Each year a high school math club selects an applications topic for a year-long study. This year the club members chose the study of Mars in its orbit from the perspective of Johannes Kepler's laws of orbital motion, which they applied to data available on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons Web site. Although not apparent at the time, the math…

This article analyses the symbolic meaning of the Moon in two "bande dessinee" books from the Tintin series, Herge's "Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune," 1953) and its sequel "Explorers on the Moon" ("On a Marche sur la Lune," 1954). It argues that these two volumes stand out in the series for their graphic, narrative and philosophical emphasis on…

This study aims to identify the way upon which ICT can be employed in science teaching to develop scientific literacy level. The study has conclude to design a triple learning model (PEA) based on ICT and constructive learning strategy in teaching science through a context which cares for building positive trends of searching for knowledge and…

This dissertation starts from the premise that World War II changed Soviet ideas about manhood. The Soviet Union lost twenty-seven million combatants and civilians in World War II--twenty million of whom were men. Delineating, performing, negotiating, and resisting a variety of cultural ideas about manliness shaped Soviet militarism and ideology…

As the author began her teaching career at Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology (CVGS), it became apparent that many of her students were interested in doing research projects in astronomy and the number seemed to increase every year. At first she did not think that she had the tools to do a good job accommodating these…

The recent missions to Mars have produced a mass of data and information in all forms and have forced the minds of many people world-wide to rethink their own perspectives on life itself. This drama unfolding about 35 million miles from Earth, and digitally on our TV screens, is offering a growing reservoir for teachable moments. The curiosity and…

Exploring the Solar System in the elementary school curriculum has traditionally involved activities, such as building scale models, to help students visualize the vastness of space and the relative size of the planets and their orbits. Today, numerous websites provide a wealth of information about the sun and the planets, combining text, photos,…

Roman Tutor is a tutoring system that uses sophisticated domain knowledge to monitor the progress of students and advise them while they are learning how to operate a space telerobotic system. It is intended to help train operators of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) including astronauts, operators involved in ground-based…

An interstellar Bussard ramjet is a spaceship using the protons of the interstellar medium in a fusion engine to produce thrust. In recent papers, it was shown that the relativistic equation of motion of an ideal ramjet and that of a ramjet with radiation loss are analytical. When a mass loss appears, the limit speed of the ramjet is more strongly…

Although many are critical of the uptake of unproven practices by teachers and families in their search for treatment for children with reading difficulties, there has been little examination of the specific conditions that persuade teachers and families to adopt such practices. This article traces the emergence and evolution of a particular meme,…

This report was requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA), Office of Education in July 2009 to evaluate the Informal Education Program. The goals of the evaluation were twofold: (1) to gain insight into its investment in informal education; and (2) to clarify existing distinctions between its informal education…

The Calculator Controlled Robots activities are designed to engage students in hands-on inquiry-based missions. These activities address National science and technology standards, as well as specifically focusing on mathematics content and process standards. There are ten missions and three exploration extensions that provide activities for up to…

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is one of the biggest employers of engineers in the world--about 90,000 among its own employees and its corporate partners. So it's not surprising that NASA wants kids to learn more about engineering, become interested in the things engineers do, and experience the world of engineering…

Product life cycle (PLC) stages and diagrams are briefly and dispassionately covered in the standard marketing textbook format with little attention to the social-psychological experiences of those actually participating. This qualitative study used process drama as a teaching tool and a research instrument to probe the PLC phenomenon in a…

In 1959, Brigadier General Donald Flickinger and Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace II suggested that it would be more practical from an engineering standpoint to send women rather than men into space due to their lower body weights and oxygen requirements. When the Air Force decided not to pursue this project, Dr. Lovelace assumed leadership of the Woman…