Friday, October 8, 2010

Teachers in Space! Almost. Sort of.

"2,000 Ping Pong Balls in Zero G, And Not a Paddle in Sight "
Space.com (October 8, 2010)

"Here's something you don't see every day: 2,000 ping pong balls and 30 middle-school teachers floating around in zero gravity.

"This weightless snapshot was taken in the skies above Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, to capture a moment when teachers were demonstrating Newton's laws of motion for their students.

"The recent zero gravity jaunt was part the Weightless Flights of Discovery program, an effort to engage middle-school students in science and math. Weightless Flights, in its fifth year, is led by aerospace and defense firm Northrop Grumman...."

The Lemming prefers terms like 'free fall:' but that's probably nitpicking. Looks like the teachers are having fun - and recording the moment, in at least one case. A video would probably be best for classroom use.

Weightless Flights of Discovery are a sort of teachers-only version of what NASA provided on the Vomit Comet, back in 1999. (AVweb (September 6, 1999))

Bouncing 30 middle-school teachers and 2,000 ping-pong balls through these parabolic flight spreads the experience around - albeit vicariously. The Lemming figures that this looks like a lot of fun for the teachers - and will probably do until we have field trips for this sort of thing. Again.

More:

No comments:

Unique, innovative candles

Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle online store

Pinterest: From the Man Behind the Lemming

Top 10 Most-Viewed Posts

Today's News! Some of it, anyway

Actually, some of yesterday's news may be here. Or maybe last week's.
The software and science stuff might still be interesting, though. Or not.
The Lemming thinks it's interesting: Your experience may vary.
("Following" list moved here, after Blogger changed formats)

Who Follows the Lemming?

WebSTAT

Family Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory