Here’s a high-flying mix: Newton’s Laws of Motion, teachers and ping pong balls.
Thanks to the Northrop Grumman Corporation Foundation, a novel science experiment was recently held in Cincinnati skies, making use of Zero Gravity Corporation’s aircraft. The flight was staged from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sept. 14.
The airplane makes a series of parabolic flight patterns that create lunar, Martian and zero gravity within the aircraft.
Participating teachers work in teams and collaborate with their students to create experiments that test Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Thirty participating middle school science and math teachers were able to observe their reaction and interaction with each other — along with more than 2,000 ping pong balls — as part of the one another’s natural movement in weightlessness.
Experiments have been a key aspect of the Northrop Grumman’s Weightless Flights of Discovery program since it was initiated in 2006.
Teachers take video and photos of their experiments back to the classroom to share with their students, inspire them to get excited about science and math, and ultimately choose careers in those areas.
STEM education
The goal of the effort is to inspire teachers who, in turn, can inspire their students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
The September 14 flight marked the participation of 1,150 teachers on 40 flights, during the last five years.
Following Cincinnati, the 2010 Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flights of Discovery program have been staged or will continue on to:
— Memphis (Sept. 16)
— Gulfport, Miss (Sept. 20)
— Salt Lake City (Sept. 22)
— Honolulu (Oct. 4)
A sixth flight was held earlier this year in McAllen, Texas.
Each flight will take approximately 30 science and math middle school teachers through a series of parabolas that create weightlessness.
To learn more about the Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flights of Discovery, go to:
www.northropgrumman.com/goweightless
You can also follow the progress of the teachers during their flights:
On Facebook, go to: http://www.facebook.com/GoWeightless
For Twitters, go to: http://twitter.com/goweightless
By LD/CSE