New Visions Students to Videoconference With Astronauts on Expedition 22
 
(Freeport, N.Y.)  — Seventy-five students from New Visions Elementary School will have a rare opportunity to speak to astronauts aboard Expedition 22 as they orbit the Earth. The youngsters will take part in a half-hour videoconference at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City on April 20.

To prepare for the encounter, Rick Angler, an educator from the museum, visited the school to teach students about space exploration.

“If you were going on a trip to space, what would you need to take with you?” he asked a room full of second-, third- and fourth-graders.

A spaceship, food, a space suit, and oxygen were among the answers students offered. Angler added water and fuel to the list and showed students a sample of space food, a dehydrated packet of chicken and rice.

“The food is dehydrated because water is heavy,” Angler told his young audience. “For every pound aboard the spaceship, they [astronauts] need four pounds of fuel.”

Wide-eyed with fascination, the students listened to Angler explain the components of an astronaut’s space suit and backpack, and how they function in space. He talked about the importance of water, temperature, solar energy and communication. Then a few lucky students had a chance to try on different parts of a space suit.

After Angler finished his lesson, students wanted to know what astronauts do in space and if they look for aliens. Angler explained that the astronauts fix equipment and conduct experiments. As far as looking for aliens, he said, “The astronauts have too many other things to do.”

Part of Freeport’s elementary magnet school system, New Visions is the district’s Museum School of Exploration and Discovery. The learning approach is through museum studies — making real connections that are expressed through interdisciplinary, thematic units.

“One of the goals of the videoconference,” according to Renee Crump, principal of New Visions School, “is to reestablish relationships with local museums to carry out the teaching philosophy of the school.”

This is the first time students from New Visions School will participate in a videoconference. They will be joined by fifth- grade students from Wantagh, ninth-grade students from Uniondale, and ninth- and tenth-grade students from Westbury. Students from each school will be engaging in various pre- and post-activities, including preparing questions to ask the astronauts.

“We’ll collect about 20 questions from the students,” Angler said. “Then they will be sent to NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] for approval.”

Freeport Public Schools is a diverse, innovative district on Long Island’s SouthShore serving about 6,750 students in grades Pre-K through 12. The district and its eight schools take pride in having the region’s only magnet schools of choice, as well as many longstanding and award-winning programs. For more information on Freeport Schools, visit the Web site at www.Freeportschools.org.

PHOTO: Suiting up as astronauts (l. to r.) are New Visions fourth-graders Javier Lechuga, Jordyn Chance and Rose-Star Pierre-Paul.  They are joined by Renee Crump, principal of New Visions Elementary School, and Rick Angler, a museum educator for the Cradle of Aviation Museum. Angler conducted an assembly on space exploration to prepare students for a videoconference with astronauts from Expedition 22 to take place at the museum on April 20.