5, 4, 3, 2, 1... liftoff!

Seismic Safe Spaghetti Structure

2012-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

PBL Assignment: Seismic Safe Spaghetti Structure

Problem Statement: Each year, over 800 earthquakes with a Richter Scale magnitude between 5 and 6 are detected world-wide. A magnitude 5.5 quake can have an intensity of up to VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. Depending on the structure, this can cause light to moderate damage in well-built buildings; considerable damage in poorly built buildings.

Request: In this lab, you and your engineering team will design and build a model bridge planned for an earthquake-prone area. You will test to see how well it withstands simulated stress, strain and shearing from seismic waves. Your bridge must: • weighs less than 250g
• spans a gap of 400mm (16 inches) and is 510mm (20 inches) long
• is less than 100mm (4 inches) wide

(Click on the first picture to flip through the Earth Science students building seismic safe spaghetti structures that can withstand stress, strain and sheering)

20120125 Seismic Spaghetti

Explore: Draw a plan of your bridge on paper first. Use your imagination; the bridge can be any shape you like as long as it is the right weight, width and length. (Hint: triangles are a strong shape!)

Engage: Build your bridge out of spaghetti and glue. The glue can only be used on overlaps, intersections and joints. Check it weighs less than 250g and record the actual weight. Measure your bridge to make sure it is the correct length and width.

Evaluate: Testing time! Place the bridge between two tables or boxes 510 mm apart. Place the rod halfway along the bridge so it runs across the center. Hang a bucket off the rod. Slowly add more and more sand to the bucket until the bridge breaks. Weigh the sand, rod and bucket your bridge held. This is the load. Divide the load by the weight of the bridge. This is your load/weight ratio. The higher the load/weight ratio, the stronger your bridge. EX: Taryn and Jasmine made a bridge weighing 75g that held 675g. This means the load/weight ratio was 9.

Explain: Two important forces you have to consider are compression and tension. Compression is a force that will try to squeeze or shorten the thing it is acting on. Tension is a force that will try to lengthen or expand the thing it is acting on. A bridge needs to be able to handle these forces without buckling or snapping. A bridge will buckle when the force of compression is greater than the bridge's ability to handle compression. A bridge will snap when the force of tension overcomes an object's ability to handle tension. A good bridge design will spread the force over a greater area, or move the force from an area of weakness to an area of strength. For example: using triangles in your bridge can create both a very rigid structure and one that transfers the load from just one point to a much wider area. Bridges are designed and constructed by civil engineers. Civil engineers work on things built in or on the ground. As well as bridges, this can include railways, harbors, roads, dams, power projects, and more.

Vesta Fiesta

2011-07-16T05:42:00.001-07:00

On July 15, NASA's ion-propelled Dawn spacecraft will become the first mission to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid.
FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/15jul_dawn2/

Eyes to Skies Friday, August 12th at 7:00 pm.
Celebrate the beginning of Dawn's year-long exploration of new worlds. After close to four years cruising at stunning speeds, the robotic spacecraft is catching up to the object of its first destination in the main asteroid belt: Vesta. Don't Dawn and Vesta deserve a fiesta?
- Come hear talks from local Solar System Educator
- Enjoy kids’ activities like the Dawn Relay Race, Is the Asteroid like a Grape or a Raisin? and Vegetable Light Curves.

The Children's Science Explorium at Sugar Sand Park in Boca Raton, FL, 300 South Military Trail, Boca Raton, FL 33486 (Recommended for Ages 8+)

- All children under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
- No registration required - just show up! The telescope will be out for at least one hour after the scheduled start time.
http://www.scienceexplorium.org/family-programs
phone: (561) 347-3912
email: Explorium@myboca.us

RSA: Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

2011-07-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

RSA - Changing Education

2011-06-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

(Posted as a consequence of an email exchange with Kim)

The bridge is broken, but the brain that built it is strong

2010-12-08T05:50:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to senior Natalie Eggens for her success at the 54th annual Engineering Fair on December 7, 2010 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Held in conjunction with the Science Fair, this yearly contest is meant to introduce youth to the fun and challenges of civil engineering. For the competition, high school students bring bridges they previously built. Their bridges are strong, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and made of only balsa wood and glue. After the initial judging, each bridge is brought to “The Crusher,” where physics fans watch it tested to the breaking point with a hydraulic press. After crushing their entry, bridges are judged solely by “efficiency”.

