Bunker Hill Elementary/SUNBEAMS Web Pages

Classroom Teacher: Mrs. Dang
Science Teacher: Mrs. Allen

My Week at NASA
Learning More About Goddard Space Flight Center
The Best NASA Experience
Our Visit to SUNBEAMS
Gases of the Sun
My Trip to NASA
The Week at NASA

Extreme Heat
What I Learned about the Sun
The Week at NASA
The Solar System
Liquid Nitrogen
Our Class Trip to NASA
THE NASA EXPERIENCE

My Visit to N.A.S.A.
Spacecraft
Solar Activities
My Favorite Day At NASA
Corona
Being at NASA

My Week At NASA

During my week at NASA I learned a lot of things about the Sun. I also learned how to make things like a spectroscope and a telescope . This is some information that I have about the Sun and it's characteristics. The Sun moves through a cycle of high and low activity about every 11 years. Approximately 73% of the Sun's mass is hydrogen. The Sun has six major layers: the core, radiation zone, the convection zone, and the corona. The corona's temperature is about 3.6 million degrees Farenheit. Solar flares are rapid releases of energy from a localized region on the Sun. An average sized solar flare can release enough energy in one hour to power the United States for 10,000 years. We took a tour and interviewed astrophysicists and watched a movie called "Colors of the Sun". It was fun.

Learning More About Solar Flares

I have learned a lot of things here at NASA. I have met a lot of interesting people. The first person I met on Monday was Ms. Stokes. She seems like a very nice person! I did get a chance to interview other people like Dr. Jo, Dr. Swartz, and Ms.Peters. I learned infomation about the Sun. I learned about Solar Flares and now I know that Solar Flares are explosions that are happening on the Sun.

The Best NASA EXPERIENCE

This week of March 7, 1999 my class and I went to NASA. My six grade class at Bunker Hill interviewed a lady named Dr. Jo. She is an Astrophysicist; that is a person who studies stars. We wacthed a movie called "Colors of the Sun". Next we learned about Emission Lines. Emission Lines are bright lines that are at a particular wavelength. Then we interviewed a man named Marvin Swartz. We talked about the Sun's Corona, which is the outermost layer of the solar atmosphere. The next day on March 9, 1999 we intervied another lady named Wanda Peters. She is a Thermal engineer.

On March 11, 1999 we intervied one more person. His name is David Linard. He is a Aeronautical engineer who builds Sounding rockets which are twelve foot rockets that launch spacecrafts into space. Then we built rockets and lanched them with water and alka-seltzer. My only regret to NASA is that my trip to NASA only lasted for one week.

Our Visit to SUNBEAMS

My sixth grade class at Bunker Hill Elementary had the opportunity to go to NASA GSFC for the week of March 8-12, 1999. Our main focus was to learn as much as we could about the Sun. We learned about spectroscopy, which is spliting light into emission lines. We had a chance to interview different people who work at Goddard. The coordinator Mrs. Stokes, treated us with great generosity. I also went to The Testing and Integration Facility, where we were given a tour of the facility.

My class also built two spectroscopes, two telescopes, a sounding rocket, a spacecraft and some minor rockets. We went to five differrent stations where we collected as much data as we could on the Sun. We saw an interesting video called "Colors of the Sun". There are so many important facts to learn about the Sun. I encourage everyone to learn about the Sun. There are so many things to be learned about the universe. NASA was the most educational experience of a lifetime.

Gases of the Sun

Did you know that there are 8 types of gases on the sun? There names are Silicon, Helium, Manganese, Iron, Nickle, Chromiun, Aluminum, and Magnesium. Do you know what the visible colors of the sun are? They are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. If you would like to know more about NASA. Go to the Air and Space Museum.

