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| |  | | | | NASA Prepares Students for the Next 100 Years of Powered Flight
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12.04.03
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Jonas Dino/Victoria Steiner
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-5612, 650/604-0176 or 650/604-9000
Email: Victoria.L.Steiner@nasa.gov
News Release: 03-100AR
On Dec. 8, 9 and 10, approximately 4000 fifth- through eighth-grade
students from around the Bay Area will participate in Aero Expo IV
at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon
Valley. Aero Expo IV is the fourth and final event in a series of
Centennial of Flight celebrations sponsored by NASA's Airspace
Systems Program and the Computing, Information, Communications
Technologies Program (CICT) in collaboration with NASA Ames'
Education Office. Students will be treated to a presentation by
'Orville and Wilbur Wright,' hands-on activities, exhibits and
aircraft displays.
"We want the students participating in Aero Expo IV to become the
engineers and scientists that will lead the nation in the next 100
years of powered flight," said Donald James. "The Aero Expo events
are a critical part of NASA's effort to 'inspire the next generation
of explorers.'"
Aero Expo IV is composed of two components; a presentation by
'Orville and Wilbur Wright' and hands-on exhibits and displays at
Aero Village. The presentation by the 'Wrights' will discuss the
first 100 years of powered flight and the possibilities for the next
100 years in aerospace. Presentations in NASA Ames' main auditorium,
building N-201, are scheduled for 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 11:00 a.m.
and 12:15 p.m. PST.
For the presentations, Steve Shackelford, who is a Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) controller at Los Angeles Center, will portray
Orville Wright and Jim Johnson, who works at the NASA Ames Technical
Library, will play Wilbur Wright. Moderating the presentation will
be 'Catherine Wright' played by Linda Conrad, an education
specialist at NASA Ames.
The other component of Aero Expo IV is the 175,000-square-foot Aero
Village. The village contains a 16,000-square-foot tent containing
a full-scale Wright Flyer replica, hands-on exhibits and displays.
Exhibitors include NASA Ames' technical projects, programs and
educational organizations, the Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos,
Calif., Wings of History Museum, San Martin, Calif., and aerospace
organizations and clubs from around the Bay Area. Students will have
18 hands-on activities and exhibits designed to stimulate and
motivate them to pursue further education in math, science and
technology.
The outside display area will hold 100 NASA, military and historic
and contemporary civilian aircraft spanning the one hundred years of
powered flight. Aircraft on display will include NASA's Kuiper C-140
Airborne Telescope and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, a California Air
National Guard C-130 Hercules transport, and a U.S. Coast Guard
rescue helicopter.
"We are pleased to have had the opportunity to support activities
like the Aero Expo series," said Robert Jacobsen, manager for NASA's
Airspace Systems Program. "Events like these help spark the desire
and imagination in students that will lead to the development of new
aerospace technologies for the next 100 years."
NASA's Airspace Systems Program benefits air travelers by conducting
air traffic control research that allows more air travelers to fly
safely and efficiently across the country. NASA Ames Research Center
has been a leader in air traffic control research and development
since the mid-1980s.
For more information about Aero Expo IV, visit:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/aero/centennial/expo4
More information about NASA's Airspace Systems Program is available at:
http://as.nasa.gov
For more information about the Computing, Information,
Communications Technologies Program, visit:
http://www.cict.nasa.gov
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