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Many educators dream that their schools receive praise at the state level.
At Tallmadge Elementary School, students surpassed that goal – 1.3 million feet, to be exact.
The school was one of 13 US states selected this year to meet with a NASA astronaut at the International Space Station, 250 km above the Earth.
"You are recognized at the level of space," said principal Jake Campbell on Wednesday to nearly 600 students from the Lancaster School.
The nine-minute question-and-answer conversation took place on amateur radio, or "ham radio", at precisely 10:56 am, the exact moment when the habitable satellite passed over the Midwest at 17,500 mph.
Students eagerly sat in a decor of bright star – shaped balloons, astronaut wall decorations and solar systems and a giant inflatable planetarium dome, which they have visited after the event. All were silent so that their questions could be clearly heard during this special moment.
When they heard for the first time the astronaut Serena Auñon-Chancellor break through the sound of the radio, they waved, smiled and threw their hands in the air with excitement.
Nineteen students had the opportunity to ask him questions. Many were scientists, like "How many times do you travel the Earth in one year?" Others were more practical, including: "How do you take a shower in the space?" and "How do you scratch your nose in a spacesuit?"
The first problem was solved by a calculation problem: 16 times a day (5,840 per year).
Others: their hygiene is a kind of modified sponge bath; and scratching your nose is harder than you think. This requires using the side of their helmets as an improvised scratching post.
Adelynn Mallory, a 10-year-old fourth-year student, asked Chancellor Auñon what had surprised her the most during an outing in the space or time spent in front of the station.
His answer: You can easily move large equipment because a weight of 300 pounds is without weight in space.
"I could not find the answer in a book, so I had to ask them," Mallory said.
Diane Warner, site director for programs after the Lancaster School in Tallmadge, addressed the group that made Wednesday's event possible: ARISS, or amateur radio on the international space station.
Warner is also responsible for the activities of the Amateur Radio Club of Lancaster and Fairfield County. The club donated materials that students could use and endowed it during the conversation with the astronaut.
It took months of preparation, including installing two antennas on the school roof and using coaxial cables to connect all the technology.
A grant from the Fairfield County Foundation has covered some of the expenses, Warner said.
This special day was the culmination of months of teaching program on the theme of space. Preparations included research on NASA and amateur radio and the rich history of space exploration in Ohio. Some students completed a comparative writing work after tasting ice cream, which was freeze-dried.
Fourth and fifth year students will visit the high school planetarium and students after school will build robots.
The goal is to spark students' interest in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics, or STEAM, all year long, said Gordon Scannell, ARISS volunteer.
"When children realize that it is not a person who is in the next room and that they are chatting with someone about space, it's a really experience." magic, "said Scannell.
@AlissaWidman
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