This week, our fifth grade class journeyed on a unique and interactive field trip to the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, one of ten NASA research and development field centers. During their afternoon off-campus, students participated in The NASA Ames Exploration Encounter (AEE), an educational program designed to inspire young learners in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Throughout their visit to Ames, students experienced science and exploration in action by participating in four hands-on field stations: Physics, Flight, Space, and Earth. Highlights included a study of the physics of gyroscopes, a simulation experience in which students played the role of air traffic controllers, and a discovery of how NASA scientists and engineers design aircrafts through the science of aeronautics.

The exploration program is a perfect segue into the next unit of study in the fifth grade science classroom. In the coming weeks, science teacher Katrina Zerga will transition her students into a unit called “Our Planet in Space”. In addition to examining Earth’s role in our solar system, students will learn to think like research scientists as they develop deeper understandings of space science, examining topics such as gravity, orbit, momentum, and velocity.

The field trip proved an excellent opportunity for our young scientists and engineers to work together, expand their minds in the fields of science and technology, and learn more about what it takes to explore the universe beyond our planet!

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