posted 01-16-2010 09:21 AM               

The winning experiments will have observably different results when the experiments are performed in the "1-gravity" or "1-g" environment of the classroom, compared to when the experiments are performed by astronauts in the "Micro-g" environment (one-millionth of 1-g) environment of the ISS. The apparatus for the demonstration must be constructed using materials from a tool kit provided to the astronauts on board the ISS. The kit consists of materials commonly found in the classroom and used for science demonstrations.

The experiment demonstration must take no more than 30 minutes to set up, run and take down. Experiment challenge winners and runners-up will be selected regionally and nationally by the Education Offices of the ten NASA centers. The ten regional winners, one national winner and one national runner up winner will have their experiments conducted by the astronauts onboard the ISS in the April-May 2010 timeframe. The experiments will be recorded onboard in HD video and the winners supplied with copies of their video before the end of their school year.

Bonus videos of microgravity demonstrations onboard the ISS from Fincke and fellow station astronauts Greg Chamitoff and Nicole Stott during their past missions are also included.

posted 01-16-2010 12:50 PM               

Another difference is that the GAS cans had to be underwritten by the experiment sponsor at the cost of $3,000 to $10,000.

posted 04-09-2010 03:20 PM               

NASA Announces Winners in the Kids in Micro-g! Challenge

The Kids in Micro-g! Challenge national winner and runner-up have been announced, along with the NASA center regional winners.

Judges chose the selected experiments from over 130 experiment proposals received from fifth- through eighth-grade educators across the U.S.

The final selection was made after reviews were conducted by three independent review panels. NASA astronaut Dan Tani, a flight engineer on the International Space Station Expedition 16 crew, provided invaluable advice on what could be completed by the current station crew.

This was by no means an easy selection, given the quality of the proposals received by the NASA ISS National Lab Education Projects Office.

The Kids in Micro-g! Challenge is a student experiment design challenge geared toward grades 5-8. Its purpose is to give students a hands-on opportunity to design an experiment or simple demonstration that could be performed both in the classroom and aboard the space station.

The apparatus for the demonstrations will be constructed using materials from a tool kit provided to the astronauts aboard the space station. The tool kit consists of materials commonly found in the classroom and used for science demonstrations.

The demonstrations will be recorded aboard the space station in HD video, and copies will be sent to the winners.