Day 5-6(5/16/14 + 5/19/14): Miniture Mayhem

On May 16th, I learned just how short a young child's attention span can be, especially when they are either in first or second grade, especially when there are a lot of activities in one enclosed area. If the group of children are fourth grade or younger, the students usually participate in the Junior Astronauts Program. It is very similar to the regular middle school programs offered at the Challenger Learning Center, but simplified. The instructions are more straightforward and students only work in the spacecraft, as opposed to working in both the spacecraft and mission control. The tasks are shorter in order to tend to the shorter attention span they tend to have. There is also a shorter version of our rocket building task. The students are again allowed to create and build their own rockets, but do not need to focus on price and different kinds of materials. They only focus on the making of the body and nose cone and the designing of efficient fins. For certain groups, a planetarium is offered instead. The center's planetarium is similar to a fancy domed tent that stands up due to air pressure. A special project is placed on the inside and is able to project the nice sky from many different time periods, including 1804 and present day 2014. This program is just as fun and educational as the regular ones though.

The first group of the day was a pack of noisy first graders. It was amazing to see the teachers' ability quiet the students so quickly. There were also several parents with the group at the Learning Center to help the crew and parents keep the students both on task and in order. For their mission, the students went to rendezvous with Comet Enke as it passed through the solar system once again. While the students were at first able to perform their assigned tasks, they could only focus on their tasks for the first 10-15 minutes at a time. Several students decided to spontaneously change jobs, while others kept skipping instructions. While their reading is extremely proficient, students had some issues at following directions. Although the team did not rendezvous with Comet Enke, they did mange to find a new comet, Comet Assumption, thus making the mission still a success. After successfully discovering a new comet, the group went to build rockets. The students were very good at following and listening to directions. It also helped that there was a parent at all five tables. The rockets also launched pretty far. One almost made it completely across a full sized parking lot. They were overall a tiring, but delightful group to have.

During the second half of May 16th and all of May 19th, special groups of students came in to the Challenger Learning Center. All three of the groups were on their field trip due to a Steam grant, which is supposed to give underprivileged students a chance to explore the fields of science, engineering, math, and technology through special field trips, like the Challenger Learning Center, and how it all ties in with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. (Disclaimer: I am not entirely sure this what the Steam grant is for, but that is what it sounded like when it was explained to me) All groups did not only a Junior Astronaut version of the Mission to Mars, but they also visited our planetarium. The Mission to Mars was meant to show the children what it could be like to be explorers and pioneers off to unknown territory, which was Mars as opposed to the Louisiana Purchase. The planetarium was meant to show the students what the night sky would have been like in comparison in 1804(The year of the Expedition) versus the night sky today and show how they would navigate and what stories they would hear from Native Americans. Overall, all three group of students mostly well in the simulator. Unfortunately, many students had trouble following numbered directions. The planetarium unfortunately tended to put the kids to sleep as opposed to teach them.