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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
O
o
JCSS students
experiment to go to space
WORKING ON SPACE EXPERIMENT
Among those who will work with Jackson County School System students preparing for an experiment to be carried out on
the International Space Station are, standing, from left, Deborah Riddleberger, JCSS K-12 science instructional specialist;
Jennifer Simmons, Gum Springs Elementary School; Ben Propes and Kathy Venable of West Jackson Elementary School;
Dr. Katie Warwick, K-12 math instructional specialist for JCSS; and Dawn Brock, East Jackson Elementary School; and
seated, from left, Meg Barber of Maysville Elementary School, Kaycie Rogers, EJES, and Melanie McMurray, North Jackson
Elementary School.
This fall, teams of fifth-
through 12th- grade science stu
dents in Jackson County Schools
will compete with one another to
have their experiments conduct
ed on the International Space
Station next spring.
The winning students’ experi
ment will be among 31 selected
for astronauts to conduct during
the satellite's six-week orbit next
year as part of the national Stu
dent Spaceflight Experiments
Program. Schools from the Unit
ed States, Canada and Brazil will
participate in this SSEP Mission
12 to the International Space
Station.
Students are already beginning
to learn about forces and motion
in science classes, and they will
form teams to design research
proposals for microgravity
(weightlessness) experiments,
according to Deborah Riddle
berger, K-12 science instruc
tional specialist for the school
system.
In November, a committee
of local scientists and educa
tors will select three proposals
to submit to a national selection
committee, which will choose
one of the three for the 2018
spaceflight.
All JCSS students will be
invited to enter a mission patch
design competition, and two
Jackson County Schools’ patch
es will be chosen to ride along on
the spaceflight, as well.
Learning and activities around
the microgravity experiment will
offer a valuable opportunity to
engage students in real-world
learning experiences. Riddle
berger explained.
“Gravity affects every biolog
ical, chemical, and physical sys
tem we encounter each day. so
these experiments could provide
data with important implications
in science, engineering, medical
and other fields,” she said.
The experiment will consist of
a “mix stick,” containing up to
three separate experiment sam
ples. Astronauts will activate the
experiment in space by releasing
the clamps separating the experi
ment samples and allowing them
to mix.
Students will simultaneously
conduct the same experiment on
land to compare results in low
versus earthbound gravity.
Riddleberger explained that the
microgravity project is authentic,
project-based learning that inte
grates reading, writing, and math
instruction into all academic sub
jects. Students will practice skills
in proposal writing and presenta
tion as part of the project.
The SSEP is spearheaded by
the National Center for Earth and
Space Science Education, a non
profit organization that inspires
the next generation of scientists
and engineers by engaging their
natural human impulse to be
curious and explore.
“If we as a nation are to com
pete in the 21st century, we must
begin to teach science as a pro
cess of discovery, like science
itself.” said Center Director Dr.
Jeff Goldstein, adding that the
student competition follows
the approach used by NASA to
select research projects designed
by professional scientists.
The SSEP (http://ssep.ncesse.
org) is a program of the National
Center for Earth and Space Sci
ence Education in the U.S. and
the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for
Space Education internationally.
It is enabled through a strategic
partnership with DreamUp PBC
and NanoRacks LLC, which are
working with NASA under a
Space Act Agreement as part of
the utilization of the Internation
al Space Station as a National
Laboratory.
Learn more about the process
and the other schools select
ed to compete at http://bit.ly/
JCSS18_1.
Thanks to all of our Jackson EMC linemen for their tremendous efforts
during the storm, as well as all of those who helped us from:
Adams Electric Cooperative
Bedford REC
Carroll EMC
Central Electric Cooperative
Citizens Electric Company
Claverack REC
The Energy Cooperative
French Broad Electric
Gibson EMC
GreyStone Power
Holmes Wayne Electric Cooperative
Lake States Construction, Inc.
Logan County Electric Cooperative
Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative
M.B. Haynes Corporation
Midwest Electric Cooperative
North Central Electric Co-op
Northwestern REC
Paulding-Putnam Electric Cooperative
Pike
REA Energy Cooperative
Rutherford EMC
Somerset Rural Cooperative
Southwest Tennessee EMC
Sussex REC
Taylor Tree Service
Tennessee Valley Cooperative
Townsend Tree
Tri-County REC
ULCS
United Electric Cooperative
Upper Cumberland EMC
Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative
U-Tec
Valley Rural Electric Cooperative
W.A. Kendall Tree
Wellsboro Electric Cooperative
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