MY TRIP TO NASA

While we were at NASA, we went to different places at Goddard. We went for walks, and we interviewed different people. Some were astrophysicists, engineers, and technicians. We saw different machines, and saw movies about the Sun. We mostly talked about the Sun. We made things too. We made spacecrafts, rockets, and spectrographs. We launched the rockets by using alka-seltzer and water. We recorded information, went over the information, and completed our mission. We did a good job at it. We had lots of fun. And what I learned was the Sun has Sun spots. You know what's really incredible? In outer space, there are solar flares! I also learned that solar flares are very dangerous. They explode in outer space. I learned that here at Goddard, there are different types of jobs. They are really great! I learned about the Coronal Mass Ejections. It's great here. You should come here. It's the bomb! You will learn a lot of different things here.

The Week at NASA

This week at NASA my 6th grade class at Bunker Hill Elementary School walked around to different buildings to look at the different telescopes and satellites. My group and I got a demonstration of liquid nitrogen. He froze a tube then he hit it and it popped into pieces. The next day we went to the recreation building. We interviewed astrophysicists, engineers, and technicians. We made small rockets that shot about 5 feet off the ground using alka-seltzer and water. The week was fun. I hope we can come back soon.

This week we had a chance to go to NASA. We experienced a lot of new things. We learned a lot about the Sun. We learned what instruments go on a spacecraft. On Thursday we built 2 telescopes, 2 spectrographs, a rocket, and a spacecraft, but it wasn't real. I had a lot of fun at NASA . I hope we get a chance to come back!

Extreme Heat

What I have learned from NASA is that the sun has weather that is trubliant and dynamic, provoking the cosmic equivalant of winds, clouds, waves, precipation, and storms. I also learned this past week that there are symbols for Earth, which is a circle with a cross in it and for the solor sun, it is a circle with a dot in it. The sun is about 10,000 degrees of heat! When you look at the sun it looks like it is in one place but it rotates while you are looking at it. Did you know that liquid nitrogen is 130 degrees below 0. If you were to put your hand in a jar of liquid nitrogen, your hand would snap.

What I Learned about the Sun

Hello people of the world! You're on this web site because you like science or engerineering . Well I went to NASA for a whole week and it was great! I built a spacecraft with a group that went up to space and got information from the sun. I learned new words, and I interviewed many people with jobs at NASA. I got a free notebook to keep my infomation in and I watched a movie called "Colors of the Sun" . Did you know the sun was 10,000 degrees hot ! That's what I learned and like I said I had a great time!

The week at NASA

We interviewed Dr. Carol Jo Crannell and Marvin Swartz. We talked about a movie we saw, it was called "Colors of the Sun". It was talking about how to study the Sunspots on the Sun with a telescope. I learned about C.M.E.[CORONAL MASS EJECTION]. On tuesday we went to five diffrent stations. The first station was about storms; the second was about solar missions; the third was "Colors of the Sun"; the forth Sun 101; and the fifth between the earth and the Sun. We made a sounding rocket. We made 15 small rockets too.

I went with my 6th grade class on a exploration to NASA Goddard Space flight Center. While we were there, we learned about a spectrograph - which is an instrument that uses light or other electromagnetic radiation and its componet's wavelenths record the results photographically. Also a sunspot - which is a temporary disturbed area in the solor photosphere that appears dark because it is colder than the surrennding areas. It occurs in pairs.

My favorite part of the exploration to NASA's GSFC was when we built a model telescope, spectograph, soundingrocket, and a coronograph. I also learned about SOHO the solor and heliosphere observatory and what happened to it in space.

The Solar System

This week at NASA was great, but the week got messed up by the snow. I learned new things about the Solar System, planets, Sun, spectroscopy, solar structures, solar missions, the colors of the Sun and special machines. The sun is a spectacular star, if I could, I would like to live there, just because of the great sights. But my favorite planet is Neptune because of it's color. This week at NASA was a BRAND new expierience for me, and I had a great time at my five (5) day stay at NASA, I really hope that I will have another expierience at NASA.