THE CRUSHER – an hydraulic bridge tester at the 54th annual Engineering Fair held at the South Florida Fairgrounds on December 7, 2010.

Bridges are to be constructed according to standard specifications to create the most efficient structure. The total mass of the complete bridge must not exceed sixteen (16.0) grams at the time of check-in, and must be made from 3/32-inch square balsa wood and any commonly available glue may be used. To determine a bridge’s efficiency, the applied weight in pounds as shown on the tester is divided by the gram mass of the bridge (for example, a 12 gram bridge that carries only 24 lbs applied is judged more efficient than a 15 gram bridge that carries 50 lbs applied 12/24 = .50 vs. 15/50 = .30).

Natalie’s bridge is the best of this year’s Seminole Ridge students in Mr. Landstrom’s AP Physics B class. Weighing just 14.9 grams, her bridge supported 12.9 pounds before failure. Her bridge is broken, but her brilliant brains are still strong! Our school’s 2nd best bridge was build by senior Mark Blanar, which at 14 grams. This year’s Engineering Fair winner comes from Suncoast High, a bridge which held 65 pounds before breaking Seminole Ridge senior Natalie Eggens (left), and Mark Blanar (right) before at the SDPBC Engineering Fair on December 7, 2010 at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

Fizzix Funday 2010: Drop It, Launch It, Thrill It

2010-11-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

Hawks Have ‘Fizzix Funday’ - physics students showcase their science skills

Seminole Ridge HS physics students showcased their skills Wednesday, November 17, 2010 testing their “Fizzix Funday” research projects. Students chose to either ‘Drop It,’ ‘Launch It,’ or ‘Thrill It’ creating the ideal container to protect an egg from a seven-story drop, blasting off the ultimate water bottle rocket, or building the best roller coaster model. President Obama remarked in 2009 speech at the National Academy of Sciences, "I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it's science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent -- to be makers of things, not just consumers of things." Physics teacher Erich Landstrom listened to the President, and challenges his students to design, construct, and compete.
Drop It Launch It Thrill It

The Fizzix Funday began with ‘Drop It.’ The Palm Beach County Fire Department assisted in testing for the most efficient package to protect a raw large chicken egg from cracking after a seventy foot free fall from the ladder of the fire truck.

Congratulations to Arnold Banner, whose container creation weight was just 13 grams! Arnold Banner

At 11 AM, the students began ‘Launch It,’ aiming for a projectile put together around an ordinary 2 liter plastic soda bottle and fired using compressed air at 60 psi and 12 ounces of water with the greatest air aloft “hang time” launched by compressed air and water.
Congratulations to Yiro Shimabukuro and Moegamat Peck, whose “This Side Up” was airborne for 8.0 seconds! Yiro and Mo

After lunch, the students finished big with ‘Build It,’ creating a coaster with the longest ride time to go from the Start position to the Finish (with bonus points for loops and attraction). Thrill Coasters
Congratulations to Mark Blanar and Joseph Pavicic, whose “Collision Course” kept rolling along for an average of twenty two seconds! Mark Blanar and Joseph Pavicic

Fizzix Funday 2010

2010-11-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

Fizzix Funday 2010

Seminole Ridge physics students showcase their STEM skills on Wednesday, November 17, 2010.

Erich Landstrom’s physics student will test their “Fizzix Funday” research projects to either “Drop It,” “Launch It,” or “Thrill It” – by creating the ideal container to protect an egg from a 3-story drop, building the best roller coaster model, or blasting off the ultimate water bottle rocket.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is increasingly being appreciated as the key to assuring that America cultivates a new generation of experts as well, with the skills to create the new green technologies we need to strengthen our economy in the 21st Century. Science and technology are responsible for a very large portion of America’s economic growth over the past 50 years. And scientists and engineers today are in the best position to solve many of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world.

