NASA Goddard Hosts 2nd Annual Teams Competition – Maryland Middle School Teams to Solve Technology Problems

As part of the Space Day 2002 activities, 34 teams representing 18 middle schools from across Maryland will participate in the 2nd Annual TEAMS Competition on Thursday, May 2 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

The TEAMS (Technology Education Alliance with Middle Schools) Program is designed to show middle school students how teaming enables them to solve technology problems that could not be solved individually, and relate this concept to the work being performed by NASA to design and build spacecraft to support the exploration of space.

In this year’s event, participating students will design, develop and operate squads of robots competing in a 100 Ball Ping-Pong Tournament, the theme of this year’s challenge.

“We are proud to host the 2nd Annual TEAMS Competition here at the Goddard Space Flight Center,” says Center Director A.V. Diaz, “and even more thrilled that the Goddard competition will be part of the Space Day 2002 activities taking place around the world.”

The program is sponsored by a NASA education grant to The Odyssey School in Baltimore, Md., and by local organizations, a.i.solutions, Inc., the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Computer Sciences Corporation.

“The link between fielding a team of robots and fielding a team of satellites is a simple one to make, and a wonderful way to get young people excited not only about science education, but space as well,” claims Bob Sperling, President of a.i. solutions, Inc.

“We are very excited to be involved with a program that helps get students interested in the space and technology arenas,” says Stamatios Krimigis, Head of APL’s Space Department.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to encourage young people to solve problems in a team environment and to foster their interest in space technology,” said Betsy Tervo, Director CSC’s NASA Programs

This event is open to the media and offers a range of photo, video and interview opportunities. Interested members of the press should contact Caroline Jones or Natanya Levioff for more information.

Directions to the GSFC Visitor’s Center can be found at: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/indepth/maps_mapsdirections.html

For more information regarding the TEAMS competition, visit: http://teams.gsfc.nasa.gov.