Last Friday, NASA and Disney Parks officially welcomed space ranger Buzz Lightyear back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) with a ticker-tape parade at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando (and, no, I’m not joking). The 12-inch action figure spent more than 15 months aboard the ISS, returning to Earth September 11. In addition to that celebration, NASA and Disney Parks are collaborating again to launch new efforts to help young students develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
One effort is the
Mission Patch Design Challenge. Students ages 6-12 can design a patch to commemorate Lightyear's mission and his accomplishment of being the longest-serving space ranger. They can download different patch patterns, pick their favorite, use a variety of real mission patches for inspiration, and submit their own creation by November 6. The student with the most creative mission patch and 100-word essay will win a tour of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and a trip to Walt Disney World Resort. NASA will fly the winning patch into space then present it to the contest winner.
Upon the conclusion of the Mission Patch Design Challenge, NASA will bring the Kids in Micro-g Experiment Challenge. In this challenge, students in the fifth through eighth grades get a "hands-on" opportunity to design an experiment or simple demonstration that could be performed both in the classroom and onboard the ISS. The winning experiments will have observably different results from when the experiment is performed in the "1-gravity" or "1-g" nominal environment on the Earth's surface compared to when it will be performed in "Micro-g" environment (one-millionth of 1-g) environment of the International Space Station (ISS). The 12 winning experiments will be performed by the end of the school year and videotaped for the winning schools.
Finally, NASA and Disney Parks are launching a new online game as part of the
Space Ranger Education Series, which brings the series to a total of 6 educational games for young students and materials for educators to download and integrate into classroom curricula. In the newest game, "Putting It All Together," players can build the entire station using all of the real modules. As they find each piece, they learn its use on the ISS. It’s a neat addition to the series and might rival “Toys in Space” for my favorite game for young people.
What do you think of NASA’s efforts to bring fun science activities to young people? Two thumbs up, or not worth the effort? What activities do you help your kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews participate in to encourage their scientific curiosity and improve their analytical skills?
Image credit: NASA