8:30 – 10:30 AM - drop it: design the lightest package to protect a raw egg from cracking after a five-story free fall; (schedule subject to change)

11 AM – 1 PM launch it: put a projectile with the greatest air aloft “hang time” launched by compressed air and water.

1 PM – 3 PM - thrill it: create a coaster with the longest ride time to go from the Start position to the Finish (with bonus points for loops and attraction)

Watch the Fizzix Funday 2008 video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTjmPmzkg7U
See the Fizzix Funday 2009 fotos at
http://seminolesecme.blogspot.com/2009/11/hawks-have-fizzix-funday.html

Thrill It

2010-10-22T12:00:00.001-07:00

NASA Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Active Comet Hartley 2

2010-10-17T06:48:00.001-07:00

NASA Science News for Oct. 15, 2010
NASA's Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft is hurtling toward Comet Hartley 2 for a breathtaking flyby on Nov. 4th. Mission scientists say all systems are go for a close encounter with one of the most active comets they've seen.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/15oct_epoxi/

On How to Improve Our Schools

2010-07-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Adapted from The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, by Diane Ravitch (Basic Books, 2010).

What can we do to improve schools and education? Plenty.

We must first of all have a vision of what good education is. We should have goals that are worth striving for. Everyone involved in educating children should ask themselves why we educate. What is a well-educated person? What knowledge is of most worth? What do we hope for when we send our children to school? What do we want them to learn and accomplish by the time they graduate from school?

Certainly we want them to be able to read and write and be numerate. But that is not enough. We want to prepare them for a useful life. We want them to be able to think for themselves when they are out in the world on their own. We want them to have good character and to make sound decisions about their life, their work, and their health. We want them to face life’s joys and travails with courage and humor. We hope that they will be kind and compassionate in their dealings with others. We want them to have a sense of justice and fairness. We want them to understand our nation and our world and the challenges we face. We want them to be active, responsible citizens, prepared to think issues through carefully, to listen to differing views, and to reach decisions rationally. We want them to learn science and mathematics so they understand the problems of modern life and participate in finding solutions. We want them to enjoy the rich artistic and cultural heritage of our society and other societies.

If these are our goals, the current narrow, utilitarian focus of our national testing regime is not sufficient to reach any of them. Indeed, to the extent that we make the testing regime our master, we may see our true goals recede farther and farther into the distance. By our current methods, we may be training (not educating) a generation of children who are repelled by learning, thinking that it means only drudgery, worksheets, test preparation, and test-taking.

Our nation’s commitment to provide universal, free public education has been a crucial element in the successful assimilation of millions of immigrants and in the ability of generations of Americans to improve their lives. As we seek to reform our schools, we must take care to do no harm. In fact, we must take care to make our public schools once again the pride of our nation. To the extent that we strengthen them, we strengthen our democracy.

Gimme Shelter 2009 - Hurricane Proof Houses

2009-12-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Project Based Lab: Building a Hurricane Proof House

What do you get when you combine construction paper, popsicle sticks, aluminum foil, and tape? Seminole Ridge High School science students building Hurricane Proof Houses!

"Hurricane Landstrom" was a leaf blower blown on simply built scale model "houses" to test their resistance. Some withstood the test of the wind and some were destroyed. It was all in the name of science, as the students learned about the force of hurricane winds and construction designs that make houses more durable during strong winds.

During the 2004 hurricane season, over $40 billion in storm damage was done. Florida suffered 4 major hurricanes making landfall, and it is estimated that one in every five homes in the state was damaged. Building homes that better withstand the winds from hurricanes is a consideration in all-future housing starts.

