NASA Announces Spaced Out Sports Challenge Winners

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- NASA has announced three winners in the Spaced
Out Sports competition, which challenged U.S. students in fifth
through eighth grades to create games for astronauts to play aboard
the International Space Station. The challenge is part of a broader
agency education effort to engage students in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities.

Students at K.W. Barrett Elementary School in Arlington, Va., got the
top prize for creating a game entitled "Save the World." Second-place
honors went to students at Kinser Elementary School, a Department of
Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) School in Okinawa, Japan, for
their "Alligator Clip Capture" game. Third-place was awarded to
students at Manhattan Beach Middle School in Manhattan Beach, Calif.,
for their "Independence Day" game.

"Save the World" features teams gathering objects and building devices
to save Earth from incoming meteorites. In "Alligator Clip Capture,"
players race around the station's Destiny Lab retrieving alligator
clips of varying point values. "Independence Day" challenges players
to throw batons through 'Liberty Rings' to gain points. All three
games will be played aboard the station.

"I was delighted to see this level of engagement from the student
teams, and I want to congratulate all three winning teams on their
hard work and creativity," said NASA Associate Administrator for
Education Leland Melvin. "I am especially pleased to note that one of
the winning teams is from a DoDEA school. April is the Month of the
Military Child, and NASA is kicking off a new initiative to engage
military families in our education programs."

NASA will kick off its Military Families Initiative at an education
summit in Orlando later this month.

The Spaced Out Sports challenge, a Teaching from Space project, was
unveiled last fall and focused on helping students learn and apply
Sir Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion. Using the accompanying curriculum,
teachers led students through a study of Newton's laws, highlighted
by hands-on activities and video podcasts featuring NASA scientists
and engineers explaining how the laws are used in the space program.

The videos also feature celebrity athletes explaining the science
behind their sports. Contributors include Olympic gymnast Nastia
Liukin; NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya; Women's National Basketball
Association player Temeka Johnson; National Hockey League player Ryan
O'Reilly and members of the National Football League's New Orleans
Saints. Astronauts Melvin and Nicole Stott also are featured.

Students learned the differences in a game played in the gravity
environment of Earth and the same game played in a microgravity
environment, such as the space station. They used the knowledge to
design or redesign a game to illustrate and apply Newton's laws.

"Response to the challenge was very encouraging, with more than 55
submissions," said Katie Wallace, director of NASA's Stennis Space
Center's Office of Education in Bay St. Louis, Miss., where the
challenge and accompanying curriculum were developed. "Even more
encouraging was seeing students excited about, and involved in,
learning science. Hopefully, they will continue in these studies and
consider STEM careers."

For information about the Science and Sports curriculum and related
resources, visit:

http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/spacedoutsports

For information about NASA education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about Stennis, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stennis

Source: NASA

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