nasaparkside

2011 Presentation Videos

2011-08-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

I thought I would add the videos used in the 2011 NASA National Student Symposium presentation...

2011 NASA Student Symposium

2011-05-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Kennedy Space Center - Visitor Complex

We spent the morning at the Visitor Complex. We visitited many attractions, including:
Shuttle Launch Experience
Shuttle Explorer - a full scale orbiter replica
Robot Scouts
Rocket Garden
IMAX - Space Station 3D
In the afternoon, we participated in a "Career Panel" event that was webcast on the NASA Explorer School site.
John and Alex enjoyed making a science project: a speaker phone.
At dinner this evening, Alex and John received Certificates of Recognition.
Everyone is packed and ready to head home in the morning. Breakfast is at 6:00 a.m. and we board the bus for the airport at 6:30 a.m.

2011 NASA Student Symposium

2011-05-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Kennedy Space Center, Presentation, Astronaut Samuel Durrance, and Ron Jon's Surf Shop...

It was a beautiful day to visit the Kennedy Space Center. We toured KSC and made several stops:

The Shuttle Endeavour sits on the Launch Pad 39A waiting for a launch date/time, covered by the work/access platform.

We made a stop in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)...

and the countdown-clock,

and the media area.

We enjoyed our visit to the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

Alex and John stand below a Saturn V rocket... the type used during the Apollo program.

After our tour, John and Alex make the presentation for our Robotics Club. They really did a terrific job and received many complements for the work of the team and their presentation.

At dinner this evening, we treated to a presentation by Dr. Samuel Durrance. He was a Mission Specialist on STS-35 and STS-67.

After dinner, we made the 20 minute walk up the beach to Ron Jon's Surf Shop.

Tomorrow, we will spend the morning in the KSC Visitors Complex. In the afternoon, we will participate in a "Career Panel" event, which includes many employees of NASA in a wide variety of careers. Our group will be participating from 1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. This event will be webcast at http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/chat-index.html.

2011 NASA Student Symposium

2011-05-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Travel Day

We left Parkside around 7:00 a.m. and arrived at the hotel on Cocoa Beach around 3:00 p.m. That gave us time to hit the beach before dinner.

John and Alex burried Glenn in the sand... it didn't take long.

At dinner, we heard Robert Cabana, the Director of Kennedy Space Center, talk about his days as an Astronaut and the many events and people who inspired him along the way. For more information about Director Cabana, see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cabana.html

After dinner, Alex and John practiced the presentation. Tomorrow, we will make our presentation and visit the Kennedy Space Center.

2010 NASA Student Symposium

2010-05-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

With the presentation behind us, we spent a beautiful day at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex (http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/).

We had about 3 hours to enjoy the complex before lunch. We had a chance to ride the Shuttle Launch Experience, which is a simulation of a shuttle launch - including a very bumpy two minutes up to SRB (Solid Rocket Booster) separation. We also watched "Magnificent Desolation" at the IMAX theater (http://www.imax.com/magnificentdesolation/) and visited the gift shop.

After lunch, we attended a demonstration by the NASA Education Specialists, which included some fun with liquid nitrogen, a propane torch, and a Space Shuttle style sleeping bag. Crissy had the opportunity to demonstrate it for the group.

We also attended a "Career Panel" discussion about education and experience paths leading to a NASA career. The event was web-casted and included some questions from participating schools via email. Following that event, we loaded the buses for a trip to the Astronaut Hall of Fame (http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/astronaut-hall-of-fame.aspx). The visit included "Science on a Sphere," which was giant, TV-like sphere that I am unable to describe. You may want to visit the website listed above. It was really cool.

After dinner this evening, Crissy and Libby were presented with certificates and medals for presenting our team's investigation.

Tomorrow, we travel back to Jackson... and a forecast of highs in the upper 40's... uhg.

It truly has been a wonderful experience for our kids and we are all very proud of the work done by everybody on the Parkside Robotics Team (including Tim, Evan, and Devon).

2010 NASA Student Symposium

2010-05-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Kennedy Space Center

It has been a great day... a busy day! We are tired so today's post will list the highlights:

We visited the Kennedy Space Center today to tour the facility and to make our team's presentation. In the morning, our group toured KSC and what a thrill. We were able to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad being prepared for next Friday's launch. We were able to get as close as you possibly could without actually going up to the pad.

While touring, we also visited the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the Apollo Center (where our chicken friend, Glenn, joined the group.

After lunch, Crissy and Libby presented our team's robotics investigation. They did an awesome job.

At dinner, retired astronaut Robert Springer spoke to our group. We all enjoyed his presentation about his career as a pilot and Shuttle astronaut.