Students were asked to design and build the most wind resistant building you can construct, using the materials provided: "drywall" from two (2) sheets of paper (21.5 by 28.0 cm), lumber from six (6) popsicle sticks (11.5 cm), aluminum siding from one (1) sheet of foil (35.5 cm by 26.0 cm), and adhesives from six (6) pieces of masking tape (random sizes). Their home need to cover an area of at least 500 square centimeters, and students showed their blueprints and calculations before construction.

Lab Notes: Hurricane in a Classroom
Music: Stereogum and tape9 - Lockdown Shelter

From Seminole Ridge High to Saturn: Student Semi-Finalists in NASA Contest

2009-06-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

Seminole Ridge High School Science teacher Erich Landstrom received out-of-this-world congratulations in May. NASA emailed to say that his physics students in a national contest for an interplanetary mission were semi-finalists. At least one of his students’ essays passed the first round of selection in the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest, and they were invited in June to teleconference with scientists studying the planet Saturn remotely by robotic spacecraft.

The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenges students to become NASA scientists studying the planet Saturn. Participants examine three target images taken by Cassini and choose the one they think will yield the best science. This choice must then be supported in a 500-word essay.

Mr. Landstrom used it as teaching opportunity for his students to practice their FCAT Writes persuasive essay skills, and encourage excellence in FCAT Science. Juniors Anthony Bass, Alex Cohen, Kris Hansen, and Jessie Twigger are now invited to teleconference with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Using the Distance Learning Classroom in Seminole Ridge’s Biotechology Academy, they can participate in a scientific debate by deciding which imaging target brings the most scientifically interesting results.

Jessie Twigger in his essay wrote in part, “Not every satellite we launch or every telescope we point towards the sky is searching for another Earth but if the chance to learn more about Earth-like planets presents itself, why not seize this opportunity? That is the reason we should be photographing Dione. No – that that is the reason we should be exploring space. Dione is worth all its scientific merit just for the smallest chance that we will discover something that we never even dreamed possible, just for the shear enjoyment of discovering that a distant moon is similar to Earth, and most importantly just for the challenge it presents in understanding such a mystery.”

All semi-finalists’ essays are now being judged to determine the overall contest winners. Winners will be announced in mid June, after the end of the school year for Seminole Ridge. Please visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov to see the winners list online when it becomes available

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The cameras on NASA Cassini-Huygens Mission have been taking stunning images of Saturn and its rings and moons for the past five years. These images have helped planetary scientists learn more about this amazing planet Saturn. For most of its tour, Cassini has a chance to point its cameras at various targets, but only one image can be taken at a time. Before each imaging opportunity, Cassini scientists have to decide which image they think would yield the best science. They make a case for specific images, and debate why one image would be better than another. Finally, they agree on which image will be taken. The command to take the image is uplinked to the spacecraft. The image is downlinked to Earth, a billion kilometers away.

In the Cassini Scientist for a Day contest, students get to be the scientists. Seminole Ridge High School physics students learned about possible images that the cameras on Cassini could take on May 25, 2009. Students needed to weigh all the factors and choose one of the targets. What do we already know about Saturn, its rings, and its moons? What do we hope to learn from the image selected? The decision is based on which image would yield the most scientific results, but the artistic value of the image can be an added bonus.

What's Up - May 2009

2009-05-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

What's Up - April 2009

2009-04-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Florida Spring 2009 Launch Schedule

2009-03-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Launch Time: April 28, 2009, 6:24 - 7:24 p.m. EDT
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta IV
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Pad 37-B
Mission: GOES-O
Description: NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are actively engaged in a cooperative program, the multi-mission Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series N-P. This series will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations, and science.

Launch time: May 12, 2009, 1:11 p.m. EDT
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A
Mission: STS-125
Description: Space Shuttle Atlantis will fly seven astronauts into space for the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. During the 11-day flight, the crew will repair and improve the observatory's capabilities.

Launch Time: May 21, 2009, 5:32 - 6:32 p.m. EDT
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 41
Mission: LRO/LCROSS
Description: LRO will launch with the objectives to finding safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology. The Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, mission is seeking a definitive answer about the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at either the Moon's North or South Pole.

