Elementary Education Program

General Description

The EEP (Elementary Educational Program) is a program whereby Spacesim teaches elementary level students from across the city about space and space sciences. This program, run by our EEP commanders, reaches out to inform people within the area of the existance of Spacesim, provides income, and educates young people about space and space sciences.

During EEPs, students from various elementary schools visit our facility where they spend either half or a whole day learning about space in various interactive ways, not limited to stations, contrary to popular belief.

Types of EEPs

There are three major programs offered by sim. These are, in order of sophistication and age group:

Galactic Tours/Pit Demo (K-4)

This program consists of a "tour of the Solar System". in this program, the participants are given a "galactic passport", and will visit various "stations", each with an interactive station which will teach the participant about a planet. This is essentially an elaborate "Pit Demo", with lots more detail and information added, but the terms "Pit Demo", and "galactic tours" can be, and often are used in conjunction, and mean essentially the same thing.

Pit Demo Stations

Mercury - Here the participants learn about the orbits of the planets

Venus - Here the participants learn about the greenhouse effect, using a bright floodlight, and a jug coated in paint, which mimics the atmosphere of Venus.

Earth - The presenters skip this one.

Mars - Here the presenters teach the participants about meteor impacts. There is a large container of flour, representing the mantle of a planet, with a top layer of coca powder to simulate the crust of the planet. The participants are welcome to throw various objects into the bin, which will simulate an meteorite strike accurately.

Jupiter - Here the presenters explain gravity, and how larger planets have much greater gravity than smaller ones. The presenters have the participants jump on a trampoline, representing the gravity on Earth. The participant is then restrained, to represent the gravity on a larger planet. The infamous Jupiter donkey is finally used to represent the gravity on Jupiter.

Saturn - Here the presenters explain the principles of centrifugal force, using a salad spinner and tiny paper stars.

Uranus - No demo present. A demonstration of methane spectra is being considered.

Neptune - The presenters demonstrate cryogenics, in a cool, explosive way. The techniques include demonstrations using liquid nitrogen, showing the various effects upon a substance that cold has; the ever-popular Liquid Nitrogen Marshmallows make an appearance here.

Pluto - The presenters demonstrate the techniques used by astronomers to seperate solar bodies from stars.

Cosmic Sciences (4-6)

This program is similar to a Galactic tours, but is more advanced, with many more stations.

Stations:

Pit Demo - (see above)

Electrostatics - Here the presenters do various activities demonstrating the effects of electrostatics using Sim's Van der Graff generator, and various objects.

Newtonian Physics - Here the presenters teach the participants about the basic properties of motion, which are inertia, friction, and momentum. 'Frictionless' carts are used to demonstrate inertia, and a hovercraft to demonstrate friction, or lack of it, and how it applies to doing work in space.

Rocketry - Here the participants learn about the means of propulsion, and of the principles of orbits. In this station, a 1:96 scale model of the Saturn V rocket is used to show how rocket stages work. Sim also has a piece of fire-resistant ceramic, similar to what the shuttle has, and the presenters demonstrate its effectiveness using a propane torch.

Satellites (7-8)

Here the participants get to design their own satellite, using a list of pre-determined parts. It is up to them to define the satellite's purpose, and provide market data that will prove the satellite's worth. The satellites are then judged, and the group with the most profitable design will be declared the winner. The intent of this is to teach the participants the basics of designing for profitablilty, and the concept of supply/demand.

Mini-Missions (all ages)

Often confused with "training missions", a mini-mission is a mission conducted solely by participants. Here, the participants undergo a mission similar to our 96 hour main mission. This program is probably the best of all of the programs due to its flexibility. We can tailor-make experiments for the age group, or even have the participants make their own experiments. The mission may last from a half-day to as long as we can humanely go (4 days is regarded as the maximum, but we can, and will gladly go over). This activity may be done by one class, or more than one if we have multiple-days, and various dockings with space stations and crew transfers.

The Educational Branch

EEPs, along with the Planetarium program, compose the educational branch of Spacesim. Spacesim typicaly charges $125 for a half-day or $175 for a full day. The half-day programs are Cosmic Sciences and Galactic Tours. For mini-missions, we generally charge $175 for each full day, but the costs are flexible for long-haul missions.

Leadership

Every year, one or two Spacesim members take charge of the organization of the EEP program by disseminating information, recruiting of presenters, verifying presentation facts, and making sure no checks bounce (that was a bit of humour). The EEP Commanders occupy places of great importance, and it's thanks to their efforts that Spacesim continues to function.

See Also

• Planetarium
• To request an EEP, e-mail bfoo2@hotmail.com