Parkside Elementary to make contact with the International Space Station

Parkside Students will speak to Astronauts in space on this Friday March 2nd. Tune in to hear it live between 11:35 am sharp-12:00 pm on March 2nd @ www.livestream.com/parksideariss.

Parkside Elementary School students have the opportunity to make contact with the International Space Station!

Students, parents and community stakeholders of Parkside Elementary School will participate in NASA's education activity known as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) on March 2, 2012. ARISS uses the unique environment of spaceflight to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by making contact with crew members aboard the International Space Station via amateur radio. The ARISS contact day will consist of a school wide rotation of inquiry based STEM activities and conclude with students posing questions to members aboard the International Space Station.

The ARISS radio contact is one in a series with educational activities in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA Education office. The office promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of human spaceflight.

 This experience is a continuation of Parkside Elementary’s participation in NASA STEM activities. Last year, Parkside Elementary students and teachers participated in the Teaching From Space Reduced Gravity Education Flight week in which Bejanae Kareem, second grade teacher, and science lab instructor, Ronnie Thomas tested students' hypothesis on the effects of bubbles in a reduced gravity environment on board an aircraft that simulates microgravity.

Parkside also provides STEM-related clubs in robotics and rocketry; as well as the opportunity for fourth- and fifth-graders to attend NASA Space Camp in Huntsville.