Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Students get Skype tour of NASA facility
PHOENIXVILLE >> The classroom walls at Phoenixville Area Middle School expanded out of this world recently, after one NASA engineer gave students a virtual behind the scenes look at what the kinds of projects the space agency is currently working on.
Sixth-graders Kendall Nowak, J.J. Ford and Griffin Meanix talked about their class’s recent virtual Skype tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston with NASA mechanical engineer Paul Valle during Thursday’s school board meeting. About 100 students on the sixth-grade Aviator Team learned about cutting-edge robotics and got a peek at some of the vehicles used in actual space travel. The call was arranged by sixth-grade teacher Michael Cesarski.
During their presentation to the board, Kendall explained that astronomy is part of the sixth-grade science curriculum.
“We started our astronomy unit in the beginning of December by investigating essential questions such as, how does gravity affect the motions of stars and planets?” she asked. “Why does the moon change shape throughout the month? How does the moon affect the tides? And of course, how has changing technology increased our understanding of the universe?”
Then on Dec. 22, students were given the opportunity to chat with Valle as the Skype call was projected onto a screen inside the school. Valle talked about his work as a project manager on the Active Response Gravity Offload System, which trains astronauts for varying gravity conditions in order to walk in space on various terrain, J.J. explained.
During their conversation, students got to view and learn about cutting edge robotics technology and ask Valle questions.
“It was very exciting when
Mr. Valle took us on a virtual tour of the lab floor to show us NASA’s most current technology in robotics,” J.J. said.
Among the robots students got to see were Robot 2, which Griffin described as a humanoid robot designed to help astronauts perform tasks in space; Valkyrie, a robot designed to assist in disaster response when conditions do not allow for humans to intercede; and Spidernaut, which is designed to make repairs outside the International Space Station. Students also saw the Orion Space Capsule, which is the next vehicle astronauts will use for space travel.
Then students saw the latest model of the lunar rover, which allows astronauts to travel on the surface of the moon or on Mars “for two weeks without having to having to return to the home base,” Griffin said.
“Mr. Valle’s brought us inside the rover to get the pilot’s perspective,” he said.
“We want to give a special thank you to Mr. Cesarski for arranging the visit with Paul Valle,” Kendall said.
“It was an unforgettable experience for students and teachers and a great way to expand the classroom walls,” Griffin said.