Unpacking Day

All Right All right. Yes we admit we were not the best role models for healthy eating with the cheesecake. As for the flavors two of us had banana cream and the other two had chocolate mousse. Like we covered in C3 though it is all about moderation. I don't think any of us finished our pieces and brought them back to the hotel. Other than the one time we have been eating healthy. We took packed lunches with us today with lots of fruits and veg tables. As far as dinner have long days but go out for dinner when we are finished for the day.

We had a question about our flight. It was nice to have a direct flight and not have to change planes in Atlanta like we usually do. The trip was OK but we were in a small plane. Mrs. Cantu had a rough time. She gets claustrophobic. It was a little bumping on take off and landing. It was worth it when we were able to take our coats off by the afternoon as we were sweating.

None of us are nervous. We are just excited to be here. We were able to get to know the rest of the teams today. There are ten school teams here for a total of 40 participants.

We found out today that the plane we will be flying on is a 727. It is not here yet, but will be flown in on Monday. We should be able to post pictures of it on Monday.

Tomorrow is a big day for everyone except Mrs. Damm. The three others will be doing their physiology training and going into the hypobaric chamber. Mrs. Damm was certified last year. She will be staying back at the hotel and doing homework all day. Yes, adults have homework too!!

Today we unpacked our experiment and set it up. We also sat through many meetings on rules and procedures. You should hear all of the rules and procedures that we have to follow. It is amazing. There were a few teams that learned the hard way about being late today. One of our rules is that you can not be late to anything. If you break rules twice during the time here your team will not be allowed to fly. They need you to demonstrate that you are dependable. Three teams were late to a meeting this afternoon. They only get one more opportunity and if something else happens they will not be able to fly. When we unpacked our experiment two of the wires had broken during shipment. We are going to need to solder them back together. No worries though everything is going to be fine.

One of the pictures tonight is of a few of the MANY white vans that take up our hotel parking lot. The parking lot at night is almost full of them. Can anyone guess what all of the white vans are for? Well, I will close for tonight but I am sure that there will be MANY stories to tell tomorrow night. Mrs. D

Arrival Day

Well we are all here in warm but not to sunny yet Houston. We left Jackson at 5:30 this morning and arrived in Houston at 11:30 am local time. We ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then went shopping for some warm weather clothes. We had to drive through a very busy downtown Houston before arriving at our hotel. We then checked in and went to do some grocery shopping. All healthy food for all of you seventh graders:) We actually had business this evening. We had to attend an orientation meeting. The main business of the meeting was to set up logistics for meeting in the morning and introducing ourselves. After the meeting we all went to a shoe store to buy shoes with white bottoms. This is a requirement for the plane so that we do not damage the floor.

Mr Hilger's class was asking a question about the cameras that we will be using on the plane I assume. We are taking up a digital Canon Sure Shot and a Sony HandyCam for video. You have to promise that you will not be critical of my pictures:) I am not a very good photographer.

Well it is getting late and we need to meet early in the morning. So this will be a short one tonight. Tomorrow will be a full day and I am sure that I will have some more pictures to share with you then. Good night. Mrs. D

YEAH!!! It is there. Our experiment arrived at the reduced Gravity Office yesterday. We are making last minute details back here in Michigan. The important stuff like what to pack and wear. HA HA. Seriously. We are making plans with students and Mr Marsh who will be handling our DLN, getting our cameras and DVD recorders that kind of stuff. Stay Tuned

Equipment is off

Well the equipment is off. Thanks to the wonderful packing job of a local mail center our equipment is safely on its way and being tracked across the country as it makes its way to Houston. If all goes well it should arrive safely at the Reduced Gravity Office tomorrow.

Another Year of Flying

Well folks here we go again. Yes Parkside was the only school selected nation-wide this year to fly again. We are flying the same experiment this year. We have a new team this year. I will still be going as the principle investigator. Mrs. Cantu, Mrs. Myers, and Mrs. Allen will be flying this year. If I am lucky i will get to fly also. We also have a new mentor this year. His name is Fernando Zumbado. He works in robotics at NASA's Johnson Space Center. We have been busy with the finishing touches on the hardware and will be shipping it to Houston soon. We booked our flights yesterday so we know we are getting close.

On our last day in Houston we toured Johnson Space Center. The above photo shows us at Rocket Park where a Saturn 5 rocket is stored that would have been used for Apollo 18. The huge door we are in front of is for a giant vacuum chamber used to simulate outer space conditions. We visited a lab where actual size training models of the ISS, space shuttle, and other awesome equipment is used to train astronauts. We even saw the crew of STS 126 working and another crew practicing emergency escape maneuvers. Glenn especially enjoyed our tour of historic mission control!

Thank you for following our blog. We look forward to sharing many more photos, video, and information with our students, collegues, and friends.

Go Parkside!!

Today Mr. Marsh, Mrs. Wagner, and Mrs. Weatherwax ran Parkside's experiment on the microgravity plane. Everything went smoothly and they even had extra time to run some toy experiments and do some interesting activities such as sommersaults, handstands, and the lizard, which is moving in a circle around the walls, floor, and ceiling of the plane. We are pleased with the data that was collected and can't wait to share more detailed information with everyone.

After the flight we had a DLN with the entire Parkside student body and staff. It was so great to see and talk to everyone! Thank you so much to Ron Boyle and Parkside staff for taking the time and effort to bring the students to the assembly! Students, you had such great questions and the people here at NASA were impressed with fact that the whole school came to the DLN. Parkside rocks!! Please check out the link below for more NASA photograhps from today's flight.