Students attending a boarding school in Maine have seen their hard work in the fields of science and aerospace rewarded through positive recognition.
The project, an experiment in scientific ballooning, was highlighted at the National Council of Space Grant Directors Fall meeting held late last month. Ironsat as the project was dubbed, was funded by a grant from the Maine Space Grant Consortium, and is part of a pilot program begun in the spring as an enrichment activity at Ironwood Maine, a therapeutic boarding school for teens.
The students showed off their efforts to an audience of over 250, outlining the process of designing, building, and launching a high-altitude balloon carrying a NASA-like payload. The balloon was capable of lifting a heavier load into near space.
The scope of the experiment provided the students with a unique educational opportunity including, designing and retrieving the payload, and building the circuitry for the module. The remote sensor circuits were simple, student-built PC boards that converted temperature changes to a tone, which was then broadcast over a radio frequency. This allowed the students to measure atmospheric temperature and humidity as the weather balloon lifted above the ground and steadily gained altitude.
In the end, all pieces of the experiment had to be combined into one final project, a task that required real teamwork from a group of students.
Project Coordinator Mark Ford, praised the hands-on aspect of such a project:
"The balloon launch was not an
iPod simulation or a classroom lecture, but a hands-on project that required real teamwork, " Ford said. "The kids put all the pieces together and sent it up."
Making the feat even more impressive was the source of the teamwork - a
therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens. Ironwood Maine is known for taking a different approach in their treatment of out of control teenagers. The school combines elements of a traditional boarding school and a specialized therapeutic treatment program to derive a plan that works for teens whose behavior is often considered out of control.
This aerospace project was no different ? taking a real NASA-type aerospace project, and making it a success through basic elements of teamwork. The teens were able to function effectively as a
team, allowing for greater success than they could have experienced as individuals.
All was not perfect however. As Ford points out, this was a real-world scientific experiment, meaning there were successes and failures alike.
"It's real, and for some of the students the results will be awesome, and for others the experiment will not work or something will go wrong and it will be heartbreaking. But this is
the real world."