Taking flight – U of M Earth Observing System Education Project takes kids to the heavens and lets them look back at Earth

NASA program takes Hellgate Elementary students all over Montana and into space

By JANE RIDER of the Missoulian

Hellgate Elementary School fifth-graders got a bird’s-eye view and a new perspective of their world Wednesday, when NASA educators paid a visit.

Using a mobile computer laboratory of 30 laptops and Geographic Information System software, students flew thousands of feet above Montana. From the Berkeley Pit in Butte to Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, they viewed topography and key landmarks.

"Click on any location on the list and it will fly you there," said Jeff Crews, [email protected] assistant director of the Earth Observing System Education Project, http://www.eoscenter.com/ a federally funded NASA program under the School of Education at University of Montana.

"Wow!" exclaimed one fifth-grader.

Students controlled their altitude and speed as Crews guided them to various locations.

"Hopefully you can begin to get a new perspective of Montana and see things like why Lewis and Clark traveled the route they did or why cities are located where they are," Crews said.

Next, Crews captivated the class with satellite imagery of Mars, explaining that dunes on its surface indicate the presence of wind and that erosion may be evidence of water.

In 12 years, NASA hopes to send the first manned mission to Mars, he said. Remote-sensing technology like that used by the Mars Exploration Rover gives scientists an idea how to prepare for that mission.

"It also encourages children and adults to pursue a career at NASA," 10-year-old Kelsey Lucostic blurted out.

As students took turns trying to maneuver a small remote control vehicle bought at Radio Shack – using only an image projected by a mounted camera to guide them – they learned how difficult it is for scientists to drive a $1 billion piece of equipment on a foreign landscape millions of miles away.

"And remember, it takes 46 minutes for a signal to get from here to Mars and back," Crews said.

NASA educators met with fourth- and fifth-grade classes throughout the day. In 30-minute blocks, they worked with students on hands-on exercises.

"See, that’s my house," said one fourth-grade boy as he used his mouse to zoom in on a Missoula neighborhood.

"Hey, I found my school," exclaimed another child.

Meanwhile, fifth-graders – with the help of all four of Hellgate’s fifth-grade teachers who recently received special training in integrating GIS and Global Positioning System technology into curriculum – unveiled community-oriented projects their students developed in small groups.

"We want to make a park near our school, with sidewalks that give safe routes from the school and the neighborhood to our park," said Rebecca Chandler, a fifth-grader in David Bixby’s class.

Chandler and three other classmates designed three park options and used algebraic equations to figure out the cost of each. One of the proposed parks is circular so students had to figure its radius, multiply that by two and multiply that by pi to find the area.

Other groups of students in the fifth-grade classes took on different projects such as designing an after-school learning center.

"The kids’ interest drove the whole thing. We were along for the ride," said Bixby. "They relied on algebra to compute their costs, so they already know the reason why they need to learn it (algebra)."

Fifth-grade teachers Karen Peterson and Kathy Meyers say they’ve seen great value in the software and projects.

"It’s real-life application to school work. I’ve seen kids’ motivation blossom overnight," Peterson said. One group proposed a Lewis & Clark Native Garden and Learning Center, near Hellgate Trading Post. The site is near where the two famous explorers camped, said Bryn Christopher, 11.

Meyers’ students are designing a track-and-field facility on land adjacent to Hellgate Elementary. They used GIS software first to view tracks at area high schools and measure the dimensions of those facilities.

On Wednesday, they walked the Hellgate property and used GPS to map out coordinates that they’ll use to build and print out a map.

The district received a $4,000 grant from Qwest and support from NASA’s EOS http://www.eoscenter.com/ program to pursue the technology-based curriculum. Students will share their final projects with the community and hope to pursue implementation of them, their teachers say.

For more information about the EOS program:

Kandy Raup
Contract and Online Director

James E. Todd Building, Missoula MT 59812

Phone: 406-243-6685 Fax: 406-243-2047

[email protected]

Reporter Jane Rider can be reached at 523-5298 or at [email protected]

http://missoulian.com/articles/2003/11/20/news/local/news05.txt