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Julie Kleinhenz, Deb Goodenow, Kelly Gilkey, and Lauren Clayman told   students what subjects to study, how to apply for an internship or shadowing program, what degrees you need, and what kind of projects you may work on.

A few current projects of the panelists include keeping astronauts healthy in space, working on the design of a nuclear reactor for Mars, and making fuel on Mars so that we can get equipment home.

We thank the panelists and NASA outreach educator extraordinaire, Dave Mazza,  for an important and informative session about STEM that details how to take advantage of vast opportunities available to our students. More pictures on slideshare below.

Some great words of wisdom from Mr. Doleman:
1. If you don’t have a plan for life, life will have a plan for you.
2. Time waits for no one.
3. You are what you repeatedly do.
4. The best way to predict your future is by making your future.
5. You are judged by what you give, not by what you receive.

“What happens when you get an unfair call during a game?”
“You move on.  Life isn’t fair. You have to anticipate that some of the calls won’t be fair.”

“Would you have made any different decisions?”
No, people see things in you that you don’t see in yourself. All these things will shape and mold you. To find that path early is peace because you’re not floundering; you’re being true to yourself.

Doleman is a former American Football defensive end who played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers from 1985 to 1999. He was an 8-time Pro Bowl selection and a 3-time First-team All-Pro, recording over 150 sacks. He is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Doleman

Many thanks as always to Jerry Csaki of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and to Chris Doleman for giving his time to talk about important values to our 8th graders.

“This module helps students learn about NASA missions to study asteroids so they can gauge for themselves the threat of future asteroid collisions.” http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/home/index.html

See more of NASA’s educational video conference programs on their distance learning network (DLN) site.

Mr. Mazza encouraged the students to study math. He said that we live in a very exciting time in which there is a lot to be discovered about asteroids and planetary science. He emphasized that math is a critical subject to master if you want to become an astronaut or research scientist.

Think about working for NASA someday:
NASA Facilities and Centers around the country
http://www.nasa.gov/about/sites/index.html

• Jet Propulsion Lab is in Pasadena, California
• Train to be an astronaut at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas
• Launch into space at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
• Be a research Scientist at The Glen Research Center Cleveland, Ohio

A few famous asteroid hits:

• 2013 Chelyabinsk, Central Russia
• 1992 Peekskill, NY
• 1992 Mbale, Uganda
• 1908 Tunguska

Interesting Facts:

• NASA was created in 1958
• 1972 –  The last time we were on the moon
• Most of our asteroids are located between Mars and Jupiter
• The largest asteroid is about 330 miles in diameter
• The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was 7 miles in diameter, but most asteroids are very small
• Number of asteroids in the main asteroid belt over 1 kilometer in size is: 1 to 2 million
• First asteroid was found in 1801. Today we know of 500,000
• You can name an asteroid if you can find it
• Asteroids are made up of different materials which may prove to be very useful: special minerals
• All the asteroids together weigh 4% of the moon
• For every impact on the moon, the earth has been hit 25 times.
• Meteorite showers are remnants of a comet that we see as the earth passes through the comet’s tail.
• You could probably find dust from a meteor on the roof of your house.
• In 2003 Japan landed an unmanned spacecraft on a small asteroid named Itokawa.

A Sampling of Student Questions:

How would you get rid of an asteroid approaching earth? You don’t want to blow it up because all the pieces would cause more damage. You would send something up to try to move its orbit so it would pass by and not hit earth.

Are aliens real? We have not found any evidence. But if there are aliens, they will read your texts someday. Texts go up to a satellite and some keep traveling through space so our sounds go through space and could be heard. But we have not found any evidence yet.

Will space mess up communication? Solar energy interferes with communications in space and on power grids on earth.

Did you want to be an astronaut? When Dave was young they only took military test pilots and you had to have perfect eyesight. Therefore, he decided to become a scientist! today you just need your degree in one of many sciences and you can become a mission specialist. We need more women astronauts!

How do you get a career at NASA? Look for shadowing opportunities. Look for an internship in NASA when you are a senior in high school.

What are you doing to advance the technology that we don’t know about? We need you! We have the James Webb Telescope due to launch in the next few years. “

The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope. The project is working to a 2018 launch date. Webb will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy.

FULL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
“Asteroids present a mysterious, ancient, and potentially Earth-damaging threat within our Solar System. Many formed during the beginnings of our Solar System, 4.5 billion years ago, and some of them have very different, and sometimes eccentric, egg-shaped orbits. Occasionally their paths do cross the Earth’s orbit, and at times they enter the atmosphere where they either burn up as meterors or land as meteorites. Asteroids have created large features on the Earth, such as craters and water basins. This module helps students learn about NASA missions to study asteroids so they can gauge for themselves the threat of future asteroid collisions.”

January 2, 2013. Article in in Sloatsburg Village by Jennifer Citrolo, Ramapo Central Schools.

