The fourth annual National Space Day is set
for Thursday, May 4, with numerous interactive, educational activities
available to local students and teachers.
The first stop for anyone
interested in participating in Space Day is the official website:
www.spaceday.com.

Space Day is an annual celebration of the achievements, benefits and
opportunities of space exploration.
The goals of Space Day are to advance
math, science and technology education and to inspire students to realize the
vision of our space pioneers.

  • COMPONENTS OF SPACE DAY
  • Resources at www.spaceday.com:
  • Links to prestigious educational and scientific organizations (e.g.,

NASA, National Science Teachers Association, National Science

Foundation, Challenger Center, NAESP, etc.).

  • Weekly hints and clues to help students stay on track.
  • Bulletin Boards where students collaborate, share data and compare
    notes.
  • Online chats with astronauts, scientists and engineers who have
    experienced the challenges of living and working in space.

  • Cyber Space Day
  • Living and Working In Space
  • Noon to 3 p.m. (EST) – Thursday, May 4, 2000

An engaging, lively and informative 3-hour Webcast for students across the
country and around the world with special appeal to children ages 8 through 12. Hosted at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Cyber Space Day will feature adults and children who are caught up in the excitement of space exploration. Guests will include Senator John Glenn and Sally Ride as well as other astronauts, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, scientists and authors who will discuss space exploration in the 21st century. Student teams from around the country will present their innovative solutions to this year’s Design Challenges (see ‘LOCALLY’ below for a description of the Design Challenges).

The Webcast, co-hosted by nationally recognized broadcast journalists and
students, will include interactive surveys, quizzes and questions from around
the globe.
To participate, click on Cyber Space Day at www.spaceday.com.

  • Hour One: A Day in Space
  • Hour Two: Challenges in Space
  • Hour Three: Where Do We Go From Here

On The Web:

You will need to download a free version of RealPlayer at
http://www.realplayer.com in order to interact with the Webcast participants
and have a 28.8k modem or faster connection.

On TV:

For those at museums, schools, broadcast stations and other institutions
with satellite downlink facilities, the live Webcast is also publicly
available via C-Band satellite.

The Satellite Coordinates are:

Satellite: GE 2 – at 85 degrees West Longitude
Transponder: C-18 – at 4,060 MHz, Horizontal
Band: C-Band
Audio: Two-channel mono – at 62 (left) and 68 (right)

Note: Satellite test time will be from 11:30 – 11:59 a.m. (EST) on May 4th
** Broadcast: Noon – 3 p.m. (EST) on May 4th

LOCALLY

In addition to these national activities, Space Day 2000 will be
celebrated with local activities and learning experiences conducted by
museums, schools, scout troops and other venues across the country and Canada.

Design Challenge:

All Dallas Independent School District 7th graders and middle school
students in Grand Prairie Independent School District were invited to
participate in the National Classroom project sponsored by Lockheed Martin and
the Challenger Center.
The project, called the Design Challenge, is a
creative problem-solving activity designed to spur student imaginations about
living and working in space.

The three Design Challenges posed to students are:

  1. Space Walk Talk
    Space suit communication units have malfunctioned. Goal: Design a
    non-verbal way for astronauts outside the Space Station to communicate
    with the crew inside.

  2. Water Recycle
    The Space Station carries a limited amount of water, now contaminated.
    Goal: Invent a way to purify 500 ml at a time.

  3. X-Treme Fitness
    The crew on the Space Station is not using the exercise machines
    because they are too boring. Goal: Create a fun sport, game or
    exercise machine that works in microgravity for the crew.

Students from around the Metroplex will be logging on to the live Cyber
Webcast to find out what other students from around the country came up with.

Two local schools are participating in the Signatures in Space program, in
which the schools receive a poster for all students to sign.
The poster is
returned to NASA and will be flown on an upcoming space mission.
The schools
are Erma Nash Elementary in Mansfield and The Parish Day School in North
Dallas.

Approximately 25 employees from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
– Dallas will visit classrooms at Ben Milam Elementary in Grand Prairie on
May 4 to discuss their jobs and the work that they do on the International
Space Station.
Missiles and Fire Control – Dallas has designed and
manufactured photovoltaic radiator panels that are scheduled to be launched
into space and combined with the Space Station in November of this year.

Finally, Lockheed Martin and the Women’s Center of Dallas have sponsored a
space-themed essay contest for 7th grade girls in DISD.
Participants will
visit the Science Place at 6:30 p.m. on May 4 to hear from a panel of leading
local women engineers, then watch a showing of the IMAX movie, Mission to Mir.
The winner(s) of the essay contest will be announced and they will receive an
all-expense paid trip to Space Camp.

Space Day Partners include the National Science Teachers Association, the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Association of
Elementary School Principals, the American Library Association, Time Warner,
Lycos, NASA and Lockheed Martin.

For information on local activities, contact Craig Vanbebber (Lockheed
Martin) at (972) 603-1615.
For interviews with national spokespersons, such
astronauts, scientists or Partner organizations, please check
www.spaceday.com, or call Devillier Communications at (202) 833-8121.