Launch time: June 13, 2009, 7:25 a.m. EDT
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Mission: STS-127
Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the exposed facility of Japan's Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station.

Launch Time: July 11 +
Launch Vehicle: Ares I-X
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39B
Mission: Ares I-X Flight Test
Description: The Ares I-X flight test is NASA's first test for the Agency's new Constellation launch vehicle -- Ares I. The Ares I-X flight will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Launch time: August 6, 2009, ~ 9:25 a.m. EDT
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Mission: STS-128
Description: Space shuttle Discovery will use a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to carry experiment and storage racks to the International Space Station.

Last updated Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Schedule subject to change. For updates, check online at
NASA Launch Manifest
Spaceflight Now

NIGHT HUNTERS!

2009-03-07T04:09:00.000-08:00

WILD WEDNESDAY EVENING SPEAKER SERIES
AT FOLKE PETERSON WILDLIFE CENTER
10948 ACME ROAD, WELLINGTON

SECOND IN A SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL TALKS ABOUT OUR NATIVE FLORIDA WILDLIFE, ECOLOGY, CONSERVATION

NIGHT HUNTERS
An exploration of the night sky and
wildlife who hunt by moonlight.

Lecture and TELESCOPE VIEWING presented by
ERICH LANDSTROM
NASA/JPL Solar System Educator
&
VERED NOGRAD, CVT
Folke Peterson Wildlife Center’s Wildlife Care Manager

WEDNESDAY MARCH 18th at 7:00 pm
FREE ADMISSION/LIGHT REFRESHMENTS
561-793-2473 FOR INFORMATION

Shuttle and Rocket Missions in March

2009-03-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

Launch Time: Window 1: 10:49-10:52 p.m. EST, Window 2: 11:13-11:16 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 6
Mission: Kepler
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17 - Pad 17-B
Description: The Kepler Mission, a NASA Discovery mission, is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size around the habitable zone (and thousands of Jupiter-sized planets outside it).

Launch Time: 8:54 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 12
Mission: STS-119 • ISS 15A
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Description: STS-119 will be the 28th U.S. mission to the International Space Station. Space shuttle Discovery will deliver the Starboard 6 truss segment, giving the station its fourth and final set of power-generating solar wings.

WSRH News for 12-15-2008: Fizzix Funday

2008-12-18T15:29:00.001-08:00

SECME members on a mission to build robots

2008-11-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

SECME members on a mission to build robots
By JASON PARSLEY | Forum Publishing Group
November 26, 2008

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/royal_palm/sfl-flrpfrobot1126rpfnov26,0,4093472.story

Seminole Ridge High School seniors Madelyn Gapko and Nadia Beni both like hands-on projects, and that is why they decided to join the newly formed Science, Engineering, Communications and Mathematics club at the school, 4601 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, in Loxahatchee.

The SECME Club allows students to apply what they learn in classes like physics to the real world. So far it has attracted about 60 members.

"It's a good way for me to learn," Gapko said.

While Beni added, "[The hands-on] is mostly what we do, but it's the best part."

The club recently had a movie afternoon to raise funds to purchase at least one Vex Robotics Design System kit so students will have the opportunity to build actual robots.

"This isn't here's a Lego kit, lets see if we can build something," said Erich Landstrom, SECME school coordinator and physics teacher. Over the summer he was introduced to the starter kit and said, "We literally went from a box of parts to two hours later we had built a radio-controlled robot."

Landstrom said he is excited to add the robotics component to the club.

"This is definitely something I want the Seminole Hawks to do," he said.

But first the club needs to raise the money to purchase the $700 kit. The club's next fundraiser will be another movie afternoon in January.

With the kit Landstom said he hopes that his students will be able to enter a robotics competition next year. This year's competition will ask students to build a robot that is able to travel up a ramp and be able to operate independently and by user control.

"My hope, my goal would be to go to the national competition," he said.