Suffern Middle School students are using videoconferencing to learn about the ultimate act of bullying — genocide. In a project closely tied to the sixth-grade curriculum, Barbara Biddy and Jennifer Fruhling’s sixth-grade classes are taking part in the One Million Bones project, a social arts project promoted by NYC-based nongovernmental organization Global Nomads, Students Rebuild and CARE International to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

The project’s goal is to use art to inspire activism. Suffern Middle School students, along with schools across the country, will collect artwork bones for a collaborative installation of 1,000,000 bones that will be viewed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. from June 8th-10th, 2013.

“A lot of the work we’re doing in humanities is about dealing with inhumane acts around the world,” remarked student teacher Chris Wetzel. “Not just talking about it—but exploring what we can do to stop it.”

“Participating in videoconferences like this is a powerful prompt for reflective writing,” said library media specialist Eleanor Shuster, who is coordinating the project. “Genocide is the ultimate act of bullying; by encouraging our students to take action, they’re learning not to be bystanders.”

Suffern students will make and ship hundreds of “bones” made of newspaper to be included as part of the One Million Bones exhibit. Each bone contributed to the project helps earn money, donated by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos through the Bezos Family Foundation.

“It’s more than connecting with other people,” explains sixth-grade teacher Barbara Biddy. “It’s reaching out to help. How can we invert the violence in the world into a triumph of understanding, caring and compassion? That’s what we’re trying to teach.”

Students are participating in a series of videoconferences with representatives from CARE and members of the Somalia Youth Leadership Initiative to learn more about life in that region of Africa.

During a recent videoconference that was part of the project, Suffern Middle School students Emma and Nicole performed a song on flute and the Somali youth sang their national anthem.

Despite the absence of a functioning federal government, the Somali students spoke about the strength of local communities.

“We support each other in our search for peace: Somali for Somali,” one participant explained.

The Somali students noted that their country has a single, dominant culture that contrasted with the multiculturalism of the U.S. One participant asked how, given such diversity, a woman wearing a head scarf is perceived in the U.S.

“It’s not a big deal,” answered Evan, a Suffern Middle School student. “We have people who practice a lot of different religions here.”

Two other Suffern students, Paige and Michaela, fielded a question about education.

“We learn different languages, about our history and about things going on in the world around us,” they said, speaking to other students half way around the world.

http://www.ramapocentral.net/district/more-news-stories/smsstudentstakeastandwithonemillionbonesproject

http://www.sloatsburgvillage.com/2013/01/03/suffern-students-see-somali-students-up-close/

Terrance and Stephanie introduced a social arts project that will raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo by creating a a large scale installation at the National mall in Washington, DC. They showed us how to make ‘bones’ out of newspaper and masking tape. Each bone equals one dollar to be donated by the Bezos Family Foundation. The goal is one million bones made by people of all ages and from all nations to be exhibited in the Washington Mall in June 2013.

Terrance and Stephanie showed us how to make simple bones and we had three hundred by the end of the day!

Grade 6 Biddy and Fruhling classes will also have the opportunity for two video conferences,  one with members of Care International to be followed by one with students at the ETN school in the DC of Congo.

Please see Terrance Smith’s initial invitation to join this project:

I am Terrance Smith current Program Fellow at Global Nomads Group, a non-profit organization that fosters communication and dialogue amongst the worlds youth. We are currently working on a project through our Students Rebuild program called “One Million Bones“. It is a social arts project that will raise awareness about the humanitarian crises occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo by creating a a large scale installation at the National mall in Washington, DC. Students, community members, and organizations from around the world have joined this cause and now I would like to extend the opportunity to participate to your school.

A little bit more about the our program and project: Students Rebuild, an organization that mobilizes youth around the country to take action on global issues, is partnering with for our next social arts project, using education and hands-on art making to raise awareness of humanitarian crises across the world. This project will culminate in June 2013, when we will come together to lay one million bones on the National Mall as a visual petition representing the victims of human crises, and instill hope, solidarity, and our connectedness as individuals. 

 As we join this project, we will be going on tour visiting schools and communities across the country and facilitating bone-making workshops and presentations that are aligned with standard core curriculum. Every bone that is made during our tour is a visual petition to end humanitarian crises worldwide, and will trigger a donation by The Bezos Family Foundation to our partner schools in The Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. There is no cost to participate in our programs, as our goal is to create awareness and empower students to consider the challenges our peers face abroad.

Check out one of our events held in New Mexico… and start to imagine what we can together! I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and explore how we can move forward.

Mr. Harris spoke to the students about perseverance and making the right choices in life:

• When you listen to the good it will point you in the right direction. When you listen to the bad it will push you in the wrong direction
• You control the outcome of your life
• Role Models: Always act like your little brother is by your side and think how you would act and what would you do if your little brother was with you. What we do off the field is just as important as what we do on the field.
• Don’t limit yourself. Try new things. Experience different sports and different subjects. Put time into whatever you do!
• Don’t ever give up!

Many thanks to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this special opportunity.