yesterday's field trip
So, here is basically what we did yesterday: We took a bus to an airplane hangar on the base where the event was held. I had three teams of students in my class, each of which had built a model of a mars rover. They presented their rovers to some of the other students there, and an Air Force researcher asked questions about what they had done. Then I sent two of my teams off to join other teams, and one team stayed with me. I was in charge of that team and two others from other schools. We were to build the habitat (bubble thing) together. Each team brought various pieces of plastic to make the 12x12x8 foot bubble. The bubbles are inflated by a box fan connected to the back, and connected by a tunnel to the bubbles on either side. This is what it looked like when it was finished:
Sorry the quality is so poor, I photoshopped some contrast, but the image just didn't turn out well. I'm posting it because it's impossible to understand what we did without seeing pictures.
The above image is facing the front, where there is a slit for a door and a piece of plastic inside for an airlock. There is a tunnel to the right connecting us to the next habitat, but nothing to the left because we were on the end. At the back is the tunnel to the fan.
We ate lunch inside of the habitats and then cut the holes to connect the tunnels. Then the kids got to crawl between the habitats and look at what the other students had done. Throughout the day they earned points, which made it kind of a contest for them (good for 10 year olds). They traded their points at the end of the day for a certificate and a prize (a "mars rock" made out of foam- actually pretty cool.)
What I learned from this:
-2,000 children in an airplane hangar are really loud.
-My students are very well-behaved compared to some other schools.
-If I do this next year I should start in December instead of January and do a really do job of it.
-Other teachers don't have nearly the regard for guidelines and regulations that I do.
-A day away from school building giant bubbles and playing with duct tape is where it's at if you're 10.
The day was semi-frustrating for me, but the kids loved it, which made it worthwhile. :)
Sorry the quality is so poor, I photoshopped some contrast, but the image just didn't turn out well. I'm posting it because it's impossible to understand what we did without seeing pictures.
The above image is facing the front, where there is a slit for a door and a piece of plastic inside for an airlock. There is a tunnel to the right connecting us to the next habitat, but nothing to the left because we were on the end. At the back is the tunnel to the fan.
We ate lunch inside of the habitats and then cut the holes to connect the tunnels. Then the kids got to crawl between the habitats and look at what the other students had done. Throughout the day they earned points, which made it kind of a contest for them (good for 10 year olds). They traded their points at the end of the day for a certificate and a prize (a "mars rock" made out of foam- actually pretty cool.)
What I learned from this:
-2,000 children in an airplane hangar are really loud.
-My students are very well-behaved compared to some other schools.
-If I do this next year I should start in December instead of January and do a really do job of it.
-Other teachers don't have nearly the regard for guidelines and regulations that I do.
-A day away from school building giant bubbles and playing with duct tape is where it's at if you're 10.
The day was semi-frustrating for me, but the kids loved it, which made it worthwhile. :)