So far the club has designed and launched a film-canister model rocket, and constructed a spaghetti bridge from pasta and mini marshmallows.

Call 561-422-2600 for more information.

Seminole SECME Movie Matinee Full-Length Feature Fundraisier on Wed., Nov. 19, 2008

2008-10-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

RU VEXed by robots?

2008-09-22T17:29:00.001-07:00

Engaging students in math, science, and technology is one of the most important factors in creating tomorrow's workforce. This is of particular importance in America, where math and science education is lagging behind other countries, leaving our nation trailing in the number of engineers produced each year. At Seminole Ridge High School, the SECME club has undertaken several projects to combat this problem, along with other projects to promote excellence in engineering.

At the annual SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication and Math Excellence) Regional Competition, over 200 high school students square off in engineering contests to team design and test vehicles powered by mousetraps, bridges that withstand pressure testing, water bottle rockets that were launched and evaluated for distance, general knowledge games with the "Brain Bowl," and in literary and artistic competitions with essays, mission patches, banners, and posters.

For the 2008-2009, SECME is facilitating a low-cost, high impact robotics program that will encourage more students to continue their education beyond high school and ultimately to choose science-, technology-, engineering-, and mathematics-related careers. In this highly engaging after-school program, students collaborate with their teachers and industry leaders, using their skills and knowledge in science, math, engineering, and technology to configure high-tech robotics to meet a preset series of tasks.

This is the type of program that builds interest from the ground up. Students acquire a ‘can do spirit’ and they get an opportunity to learn from their mentors and motivators in ways that build confidence and pride in their accomplishments. The VEX Robotics Design System starter kit contains everything students need to design a robot, with vast creative possibilities. This valuable project requires significant funding—each kit costs $321 – and is entirely supported by student fundraising and your donations.

The SECME school coordinators would greatly appreciate any contribution you and your business can provide. All gifts are recognized. Please consider contributing $321 and help us reach our goal before November 30th by making a donation to: Seminole Ridge High School SECME

I hope very much that you will be able to say “yes” to our appeal, and will truly appreciate whatever you can give.

Seminole Ridge Students Discuss Spacecraft With NASA Scientists

2008-06-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 3, students in Erich Landstrom’s science class at Seminole Ridge High School joined a teleconference with NASA scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.

The teleconference was held to discuss essays the students wrote regarding the Cassini spacecraft. Launched more than a decade ago, Cassini has been sending back never-before-seen views of Saturn, its rings and its moons for nearly four years. Part of the NASA Cassini team’s job is to pick which image targets will yield the best science results. High school students were asked to write a 500-word essay on why the image they chose would be the most scientifically rich for Cassini’s cameras to take. Essays were judged by a panel of Cassini scientists, mission planners and by an education and outreach team. Cassini’s cameras will take images of three designated targets on June 10.

State Rep. Shelley Vana also visited the class in her capacity with the School District of Palm Beach County and also as a legislator. The students included 2008 graduating senior Amanda Canete, junior Justin Bloom, junior Sarah Shields, freshman Edwin Keo, freshman Amanda Fenner and junior Sharon Summel.

Seminole Ridge SECME Club Competes In District Olympiad

2008-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics and Enrichment (SECME) students at Seminole Ridge High School competed in the 2008 District Olympiad on March 29, returning with several honors:

• In the category of Balsawood Bridge Building, Liz Camp and Vicki Glass’s structure held 68 pounds before breaking.

• In the category of Water Bottle Rocket, Nick Moore’s and T.J. Gipe’s rocket was airborne for 7.8 seconds.

• In the category of Brain Bowl, the Hawks fell to second-place winners Forest Hill High School.

• Kelsey Chase (essay) and Kaitlin Kilpatrick (poster) earned honors for submissions on the theme “Lighting the Torch to Empower Future Leaders.”

SECME coaches Erich Landstrom and Alison Baird thank the team for a great job.

