Geodesic Dome - Period 5

Suncoast student is national semi-finalist in interplanetary essay contest

Freshman Hunter Jarrell was a semi-finalist for a national essay contest hosted by NASA designed to give students a taste of life as a scientist. Picking a target for a spacecraft to observe is usually a task for a select group of mission scientists. The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenged students in grades five through 12 to join the NASA science team studying Saturn. Students study three possible targets that the Cassini spacecraft can image during a given time set aside for education. They choose the one image they think will yield the best science results and explain their reasons in an 500 word essay. More than 2,300 students from 37 states entered the contest, and Hunter's article rose to the semi-finals.

Hunter and other Physics students in science teacher Erich Landstrom’s classes watched videos about the Cassini mission, which has been in orbit around Saturn since 2004; Saturn's moon, Iapetus; Saturn's moon, Dione; and Saturn itself. moon Iapetus). Landstrom modeled how the essay proposal would be written like a scientific investigation for students to explain what questions do they hope will be answered by taking this picture?

Hunter Jarrell's Essay: C2 - ID# 201

Any of the options for the Cassini pass by will provide great scientific insight, but I think that Dione would provide the most useful information. I think Dione will be the best target for the fly by because it will give us a better understanding of the surface and exosphere, it might give us clues on to why it turned, and its the last chance we have until 2015.

First off, I think that the Cassini should fly by Dione because it will allow us the opportunity to get a better view and understanding of the surface of Dione. These pictures will let us study the ice cliffs and what they could be composed of other than water. We could also figure out what is under the solid surface and in the liquid interior. With these images we could figure out the effect of long term bombardment of fine powder from Saturns E ring. We could also gain some more information on the composition of the exosphere and the effect of it on the geology of the moon.

In addition to finding out about the planets characteristics the fly by could help us to achieve understanding of why the satellite has rotated. Using past pictures for earlier Cassini flybys of craters on the surface of Dione NASA determined that Dione had rotated around its axis. This is still a mystery to us and I want it to be resolved. We could get better pictures with this fly by of the patterns and maybe use that to discern the answer. With more up to date pictures we can compare them to the older pictures and see if Dione has rotated anymore.

Finally, this flyby will be the only chance we have to image Dione until 2015. There are endless possibilities that we could get with this view. Things that we haven't even thought of could be put into light. This is what science is about, observing and finding conclusions. If we squander this opportunity then we will have to wait another two years before we have the chance again.

In my opinion I believe that Dione would be the best target for the upcoming Cassini mission. I believe this because it could give us better or new information about the surface, possibly solve the mystery of why it rotated, and its the last chance for 2 years. I hope that you will consider my take on which target should be picked.

The Science Planning Team designed three possible observation opportunities. Each of the three has scientific merit (and, in fact, Cassini imaged all three -- there was a winner for each target in each grade group ). Target number one is an image of Saturn's mysterious moon, Iapetus. Target number two aimed the camera at Saturn's moon, Dione, and Target three produced a full-color mosaic of Saturn and its rings. Student participants examine the three possible observations taken by Cassini and are tasked to choose the one they think will yield the best scientific results. This choice must then be supported in a 500-word essay.
The contest meets U.S. National English and Science Education Standards By participating in the essay contest, students will be able to:

• Work with a real, current NASA mission
• Apply their critical thinking skills
• Applying their writing skills
• Learn how to conduct research
• Gain confidence in their ability to "do science"
• Learn something new, and form questions about a place they may never have heard of
• See themselves in the roles of scientists
• Watch videos by young Cassini scientists and engineers, and see that scientists and engineers come from diverse backgrounds
• See that scientists have different opinions and priorities when choosing where their spacecraft will target images

NASA sent certificates of participation to all students who entered, with winning essays posted on a NASA website http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientistforaday12thedition/winners2013/

Seminole Ridge student is national semi-finalist in interplanetary essay contest

Freshman Courtney Muscarella was a semi-finalist for a national essay contest hosted by NASA to answer the question: where should NASA’s next big mission to the outer solar system go: Saturn’s moon, Titan, or Jupiter’s moon, Europa?