Liquid Nitrogen

During my week at NASA I participated in the SUNBEAMS program, it was exciting and interesting . I learned interesting facts about to a building and saw a model of a spacecraft . Afterwards we interviewed a Thermal Engeener, an Astrophysicist, (an Aernautical Engeener etc.). Also during our week at NASA we built a spectroscope, telescopes, a spacecraft, and a sounding rocket. That we launched . I enjoyed my educational, intellectual, and exciting week at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Our Class Trip to NASA

On our class trip to NASA, every day we would have a morning meeting and disscuss what we did the day before. Then we would either interview someone or reaserch more data on the Sun. The people we interviewed were Dr. Carol Jo Cranell, Dr. Marvin Swartz, Mrs. Wanda Peters , Dr. Jeff Brosius, Dr. Franf Dr. David Linard, and Charlene Malloy. They all are scientist but study different topics. We watched a video called "Colors of the Sun". It was about the Sun and how it affects the Earth. Then Dr. Swartz took us on a tour to his office he is an Astrophysicist. Mrs. Stokes took us into a room and we had to put on 3D glasses so we could see the seporated colors that The Electromagnetic Spectrum would show. The colors that it displayed were different gases, just separated. Everyday around 12:00 pm we would eat lunch then do more reaserch. On Thursday we made a big rocket and little rockets which we launched with water and alka-celtzer. Then we made a telescope, a spectroscope, a spectrograph, and pretended to recieve data. I had fun at NASA and would love to come again, but this is my last year at Bunker Hill. Thank you for inviting us.

THE NASA EXPERIENCE

Our trip to NASA was very exciting. We learned lots of interesting things about the Sun. We learned that little black spots on the Sun are called sunspots, and explosions on the Sun are called solar flares. On our first day at NASA we were given our mission and the rest was history. At NASA my friends and I worked collectively in building different things. One of them was called a spectrograph. A spectrograph is an instrument used to collect and separate light. It was very exciting to do new things and meet and interview new people. You would be amazed to see how many people study and work with different elements of the sun.

On the third day of our mission it snowed and we could not go to school, but with a little teamwork and determination our mission launched on Thursday into space. It brought back a lot of data. I would like to thank my teacher Ms.Talbot for escorting us and helping us. I would like to thank Mrs. Allen for organizing our trip to NASA and making our mission run, and Mrs. Stokes for leading us to success and help to bring in some special guest. Also a thank you to the speakers.

My Visit to N.A.S.A.

On Monday we were staying at building 21. First we interviewed an astrophsicist named Dr Carol Jo Crannell. She studies the stars and the Sun. Second, we interviewed Marvin Swartz who is also an astrophsicist. He studies and tests instruments to study the Sun. After we were split into three groups. One group went on a tour of the building with Dr. Swartz and they learned about The Electromagnetic Spectrum. The second group learned about spectroscopy, and the third group watched a movie called ''Colors of the Sun''. Then we had lunch. We went to The Testing and Integration Facility. There we met Mrs. Peters and she showed us a clean room and a blanket. Then we interviewed her.

On Tuesday we went over what we did on Monday in the morning meeting. We were divided into five groups. The groups were: Solar Structures, Solar Missions, Sun 101, Between the Earth and the Sun, and there was a movie called ''Colors of the Sun''. We interviewed Dr. Jeff Brosious and Dr. Frank from the Netherlands.

On Thursday we had morning meeting. Then we were split into six groups. We had to put together a sounding rocket, a spacecraft, little rockets, a telescope, a coronascope, and two spectroscopes. We launched the little rockets with water and alka-seltzer. After lunch we interviewed David Linard. Then we had to do worksheets and went home.

I had a lot of fun at NASA. I learned a lot of things from my experience at N.A.S.A.