SRHS Science Teacher Awarded Citibank Success Fund Grant

2007-11-21T09:26:00.001-08:00

Seminole Ridge science teacher Mr. Erich Landstrom will receive a Citibank Success Fund Grant of $841 to launch his Rocket POWER (Positive Outcomes While Enjoying Reading) program. During Rocket POWER, students at Seminole Ridge will read and discuss the special talents and training necessary to become a rocket scientist. They will then be challenged to design, construct, fly and recover handmade, high-powered model rockets with two “egg-stronauts” onboard.

The Citibank Success Fund awards cash grants to support innovative classroom learning projects that encourage at-risk students to succeed in academics and stay in school. These funds, awarded by the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and Citibank, allow educators to develop innovative, easily replicable, grassroots programs, providing students with an opportunity to succeed and to associate that success with continued school attendance. Landstrom will receive the grant check during a dinner reception on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the West Palm Beach Marriott. The money will be spent on books and rocket construction supplies.

During weekly meetings of an after-school SECME Club (Science, Engineering, Communication and Mathematics Enhancement), students will read non-fiction, how-to books on model rocketry, including The Handbook of Model Rocketry and Rocket Boys: A Memoir, the autobiographical reminiscences of children whose lives were influenced by rocketry.

SECME students will then design, construct, and fly their own high-powered model rocket. This rocket, with a payload of two raw Grade-A large eggs, must reach a specific altitude of 750 feet and return undamaged to the ground within 45 seconds.

Rocket POWER hopes to:

• Spark enthusiasm for careers in aerospace among students;

• Curb dropout prevention by demonstrating the practical application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics;

• Provide positive outcomes while enjoying reading;

• Deliver foundational knowledge of aerospace principles in math and geometry, in sciences ranging from physics to meteorology, and engineering.

Ignite the Imagination: Ares V 8 meter telescope mission

2007-11-21T08:57:00.000-08:00

The Team America Rocketry Challenge

2007-08-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Team America Rocketry Challenge is a national amateur rocket competition for U.S. high school and middle school students and is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry. The competition challenges student teams to design, build, and fly a model rocket carrying two raw eggs as close as possible to a specific altitude. One hundred of the best teams will compete in a fly-off at Great Meadow, The Plains, Virginia, in May 2008, and the winning top ten student teams will share a total prize pool worth over $60,000 in cash. The goal is to encourage students to study advanced math and sciences and to consider studying aerospace fields in college. TARC is open to teams of students in grades 7-12 from any US school or nonprofit youth organization (ex: Boy/Girl Scouts, 4-H, Civil Air Patrol). 2008 Contest Rules are posted on the website at www.rocketcontest.org and sign up to get updates and the latest details on this exciting educational event.

1. 2 eggs for payload rather than 1
2. 750 foot altitude goal rather than 850
3. 45 second duration goal remains, but duration error is weighted by a factor of 2 in computing final score rather than a factor of 1
4. Single-staging is required, previously multi-staging was an option although seldom utilized
5. The top 10 (cash prize) places at the Finals will be decided on the basis of the sum of scores of 2 flights at the Finals, with the top 18 teams based on first-flight scores being invited to make a second flight in the last round of the day in order to qualify for one of these 10 places. We do not have the range capacity or available time to have all teams make two flights in the one day of the Finals.

Registration for TARC 2008 will open on September 5, 2007 and close on November 30 or when we get 750 entries, whichever comes first.

2006 Gimme Shelter - Hurricane Proof Houses

2006-10-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Project Based Lab: Building a Hurricane Proof House

What do you get when you combine construction paper, popsicle sticks, aluminum foil, and tape? Boynton Beach High School science students building Hurricane Proof Houses!

"Hurricane Landstrom" was a leaf blower blown on simply built scale model "houses" to test their resistance. Some withstood the test of the wind and some were destroyed. It was all in the name of science, as the students learned about the force of hurricane winds and construction designs that make houses more durable during strong winds.

Lab Notes: Hurricane in a Classroom
Music: DJ Earworm - Gimme Freaks