NASA Selects Student Experiments For International Space Station
HOUSTON -- NASA has selected nine experiments, designed by students at seven schools, for astronauts to perform on the International Space
Station this summer. NASA selected the proposals from among 132
received for the new Kids in Micro-g! Program.
This is the pilot year for the program, a student experiment design
challenge geared toward grades five through eight. Its purpose is to
give students a hands-on opportunity to design experiments or simple
demonstrations for testing both in the classroom and in the station's
microgravity environment. The winners were chosen by a team of
representatives from NASA's 10 field centers.
"What a wonderful experience for these kids to have their experiments
carried out in space and by astronauts," said Mark Severance,
International Space Station National Laboratory Education projects
manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "This gives
students the chance to see what happens differently, other than in
the classroom, when their experiment is performed in an environment
that is not on Earth."
The schools chosen to participate are:
-- National Winner and NASA Glenn Research Center Regional Winner
Brownell Middle, Grosse Point Farms, Mich.
-- National Runner-up and NASA Kennedy Space Center Regional Winner
Vaughan Elementary, Powder Springs, Ga.
-- NASA Ames Research Center Regional Winner
Hamlin School, San Francisco
-- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Regional Winners (tie)
East Hartford-Glastonbury Magnet, East Hartford, Conn.
Carl Sandburg Middle, Old Bridge, N.J.
-- NASA Kennedy Space Center Regional Winner
Windy Ridge Elementary, Orlando, Fla.
-- NASA Langley Research Center Regional Winner
Virginia Academy, Ashburn, Va.
The experiments will study the effect of weightlessness on various
subjects such as humans and liquids and other materials, as well as
what the environment reveals about the laws of physics. The
experiments are expected to have observably different results in
microgravity than when performed in the classroom.
The apparatus for the experiments was constructed using the same
materials as a tool kit previously provided to astronauts on the
space station. The materials in the tool kit are commonly found in
the classroom and used for science demonstrations. The proposed
experiments or demonstrations are required to take no more than 30
minutes to set up, run and take down.
This fall, the program will ask for proposals for 2011. To see a list
of this year's selected Kids in Micro-g! experiments, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/
For more information about NASA educational programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education
For more information about the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
Source: NASA
