In the year 2076, NASA will send a crew of astronauts on a mission to Mars, and Clear Creek Middle School eighth-graders will be part of it.
Actually, the students participated in a simulated 2076 space mission recently at the Challenger Learning Center in Colorado Springs, where they had jobs from working in Mission Control to being on the medical team in the shuttle.
The real-world simulation teaches students about science, but it also teaches them about teamwork, communication, following directions and problem solving, according to science teacher Jill Stansbury.
“I find it an unbelievably valuable extension of the classroom,” she said.
The program gets students excited about space science and exploration.
“As a life science teacher,” said teacher Brett Hochmuth, “I use microscopes to get (students) interested in the subject, but space science is more abstract. When students jump into the roles of doing what astronauts do on space missions, it clicks, and they understand what space science is all about.”
The Challenger Learning Center was created by the families of the victims of the space shuttle Challenger explosion 25 years ago. The Colorado Springs center is one of 50 similar programs across the country.
The center tries to get students interested in science, math and technology careers, Stansbury said.
“The simulation is done so well that it incorporates math and science without anyone saying, ‘We’ll focus on math now,’ ” Hochmuth said. “It goes beyond our space/science curriculum.”
Students apply for one of nine positions, including communications, navigation, medical, life science, isolation, data and media.
“It’s very authentic,” said Stansbury, who has taken the eighth-graders to the center six times. “The two flight directors are in character, and they create experiences that force students to solve problems.”
The problem that keeps the students talking for a long time is the scenario where the Mars Transport Vehicle is losing oxygen. Emergency lights are flashing, and the flight directors are barking orders.
Stansbury said that one year, the group had only a couple seconds of oxygen left, so the flight directors yelled at the students to hit the ground and hold their breath. The students followed orders.
This year, there was four seconds of oxygen left before the life support crew was able to fix the problem.
Eighth-grader Madison Firman, a member of the life support team, said it was tense trying to fix the oxygen system, but people in Mission Control were able to give directions.
Keauna Jenkins said it was easy to get lost in their work, and she wished she had paid more attention to the directions.
Pedja Misa said the program was informative and gave him an idea what a mission to Mars might be like. “There were a lot of unexpected turns along the way,” Pedja said. “It was a fun experience.”
Stansbury had students write letters about what they liked and what they learned during their experiences. She said students said they wished they had been better prepared. They also said to listen carefully and to stay on the good side of the commanders.
She plans to take the points brought up by the students and incorporate them into an introductory letter to next year’s eighth-graders so they’ll be better prepared.
Prepared or not, the students learned a lot about space and science, and about themselves.
“The flight directors are retired teachers or retired Navy,” Hochmuth said. “They have a background in science and working with kids. They know how hard to push them.”
Contact Deb Hurley Brobst at deb@evergreenco.com or 303-350-1041.
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