MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — News media are invited to interview girls participating in three interactive institutes that focus on robotics, aeronautics and astrobiology on June 25, 2008.
NASA Ames Research Center and the Girl Scouts of Northern California have teamed up to sponsor approximately 50 high-school-aged girls from across the country, to participate in “Launch into Technology,” a participatory learning program at Ames, June 22 to 28, 2008. During their stay, the girls will work with NASA engineers and scientists and choose from a variety of activities as part of the program’s Robotics, Aeronautics and Astrobiology Institutes.
The Robotics Institute gives girls hands-on experience designing, building and testing robots. The Aeronautics Institute will allow girls to perform experiments in a wind tunnel, practice flight planning and experience Ames’ flight simulators. The Astrobiology Institute will help the girls study the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe, as well as conduct microbial experiments to determine what kind of environments life can tolerate.
Launch into Technology brings together high-school-aged girls who share an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and is designed to provide a fun, hands-on, non-competitive learning experience. Program managers hope interactions with NASA experts will motivate girls to consider STEM fields as career options. Launch into Technology is part of a larger NASA-Girls Scouts partnership, aimed at achieving common goals of motivating and encouraging girls to do their best. As part of this, NASA recognizes Girls Scouts who have earned a Gold Award, by commemorating their distinguished achievement with a congratulatory letter and certificate from NASA’s Administrator.
WHAT: An opportunity to interview more than 50 high-school girls from across the country as they build and operate robots, conduct microbial experiments, test models in wind tunnels and develop flight plans during the Launch into Technology Program.
WHEN: June 25, 2008
– 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. PDT: Girls will take an astrobiology field trip to Moss Landing, Calif.
– 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. PDT: Girls will run wind tunnel experiments, tour vertical motion simulators, practice flight planning, build and test robots, and conduct laboratory science experiments with microbes.
WHERE: NASA’s Ames Research Center. To reach Ames, take U.S. Highway 101 to the Moffett Field, NASA Parkway exit and drive east on Moffett Boulevard towards the main gate.
For more information about NASA’s Ames education programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/education/
For more information about how NASA recognizes Gold Award winning Girl Scouts, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/about/contact/girl_scout_page.html
For more information about the Girl Scouts of Northern California, visit:
