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| |  | | | | A Leader in Learning
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08.01.07
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The implementation of the NASA Explorer Schools project led to a national award, a cash prize and a trip to the nation's capital for Moreno Valley, Calif., elementary school principal Tony Knapp.
Image to left: Tony Knapp is a recipient of a 2007 Cable Leaders in Learning Award from Cable in the Classroom. Credit: Tony Knapp
Knapp is the principal at North Ridge Elementary, a NASA Explorer Schools since 2004. Knapp received a 2007 Cable Leaders in Learning Award from the cable television industry's education foundation, Cable in the Classroom. He was recognized in the Cable Partnerships for Learning category for encouraging student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through the NASA Explorer Schools partnership. The project supports NASA's goal of attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines.
Cable in the Classroom's annual awards program recognizes administrators, educators, community leaders and policymakers who demonstrate vision, innovation, action and transformation in education. The objective of the awards is to promote and encourage innovative learning practices by honoring individuals who have transformed an aspect of education on a large or small scale.
Winners received $3,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the awards ceremony at the Library of Congress.
North Ridge is a K-5 elementary school with more than 700 students and a diverse student population, with nearly one-third of students Hispanic, one-third white and one-fourth black. As part of the Explorer Schools project, North Ridge students participate in after-school clubs, design experiments, compete in national technology and science competitions, and learn directly from NASA astronauts.
"These projects allow our students to develop a greater knowledge of science, technology and math," Knapp said of the opportunities available to NASA Explorer Schools. "They do so by performing hands-on experiments, working with NASA and their affiliated personnel, and developing a greater interest in and understanding of career opportunities available to them in the future. Working with NASA, we are providing our students the opportunity to be the explorers of tomorrow."
One North Ridge experiment flew on a NASA sounding rocket. The "Flying Ant" experiment tested the effects of a rocket launch on carpenter ants.
Fourth- and fifth-grade students collected common black ants and kept them alive in an ant habitat. They monitored and collected data on six different ant habitats in their classroom. Students then designed an ant habitat to fly on the sounding rocket and packaging to send the live ants and their habitat across the country from California to Virginia.
The ants and their habitat were shipped to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Two students and a North Ridge teacher traveled to Virginia to watch the launch on June 4, 2004. Knapp said the ants survived the cross-country trip and were in good shape prior to the rocket launch. However, the launch was too much for the ants to handle. Knapp said students concluded that "the spinning involved in the rocket launch, flight and splashdown created too much pressure for the ants to survive."
The following year, another after-school group of fourth- and fifth-graders designed an experiment to determine the effects of microgravity on soap bubbles. The project was part of NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities, which provides students and educators the opportunity to design, build and conduct experiments on NASA's "Weightless Wonder" aircraft.
The students hypothesized that soap bubbles would travel farther in microgravity than they do on the ground. Before the flight, they worked with mentors from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to perform hundreds of ground-based tests, as well as simulated-microgravity experiments.
Image to left: Tony Knapp floats upside down during a moment of reduced gravity on NASA’s Weightless Wonder aircraft. Credit: Tony Knapp
The scientists and students met frequently at both the school and a JPL laboratory to do their research and investigations. "As a result of the new knowledge acquired through this collaboration, the students were able to expand their hypothesis to include the prediction that the reduced force of gravity would cause the bubbles to retain a more circular shape and last longer," Knapp said.
Knapp and several teachers flew on the plane with the experiment. Afterward, students watched videotapes of the bubbles' motions within a glovebox on the aircraft and compared the motions in microgravity to video of the bubbles' movements during ground-based trials.
"The students concluded that the effect of the reduced-gravity environment did allow the bubbles to remain circular and last longer since gravity was not pulling the liquid to the bottom of the bubble and causing it to burst," Knapp said. "They were surprised, however, to see that the bubbles actually quit moving and hovered during the periods of minimal gravity."
An after-school robotics club formed this year to allow students to participate in the Southern California NASA Explorer Schools Robotics Competition. Students built LEGO robots and entered directions into a computer program to guide the robot through an obstacle course in a specific period of time. They traveled to JPL for the competition where they took third place.
"The NASA Explorer Schools program has been instrumental in supporting each of our projects, not only encouraging our participation, but providing technology, training and education support for both students and staff," Knapp said. "With the support of the JPL mentors and education office, and the expertise and backing of NASA, we have been able to raise the interest level in math, science and technology. We have been thrilled with our NASA partnership."
North Ridge students have been visited by three NASA astronauts. Michael Lopez-Alegria, who recently commanded Expedition 14 on the International Space Station, represented NASA at the Explorer Schools kick-off event in 2004. Students also interacted with two payload specialist astronauts, Roger Crouch and Eugene Trinh, who shared with students about their spaceflight experiences and the on-Earth application of science conducted in space.
Image to right: Principal Tony Knapp and astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria kneel by a NASA logo painted on the ground at North Ridge Elementary School. Credit: Tony Knapp
"We know our students need experiences that are relevant, rigorous and realistic," Knapp said. "Since it is impossible to take field trips to every NASA facility, we have provided numerous distance-learning opportunities with NASA scientists, astronauts and engineers. These have included conferences with engineers who served at Johnson Space Center during the Apollo 13 mission, microgravity experts, reduced-gravity activities and the Mars Global Surveyor mission. We have also participated in webcasts from the rover building at JPL and with Homer Hickam (author of "Rocket Boys"), and regularly incorporate the NASA channel in our learning experiences."
The distance learning opportunities are made possible by NASA's Digital Learning Network, a videoconferencing technology that connects students at NASA Explorer Schools with astronauts and others at NASA centers.
"As a third-year NASA Explorer School, we have been able to acquire new teaching resources and technology tools using NASA's unique content, experts and other resources to provide exciting learning opportunities in science, mathematics and technology for our students," Knapp said. "It is our desire, partnered with NASA, to inspire the next generation of leaders and explorers."
A competitive application process and selection of new NASA Explorer Schools teams occur each year.
Heather R. Smith/NASA Educational Technology Services
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