Creating An Education Revolution With A Space Academy Theme.
by Ivor Dawson
Would school have been more exciting if you learned anatomy from a real medical doctor? How about learning ancient writings from an Egyptologist? What if you had the chance in elementary school to pilot a real airplane — would you have taken it? Fifty Los Angeles Unified School District students, from a variety of backgrounds and skill levels ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade, had those opportunities last September while participating in a one of a kind after school science program.
The idea of creating a space academy is not new. Many are very expensive and most require lots of travel. They also create what I call “the parachute effect.” Science camps and museum field trips often create an effect where a child suddenly finds themselves in front of an exhibit or at some facility with little or no background or preparation. It’s as if they just dropped in by parachute. What I created was an aviation and space academy that would take the best elements of other programs, and make it cheaper, more convenient, and have it taught by experts. We would also take the time to do things right, time that most teachers never get in class when it comes to science.
After six hours of regular classes, I didn’t want to remind students of their typical school routines. My aim was to teach without being predictable.
Each day, TSM instructors used music, videos, arts and crafts projects, costumes, props, simulators, puppets, and just about anything else that would grab a student’s attention.
With a past career in theater, I know how to use a stage and props to get someone’s attention. Many people thought I was crazy to even try such a scheme. I wanted students scheduled three hours a day, three days a week for six weeks, for a total of 54 hours of instruction. Naysayers asked how I could possibly keep a kid interested in a science enrichment program three days a week for six weeks.
Keeping the kids interested was key. Short of putting them in airplanes and letting them take the wheel, I wanted students to experience the world of an aviation and space academy. I found it wouldn’t be difficult to arrange to put kids in airplanes — and that many of them would get the opportunity to take the controls and actually fly! Last November, at the completion of the Academy courses, more than 20 of our cadets got that opportunity.
Eight year old Kevin gets a real hands-on experience
Everyone should get to see the wide-eyed look on the face of a ten year old when the flight instructor asks them “do you want to fly the plane?” It’s priceless! Many of our cadets said that they had dreamed of the experience for weeks.
It has always been my objective with TSM to do the things I always wanted to experience in a school setting but never had the chance. So that’s what we do. By bringing the adventure of space into the classroom, we give students a reason to be really excited about going to school.
With support from Lockheed Martin Corp., we embarked on our after school concept to stay on a school campus for 54 hours. I then created a curriculum that I hoped would be fun as well as comprehensive. Inspired by the PBS series “Connections,” created by James Burke, I wanted to see a subject taught in chronological order. Providing historical context makes it easier to show students the connection between history and the development of technology. If successful, the subjects would make more sense to students, and thus become relevant and even more fun for them. We worked our program at three San Fernando Valley schools: Pomelo Drive and Welby Way Elementary Schools and the Pacific Lodge Boys Home.
The TSM After School Academy teaches three subjects: Aviation and Space, Space Biology, and Communications. I figured that if you teach aviation and space, it makes sense to also teach how flight and space travel affects the human body (space biology). It then makes sense to teach what aviators and astronauts do much of the time: collect and transmit data (communications).
TSM developed and built three full-scale simulators designed to mimic hardware used by astronauts that could be brought into the schools. Each simulator serves as a hub for the three subjects being taught. The centerpiece for Communications is a Mission Control Console, complete with video teleconferencing. For the Aviation and Space segment, we have the 12-foot long Shuttle-like Orion Flight Simulator with its many responsive flight controls and hydraulic
actuators. Space Biology centers on the Odyssey SpaceLab Module. The nine-foot long SpaceLab is equipped with seven functional workstations including one with a robotic video-microscope. The simulators encourage students to learn how to use the inviting equipment.
We also designed an extensive arts and crafts program. Students built projects integrated into the lesson plans. Our mass-produced kits for each cadet ranged from heart valves and anatomical overlays in Space Biology to telegraphs and anemometers in Communications. In Aviation and Space, cadets built aerodynamic paper airplanes with airfoils, testing them on site in our own wind tunnel. Planetary Mobiles were created and painted with the planet’s unique makeup in mind. The 15 different projects made classroom instruction more engaging and gave each cadet the opportunity to bring their finished projects home, creating a conversation piece, reference material, and proof to parents that their child learned something new that day.
When cadets weren't making things, they were participating in unique demonstrations. After discussing the invention of radio, the cadets recreated an old time radio broadcast complete with “foley” sound effects. Donning latex gloves, each cadet explored the makeup of a cow’s heart with its giant aorta and vena cava. They played “Simon Says Touch Your Bones” as a way of remembering the makeup of the skeleton. Mime artist and Jet Propulsion Laboratory education outreach specialist Richard Shope directed cadets in a dramatic piece called “How Jupiter Met Europa” to show how the planet and its satellite got their names. To demonstrate how languages evolve, an arm puppet representing Mission Control interacts with a human character on TV who is lost in space. The two speak only in street slang and radio jargon.
Dr. Harvey Wichman was our lead instructor for Space Biology. Professor Wichman of Claremont-McKenna College was a physiology professor, a flight instructor, and a medical doctor with active duty astronauts as friends and clients. World renowned Egyptologist Dr. Maureen Clemmons agreed to come on board as lead instructor in Communications. Other instructors and special guest teachers included Jacques Bordeaux of the California Science Center, and Flight Instructor Ceci Stratford.
In the end, we covered a staggering amount of general science, technology, and history in a relatively short amount of time. At least 50 percent of all the Earth, Physical, and Life Sciences that students are required to learn in their first eight years in school were accomplished in just six weeks!
But the best part for us was knowing that, in spite of all the fun the cadets were having they were also remembering what they learned. Some cadets went home and explained their projects to their parents. Many went back to school with science books they borrowed from the library. Some pestered their teachers for more information on a given topic while others wrote unsolicited reports. Students at the Pacific Lodge told caseworkers that their career goals now included wanting to be pilots and astronauts.
I set out wanting to create a revolution in space education. I now believe that we may have stumbled onto a formula that can create a revolution in the teaching of all subjects in every type of school. We’ve proven that science can be fun and even exciting. The same methods can be used to teach any subject. The Traveling Space Museum After School Academy has proven to be more than worthy of further investigation.
Ivor Dawson
reprinted by permission of O. C. Space, Larry Evans, Publisher