Spacecraft

WHILE ME AND OTHER STUDENTS WERE AT NASA, WE INTERVIEWED PEOPLE WHO WORKED AT NASA. SOME WERE ASTROPHYSICISTS, SOME WERE ENGINEERS. AT NASA, WE BUILT OUR OWN SPACECRAFT AND PUT TELESCOPES, SPECTROSCOPES AND MANY OTHER THINGS ON THE SPACECRAFT. YESTERDAY, AT NASA ME AND MY OTHER CLASSMATES INTERVIEWED A MAN NAMED DAVID LINARD. HE WAS AN ENGINEER TECHNICHIAN. MR. LINARD BROUGHT BACK THINGS FROM SPACE LIKE A FIN WHICH IS A PIECE OF MEDAL ON THE SIDE OF A SPACECRAFT. HE ALSO BROUGHT BACK A TELESCOPE AND SOME THINGS THAT I CAN'T EVEN NAME. BUT, IN MY OPINION, I THINK INTERVIEWING WAS THE BEST PART BECAUSE WE GOT TO MEET NEW PEOPLE. WHILE WE WERE AT NASA, I SAW THE MOTHER OF A FORMER STUDENT AND A SISTER WHO GOES TO BUNKER HILL. I FOUND OUT THAT SHE WORKED AT A PLACE WHERE THEY MAKE A BLANKET FOR SPACECRAFTS. NASA WAS VERY FUN AND EXCITING. I HOPE THAT ALL THE CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES ENJOY IT .

Solar Activities

MY WEEK AT NASA WAS GREAT. I GOT TO INTERVIEW SOME PEOPLE THAT WORK AT NASA. I REALLY ENJOYED BEING HERE AT NASA. AT NASA I GOT TO GO TO DIFFERENT STATIONS. AT NASA I LEARNED SOME THINGS ABOUT THE SUN. WHILE ME AND THE OTHER STUDENTS WERE AT NASA ,WE GOT TO GO TO DIFFERENT BULIDINGS. I HAD FUN . WE GOT TO BUILD ROCKETS. MS.STOKES HELPED US LEARN ABOUT THE SUN . ON THURSDAY WE MADE ROCKETSHIPS, SPACECRAFTS, TELESCOPE AND SPECTROSCOPE.TODAY, I WENT TO THE RECREATION CENTER. THERE, I COPIED DOWN SOME FACTS AND EXPLORED DIFFERENT STATIONS. I WENT TO THE COMPUTER LAB TO TYPE MY PARAGRAPH TO PUT IT ON MY WEB SITE.

My Favorite Day At NASA

This week at NASA has been really fun and educational. Through the week my class has been learning about the Sun and the main gasses on the Sun. My favorite day on the trip was Mar 11, 1999. On that day, my class had to bulid a spacecraft and the instruments to go inside of the spacecraft. My class had to build two telescopes, one spacecraft, two spectrographs, and a rocket to send up into space to study the Sun and take pictures of the Sun's corona. Then my class made even smaller rockets to launch up to space ourselves. Then they blasted up into the air using water and alka-seltzer tablets. This was my favorite day on the trip to NASA.

Corona

This week at NASA was interesting and exciting. I had lots of fun and learned alot! For instance, Do you know what a corona is? A corona is something very hot surrounding the sun. The corona consists of a highly rarefied gas with a temperature of one million degrees. Well anyway, there are alot of other things about the sun like it's sunspots. A sunspot is an area seen on the sun as a dark spot on the photosphere of the sun. Did you know that you could put up to 109 earths on the surface of the sun? On Thursday at NASA we split up into groups. The group that I was in made a coronagraph. A coronagraph is a telescope that observes the sun's corona. Other groups made sounding-rockets and telescopes. This week at NASA was very fun and I learned alot!

Being at NASA

At NASA I had a good time. I would love to go back someday. I learned about the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). We made mini rockets and we launched them. We had to put alka-celtzer in the cap bottle so it can launch. I learned about sunspots and solar flares. Solar flares and CME can hurt astronauts. The first day I thought it was going to be boring. It worked out great. I enjoyed working with the instructor, Mrs.Stokes, and interviewing astrophysicists, engineers, and technicians. This mission taught me a lot. I would like to thank the people who instructed this program, because I had a very good time spending the week at NASA.

Return to the SUNBEAMS home page