Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Girl Scouts Rock NASA


More than 150 Girl Scouts from across Alabama converged in Huntsville on November 6-7 to visit NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Nearly two-dozen cadettes and senior-level scouts visited the Marshall Center to discuss career opportunities in science, engineering and aerospace with NASA engineers. They also toured Marshall's key engineering facilities, including the East and West test areas, where they viewed a liquid nitrogen demonstration. The group also visited the Huntsville Operations Support Center at Marshall - a mission support facility that distributes secure voice communications, video and science and spaceflight data anywhere in the world. On Saturday, Girl Scouts built rockets and launched them at the Space Center.
Girls also participated in an egg drop, which helped the girls explore gravity, drag, air pressure, and how to design a structure that would safely carry cargo to the surface of a planet. The girls worked in teams to create structures that would hold the egg and cushion it as it was dropped. They also had to design and construct a parachute to collect as much air as possible so the cargo (egg) would drift safely to the surface.. Girl Scouts also had the opportunity to view the Space and Rocket Center museum and enjoy rides simulating experiences in space. Click here to see the entire photo gallery.