtube.com/thenobelprize
For more information about John Mather and his discovery, visit http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2006/index.html
Filed under: Cool Science, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Webcasts
Cassini scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will answer questions about Saturn from students who entered the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest.
This live event will air on the “NASAJPL” channel on Ustream TV (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl) on Oct. 20, 2009, beginning at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT). This program will also be archived for later viewing.
More information on the Cassini mission is available at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini
Filed under: Astronomy, Cool Science, Higher Education, K-12, NASA, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities, Webcasts
NASA invites students and faculty to an internet chat with Peter Schultz, co-investigator with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite mission. NASA’s LCROSS, which is searching for water ice in the Cabeus A crater near the moon’s south pole, culminated with two lunar impacts on Oct. 9, 2009. Schultz is also involved with two other NASA missions: Stardust-NExT and Deep Impact eXtended Investigation. To learn more about Peter Schultz and his career, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/schultz_peter.html.
The chat will begin at 2 p.m. EDT on Oct. 15, 2009, at http://ESMDSpaceGrantProject.universitywebchat.com/chat9385/.
The chat room will not be available until 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. There are 100 slots available that will be filled on a first come/first serve basis.
Participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time to Mandi.C.Falconer@nasa.gov. Questions about the activities surrounding LCROSS can also be asked during the chat.
For more information about the mission, visit the NASA mission page at http://www.nasa.gov/lcross. You can also follow the mission on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LCROSS_NASA and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/LCROSS-Lunar-Impactor-Mission/154478180006
Filed under: Astronomy, Cool Science, NASA, STEM, Science, Teacher Opportunities
Do you love space? Are you adept at sharing your love of the stars with the public? If so, here’s a chance to join a growing network of space enthusiasts who have volunteered as NASA Solar System Ambassadors. Ambassadors from the states of Delaware and North Dakota especially are needed to represent those states.
The application period is being extended through Oct. 16, 2009. Ambassadors are U.S. citizens selected from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, or U.S. citizens serving U.S. audiences abroad. The program is one of the longest-running NASA volunteer outreach projects.
Each ambassador receives online training from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and educational materials supplied by various space missions, such as the next Mars rover — Curiosity. Curiosity will check to see whether Mars has been favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving evidence of life. The rover is scheduled to launch in October 2011.
To apply as a NASA Solar System Ambassador, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/ssa.cfm
For more information about the Solar System Ambassador Program, visit http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/index.html
A calendar of events hosted by ambassadors is available at http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/events.html
Filed under: Aeronautics, Astronomy, Cool Science, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities
During the week of Nov. 16-20, 2009, students in grades K-8 are invited to re-discover the remarkable accomplishment of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Forty years have passed since this momentous event. To celebrate, NASA’s Digital Learning Network will deliver a daily videoconference that explores a single NASA center’s contribution to Apollo 11. These programs will also feature an in-studio NASA employee who had a special connection with Apollo 11. Student participation and interaction with the DLN host and NASA expert are assured.
Note: All programs are scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. CST and end at 1:00 p.m. CST.
Nov. 16, 2009 — Langley Research Center
Learn how a young engineer convinced his boss that lunar exploration would only be possible if something called Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was used as the passageway to the moon.
Nov. 17, 2009 — Marshall Spaceflight Center
Learn how a rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty was constructed for peaceful space exploration and why its presence tipped the scale of the space race in favor of the U.S.
Nov. 18, 2009 — Kennedy Space Center
Discover America’s spaceport, the site where the Apollo 11 astronauts made their final preparations before counting down to the launch of the fastest vehicle human have ever ridden in — the Saturn V rocket.
Nov. 19, 2009 — Johnson Space Center
Learn more about the home of the astronaut corps and take a peek inside the Mission Control Center, where a room called the “FCR 2” was the setting for communication with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins as they were zooming towards the moon.
Nov. 20, 2009 — Ames Research Center
NASA expects to travel to the moon again in the next decade. Learn how this will take place through a new NASA program called Constellation.
Registration
To participate in this program, your school must have videoconferencing capabilities. For more information on technical requirements, visit http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/techinfo/
If you would like to be placed on the “we’re interested” list for this free program, please reply to jsc-dislearn@mail.nasa.gov . Please respond no later than close of business on Oct. 14, 2009.
When replying, the subject line must be: Apollo 11 40th Anniversary.
Please include the following information in your message:
• Your name
• Your school e-mail
• Your school’s telephone number
• Your school’s name
• Your school’s city
• Your school’s state
• Your school’s technical point of contact
• Technical POC’s work telephone
• Technical POC’s work e-mail
• Student grade levels
• Anticipated number of participating students
• Date/time of preferred participation
Additional Opportunity
Would you like to challenge your students to exercise their bodies and minds? The DLN has designed a fun activity that incorporates fitness and math! “Walk to the Moon” encourages students to count their steps around their homes and schools to reach a goal of 250,000. Each step will be equal to one mile. With approximately 250,000 miles between Earth and the Moon, your students will “walk” to the moon! Students may chart their progress individually or in groups — the choice is yours. Either way, the DLN would like to hear about your class’s journey! Please e-mail your results to jsc-dislearn@mail.nasa.gov , and you may hear your students’ stories LIVE during the DLN’s week-long special event in November!