Courtney and other students in science teacher Erich Landstrom’s Earth-Space Science classes watched videos about astrobiology and the engineering challenges of exploring Titan and Europa, then wrote an essay (500 words or fewer) explaining which moon to send a spacecraft to explore, if you could, and why. Students included information about the instruments they would put on the orbiter and balloon or lander. The Titan mission would include a Titan orbiter and a Titan balloon. The Europa mission would include a Europa orbiter and a Europa lander. Teachers submitted the contest entries on their students’ behalf. The deadline for submission was Feb. 28, 2013.

NASA sent certificates of participation to all students who entered, with winning essays posted on a NASA website http://icyworlds.jpl.nasa.gov/contest/

Courtney Muscarella’s Essay: ID# 212

Considering our economy at the moment space exploration is very expensive. Taking this into consideration, how this money is spent or where we chose to explore, should be selected carefully. Previous missions like the Cassini investigation that orbited Saturn, delivered NASA researchers with interesting information and images of the planet’s moons. Astrobiologists (scientists who study and search for life beyond Earth) are now pondering if life could be sustainable on the planet’s largest moon: Titan. I believe NASA should explore Titan with an orbiter and a touch-and- go balloon. Below I will discuss these two pieces of technology and what they can provide for astrobiologists.

To begin, we should use a touch-and-go balloon to explore Titan. Doing so is more beneficial than a lander because a lander is only able to explore one area and with a vast complex region such as Titan a lander just won’t cut it. It will leave various areas undiscovered. A balloon can travel near the moon by flowing in the wind’s direction. It can touch and go from place to place as it collects data. We can investigate Titan’s dunes and how they formed, the lakes that do not necessarily contain water, and the equatorial region. Processes occur in the moon’s atmosphere to form complicated molecules that create a layer of haze. This haze layer acts almost like a shield blocking light from reaching the surface. The complicated molecules combine in several ways that scientists have yet to understand. They believe these molecules make up the dunes on Titan. Investigating Titan with a balloon could most likely answer the mystery case of Titan’s dunes. Likewise, I believe the balloon should collect lots of data such as soil samples, temperature, and so on. Knowing more about Titan through the touch and go balloon can help us to learn more about whether life was once present there or could ever be.

Furthermore, once the balloon has collected all of this data it needs a way of getting back to us here on Earth. Traveling there to receive it is out of the question as it would take 9 years to send a spacecraft to this moon. An alternative option is using an orbiter. This piece of machinery is able to photograph Titan while orbiting around it. Also it is receiving the information from the balloon and sending it back here to Earth. In addition, using a balloon and an orbiter will help astrobiologists to learn about this moon and they can compare the new information to tell us more about Earth. We may find answers to questions such as how our solar system formed and where else in the solar system life could be sustainable.

To conclude, I believe if NASA chooses to send a mission to Saturn’s moon Titan they are making the best and most educational choice. I also think astriobiologists may be able to form and answer several interesting questions about whether Titan can hold life.

Say What?

Funny student answers.

PERIOD 5
Types of Severe Weather:
1. Tornado
2. Hurricane
3. Tsunami
4. _____


PERIOD 7
Types of Severe Weather:
1. Tornado
2. Hurricane
3. Lava
4. _____

Fuel for Thought

An article (Warming to Global Warming—Sunspots and Sea-Surface Temperature) I previously published in the NSTA journal The Science Teacher has been chosen for inclusion in a NSTA Press compendium titled Fuel for Thought. This volume is intended to help high school and upper middle school teachers demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of energy in their classrooms. Woo hoo! Remind me to write more articles! :)

---

Fuel for Thought Prepares High School Students for Our Global Energy Economy

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The concept of energy is central to all the science disciplines, seamlessly connecting science, technology, and mathematics. For high school and upper middle school teachers, NSTA’s Fuel for Thought comprises inquiry-based activities, lesson plans, and case studies designed to help teach increased awareness of energy, environmental concepts, and the related issues.