See http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/springer-rc.html for more information about Robert Springer.

2010 NASA Student Symposium

2010-05-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Photos - May 5, 2010

Crissy and Libby at DTW...

... on Cocoa Beach...

... and with Robert Cabana, Director of Kennedy Space Center.

2010 NASA Student Symposium

2010-05-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a travel day and as far as travel goes, it was a very easy day. Everything went according to the plan. We arrived at the hotel around 3:00 p.m., which gave us about 2+ hours of "free time" before dinner. We took advantage of the time (and the weather) and went down to Cocoa Beach for a walk.

At dinner, our featured speaker was Robert Cabana (http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cabana.html). He is the Director of the Kennedy Space Center. He shared many stories about his astronaut days and gave the students a very inspiring message.

After dinner, Crissy and Libby practiced the team's presentation. Tomorrow, we will tour KSC in the morning and present in the afternoon. Till then...

Flying Shoebox Project

2009-05-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to use while researching ideas for designing a “Flying Shoebox.” The last one “Aerodynamics Index,” has many links that you “jump” from to do your research.

FoilSim II - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/foil2.html
Beginners Guide to Aeronautics - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/
Forces on a Glider - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/glider.html
Glide Angle - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/glidang.html
Aerodynamics Index - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/short.html

2009 NASA Student Symposium

2009-05-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

We had a busy day today. It began with a trip to Space Center Houston (http://www.spacecenter.org/), which is a very large space museum centered around NASA's Johnson Space Center. The morning was filled by a rocket (balloon) activity and a Starship Gallery tour. After lunch, we were treated to a spacesuit demonstration (really cool) and a presentation/question opportunity with a NASA panel representing many different careers at NASA (which was also "webcast" to schools around the country). Before leaving for the hotel, we spent about an hour in the Space Trader gift shop.

After dinner, there was a recognition ceremony followed by a game of "Blast-off" (NASA version of "BINGO"). The evening concluded with a ice cream social and a trip to the pool.

It was a jam-packed, fun-filled two days in Houston. We will spend the day traveling tomorrow and should arrive in Jackson in the evening.

If you have any questions about out our presentation and trip, be sure to leave a comment.

2009 NASA Student Symposium - Photos

2009-05-01T20:35:00.001-07:00

Alec and Lance with their Participation Certificates

Spacesuit Demonstration

NASA Career Panelists

NASA Student Symposium - Photos

2009-04-30T20:37:00.001-07:00

Astrounaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

Alec and Lance outside the Neutral Bouancy Lab

Alec and Lance inside Building 9 (Shuttle Mock-up)

Alec and Lance inside Shuttle Mission Control

Lance and Alec (withGlenn) inside Rocket Park (Saturn V)

2009 NASA Student Symposium

2009-04-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the Hotel yesterday, April 29th, around 6:00 p.m. - just in time for dinner. It was a long day of travel. We spent a fair amount of time in Atlanta, as there was a delay in our departure due to "equipment repair"... they ended up flying in another plane to take us to Houston.

After dinner, we were treated to a presentation by Astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger. She has not flown a mission yet, but she has been doing a lot of training. She shared her journey from a middle school student to a teacher to an astronaut. You can learn a little more about her at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/metcalf-lindenburger-dm.html.

Today, was "presentation day." We were divided into 2 groups. One group toured the Johnson Space Center in the morning (our group) and the other group presented. After lunch, we switched.

We had a nice time touring JSC. We began by visiting the Neutral Bouncy Lab (NBL). It is a 6.2 million gallon pool where astronauts train in a simulated "micro gravity" state provided in neutral bouncy. Astronauts were training at the time, so we were able to see a lot of activity. We visited "Building 9," which holds the Space Station mock-up, a Space Shuttle mock-up, and a few other training mock-ups that included parts of the Orion vehicle. We also visited the Space Shuttle Mission Control and watched as the team ran a simulation for the upcoming Hubble mission. They were running a simulation that was a contingency plan for sending a second shuttle into orbit to rescue the first. We didn't get to hear exactly what they doing, but it was cool to see TWO shuttles on the big screen on the same orbit. Finally, we visited "Rocket Park," which houses a Saturn V launch vehicle used during the Apollo missions.

Lance and Alec presented our "ALF Rover Mission" investigation. They did very well presenting and answering quesitons from the NASA panelists. We also had an opportunity to watch 3 other teams present their investigations. It was a nice afternoon.

This evening, we went over to Space Center Houston to see "Becoming an Astronaut" on the five-story screen. Tomorrow we return the Space Center Houston for a few activitities, some presentations by NASA personnel, and to visit the gift shop.

I will try to post again tomorrow night (Friday). We travel home on Saturday.