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NASA Teaching From Space: Microgravity eXperience Convection in Microgravity Greg McMillan Christine Kincaid Dewey Macomb Mathematics Science Technology Center Warren, MI Rose Cybulski, Tuyen Duddles Jamie Hilliard Slide 2 Microgravity Flight Week February 5 -11, 2012 Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas Slide 3 Microgravity eXperience 30 Parabolas 25-30 seconds Micro-gravity (Near zero-g) 35-45 seconds Hyper-gravity 1.85 g (max) Slide 4 Proposed Research Question Do convection currents form in a microgravity environment? If so, do they form at the same rate as they do on earth? 4 Slide 5 Microgravity Flight 5 Slide 6 Microgravity eXperience Application Window: August September (NASA Express, NEON, Twitter, Facebook) October: Notified of Acceptance November: Online Community Begins * December: TEDP Due Test Equipment Data Package February: Flight Week March- April: Final Reports, Outreach Slide 7 NASA Rewards 7 Classroom Posters Space Photos Books & Calendars Astronaut Food Slide 8 8 Student Driven Process 11 th Grade Students Review Topics in Physics Class Mass vs Weight Normal Force Density and Buoyant Forces Kinetic Theory of Matter Heat Transfer Conduct Research and Investigative Experiments Hot Air Balloon Nuetral Bouyancy Lab Convection in a Pan. Slide 9 Student Driven Process Students Determine Hypothesis Students presented their Hypothesis and justification to the rest of the school and at Open House. Students and Community Voted for the hypothesis they supported Convection Currents Form? Yes-42% No-58% Slide 10 Engineering Design Process Slide 11 Students Design Experiment Slide 12 Experimental Considerations NASA Mentor assigned to Each Team in October. Sarah Ruiz (Shuttle Mission Control, ISS Safety) Every Every element of experiment must be accounted for in TEDP (Test Equipment Data Package) 40 lb Weight Limit (Including Liquids) Must Fit within 36x23x26 Glovebox All Liquids Must be at least Double Contained EVERYTHING MSDS For EVERYTHING Schematics for electric circuits Equipment must remain in Glovebox during parabolas. Slide 13 PROCEDURE 12 Convection Tubes 3 x 1.5 in Clear PVC seperated by ball valve Hot Blue Water in lower portion and valve Clear Ice Water in upper portion Valve is opened during 0-g portion of Parabola Left open during Hyper-Gravity Process is Video Recorded. Vertical velocity of Blue water is measured using Vernier Logger Pro Video tools. Slide 14 Procedure 14 Slide 15 Flight Week Activities Flight Training (How NOT to get sick) Professional Development (Space Suit) TRR Presentation (Test Readiness Review) Worked directly with NASA Astronauts and Engineers Slide 16 Flight Week Activities VIP Tour of Johnson Space Center Sonny Carter Neutral Buoyancy Lab Building 9: NASA vehicle simulators Slide 17 Flight Week Activities VIP Tour of Johnson Space Center ISS Mission Control Apollo Mission Control Slide 18 FLIGHT DAY Slide 19 In Flight 19 Slide 20 Slide 21 21 Results Slide 22 22 Results Conclusion: Data analysis shows that there is not a correlation between temperature difference and the rate of convection in either 1 g or microgravity environments. Slide 23 23 Impact on Students Engineering Design Process offers a hands-on experience for students that complements & enhances the core curriculum that teachers must teach. Experience gives context to & makes tangible abstract math & science concepts for students. MMSTCs NASA project meets 7 of 8 scientific and engineering practices in the National Research Councils Next Generation of Science Standards. Slide 24 24 8 Scientific & Engineering Practices Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) Developing and using models Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics, information and computer technology, and computational thinking Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) Engaging in argument from evidence Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information Slide 25 Math Resources: Exploring Space Through Math Slide 26 Math Resources: Math and Science @ Work Research Laboratory Series Space Exploration Series Slide 27 How To Get Involved NASA: Teaching From Space http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/home/index.html Sign up for NASA Express Update http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/Express_Landing.html NASA Educators Online Network (NEON) http://neon.psu.edu/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/TeachFromSpace Twitter http://twitter.com/TeachFromSpace Slide 28 Other Resources NASA Explorer Schools explorerschools.nasa.gov NASA.gov For Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html Education Materials http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/materials.asp e-clips (downloadable video series) ERCN: Educator Resource Center Network Educator Resource Center Network CORE: Central Operation of Resources for Educators Slide 29 Other Resources SSERD Downloadable Lesson Plans http://teachspacescience.org/ Science Off The Sphere (Don Pettit/ ISS) http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/sots/ NASA Kids Club http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html NASA Smart Phone App* Twitter FeedAsteroid Watch Image of the DayNews and Mission Updates Slide 30 Professional Development DLN: Digital Learning Network Virtual Presentations, Webcasts dln.nasa.gov AESP: Aerospace Education Services Project Professional Development Online, In Person aesp.psu.edu Slide 31 EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME Slide 32 NASA Teaching From Space: Microgravity eXperience Slide 33 CONTACT ME Greg McMillan E-MAIL: mcmillan@wcskids.netmcmillan@wcskids.net Website http://www.wcskids.net/mmstc/ Click Students Click Homework Click Physics http://www.wcskids.net/mmstc/staff_websites/mcmillan.htm Slide 34 Student Involvement Pre-Flight: Students will complete the background research on the topic of the experiment Convection Current Formation in MicroGravity Teams of students will present two (2) opposing hypotheses about the effect of gravity on convection current formation to the school Students will design and trouble-shoot the experiment & its related components to test the winning hypothesis Students will present research project to the community at an open house Flight Week: A video conference with the entire school is planned via Skype and Facebook while the flight team is in Houston. Students followed flight on Flight Tracker Post-Flight: Students will analyze the data collected by the flight team & compile a formal research paper and presentation file Students will present the research results to the community at an open house & at their home schools Integration: Each of the flight team members will share what we have learned with our colleagues and we will implement lessons when appropriate & relevant to our curriculum standards Impact: The experience will reinforce our schools STEM mission in providing a dynamic, collaborative, and research-based education experience for all of our students Slide 35 35 Outreach: Post-Flight Week District Cable Channel video Present at Conferences MCTM & DACTM/MDSTA Students present results at their home schools (11 districts) Local and District Newspaper & Radio School newsletter - Spring School web page - updates Slide 36 36 Thank you WCS, NASA & MMSTC Class of 2013 for an eXperience of a lifetime!