Drawn from NSTA’s award-winning, peer-reviewed journals, Fuel for Thought is divided into three overarching segments for learning and teaching: Student Activities and Investigations includes several activities that tackle such topics as “Energy, Heat, and Temperature,” “Vehicles and Fuels,” and “Living Connections.” Student Projects and Case Studies includes examples of extensive, question-driven student projects, and the last section, Issues in Depth, provides background content knowledge for deeper understanding of the critical energy issues facing the world today.

These interesting and meaningful investigations demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of energy, preparing students for the complex reality of our global energy economy.

You can browse sample pages of Fuel for Thought free at http://goo.gl/lZszT or at the NSTA Science Store website.

For additional information or to purchase Fuel for Thought and other books from NSTA Press, visit the NSTA Science Store at www.nsta.org/store. To order by phone, call 800-277-5300 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET weekdays. The 408-page book is priced at $25.95 and discount-priced for NSTA members at $20.76

Teacher stresses value of science to everyday lives

Teacher stresses value of science to everyday lives
Palm Beach Post
Erich Landstrom, a Seminole Ridge High teacher, was just named a mentor to other teachers in a science-engineering education program.

By Carlos Frias

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Erich Landstrom, 42,

Erich Landstrom, a Seminole Ridge High teacher, was just named a mentor to other teachers in a science-engineering education program. He taught a seminar at Santaluces High, as part of a day-long science and engineering seminar, on Feb. 19, called “Solar Max: Plotting sunspot cycles and global warming using TI graphing calculators.” (Jennifer Podis/The Palm Beach Post)

It’s OK with Erich Landstrom if you call him a science nerd.

After all, the sole reason he attended Wagner College in New York City to study physics was because the school had the country’s largest solar energy installment, plus a planetarium.

But his joy was not in theoretical science and math. What he loved most was figuring out how to apply science to engineering for the betterment of mankind. Nothing thrilled him more than when the local high schools sent fresh young minds to the planetarium to learn about science and Landstrom could teach them how they could use that science in the real world.

“That’s what I live for,” he said.

It’s a lesson he learned from his father, a U.S. Navy electrical engineer who worked on solar energy installations in Florida. It was then that he realized all science had to teach about improving the way humans live. Then, he fueled that interest as the head of the planetarium at the Miami Science Museum, where he luxuriated in teaching children about the role science played in their lives.

Finally, he brought the worlds together as a teacher at Seminole Ridge, where he was the 2010 national teacher of the year for the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering. There, he brought the national program of teaching kids how to engineer solutions to today’s problems into the classrooms.

Last month, he was chosen as one of the country’s 13 new SECME mentors to help teach other teachers how to bring applied sciences to children.

Sometimes, students built devices to keep eggs from cracking when dropped off the roof of a building. Other times, he supervised students as they devised water-powered rockets. And the education was for children of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“The only thing that matters is the grey between your ears not the color of your skin,” Landstrom said.

---

Who was an inspiration to you?

My dad was an electrical engineer, and my mother was a computer programmer, so there’s really no surprise there that I’d be into sciences.

That automated voice when you call Seminole Ridge High sounds awfully familiar.

Yup, that’s me. (Deepens voice) ‘Welcome to Seminole Ridge Community High School, home of the Hawks.’

Why is it so meaningful to you to not only be an applied sciences teacher, but a mentor to other teachers who teach this?

We know that if we train one teacher, we can reach 100 students. If you train 100 teachers, you can reach many thousands of students. That’s exciting.

What other hobbies to you have?

“I take taekwondo lessons together with my daughter (Lily, 8). I had a dream that we would both be black belts at the same time.”

Fizzix Funday 2012

20121119 Fizzix Funday