Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761
sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov
Rebecca Strecker
Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
228-688-3249
rebecca.a.strecker@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 12-106
NASA ANNOUNCES STUDENT WINNERS IN SPACE GAME DESIGN CHALLENGE
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Three school student teams in the fifth
through eighth grades have been selected as the winners of NASA's
second annual Spaced Out Sports challenge. The students designed
science-based games that will be played by astronauts aboard the
International Space Station (ISS).
The games illustrate and apply Newton's laws of motion by showing the
differences between Earth's gravity and the microgravity environment
of the space station. The challenge is part of a broader agency
education effort to engage students in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities.
To design their game, students use up to five items from a two-page
list of objects aboard the ISS. The list includes such items as
socks, exercise putty, bungees, cotton swabs, tape, rubber bands,
zipper-top bags, chocolate-covered candies and drink bags.
Students at Pierremont Elementary MOSAICS Academy in Manchester, Mo.,
earned the top prize with their game "Starfield." In this activity,
astronauts will travel through a course to gather "power stars" and
throw them through a "black hole target."
Second-place honors went to students at East Brook Middle School in
Paramus, N.J., for their "Outstanding Obstacles" game. It calls on
astronauts to race through obstacles including "hair band shooting"
and "ring toss."
The third-place winners are students at Tyngsborough Middle School in
Tyngsborough, Mass., for their "Learning Takes You Around the World"
game, in which astronauts will propel through rings, collecting slips
of paper.
"Congratulations to the 2012 Spaced Out Sports winners," said Leland
Melvin, associate administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in
Washington and two-time shuttle astronaut. "By combining solid STEM
skills with imagination and teamwork, these students have
demonstrated that they have what it takes to be our next generation
of engineers and designers."
The Spaced Out Sports challenge is a NASA Teaching from Space activity
and was first offered in 2010. Using an accompanying curriculum,
teachers lead students through a study of Newton's laws, highlighted
by hands-on activities and video podcasts featuring NASA scientists
and engineers explaining how the laws are used in the space program.
"The three top games were selected but everyone really is a winner in
this challenge," said Katie Wallace, director of NASA's Stennis Space
Center Office of Education near Bay St. Louis, Miss., where the
challenge and accompanying curriculum were developed. "Every student
involved wins by learning more about science and establishing an
educational foundation that will serve them well throughout their
careers and life."
For information about Teaching from Space, visit:
For information about NASA's Science and Sports curriculum and related
resources, visit:
http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/spacedoutsports
For information about NASA education programs, visit:
For information about Stennis, visit:
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