Northrop Grumman Concludes Weightless Teacher Program in Nation's Capitol
30 Septembre 2006 - 6:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Teachers' Microgravity Experiences Have Succeeded in Delivering
Renewed Enthusiasm for Math, Science to Thousands of Students
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northrop Grumman
Corporation (NYSE:NOC) today completed its inaugural Weightless
Flights of Discovery program by turning the well-organized,
gravity-driven worlds of approximately 40 distinguished teachers
from the greater D.C. area upside down -- literally. The teachers,
representing 28 schools in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Arizona,
Louisiana and the District, participated in the final pair of a
dozen parabolic (or "zero gravity") flights that Northrop Grumman
has sponsored this summer to help teachers inspire students to
pursue technical or scientific fields related to space exploration.
The flights followed a hands-on science workshop held on Sept. 23
at a hotel near Dulles International Airport where teachers learned
the principles of microgravity. During the workshops, the teachers
also received assistance in developing experiments they conducted
during the flights to show how math, science and engineering
principles apply to weightless space environments. The weightless
flights are similar to training astronauts receive prior to space
flight. "Our goal with the Weightless Flights of Discovery program
has been to provide teachers and their students with a renewed
enthusiasm for the learning process, and show them that technical
subjects are not only entertaining, but downright interesting,"
said Tom Vice, vice president for business development for Northrop
Grumman' Integrated Systems sector. "From the initial feedback
we've received, we're confident that we've given the next
generation of space explorers a flying head start on learning that
math and science are not only fun, but cool. We expect that many of
them will go on to make significant technical contributions to the
nation's future and its global competitiveness." Since the
program's launch in June, the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights
of Discovery program has helped to inspire an estimated 10,000
students worldwide by giving more than 250 teachers from all 50
states, five U.S. territories and 24 countries the opportunity to
experiment with scientific and engineering principles in a truly
weightless environment. Northrop Grumman serves as the major
sponsor for the Weightless Flights of Discovery program, which was
developed and executed by the Zero Gravity Corporation. The
five-city national tour began in late June at Kennedy Space Center,
Fla. with subsequent touch downs in Huntsville, Ala., San Diego and
Cleveland. Following the flights, teachers received videotape and
photography of their flight experience to use as teaching tools in
the classroom. In addition to underwriting the costs of the
workshops and weightless flights, Northrop Grumman also provided a
$250 grant to each of the U.S. teachers involved in the program.
The grants were made by the Northrop Grumman Foundation. According
to Allan Miller, a 6th grade teacher from Sterling, Alaska and an
Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow currently working with the
National Science Foundation to improve science, technology,
engineering and math education programs in K-12 schools around the
country, the Weightless Flights of Discovery program has come along
at the perfect time. "By offering teachers an engaging, high
quality professional development experience, the Weightless Flights
program is doing exactly what the experts are calling for --
bringing more exciting, hands-on science into classrooms," said
Miller, who participated in the Weightless Flights program in
Cleveland earlier this month. "Even though I'm 3,000 miles from my
home classroom in Alaska, I've been able to share the energy and
absolute exhilaration of my experience with my students through
conference calls, pictures and video." As a result, added Miller,
his students have decided to build and conduct their own
microgravity experiment on a NASA sounding rocket next spring,
thanks in part to the additional grants provided by Northrop
Grumman. Florida Space Research Institute, a research organization
for the state of Florida, also provided national funding support
for the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery program.
AOL, an industry-leading educational resource for teachers and
students, served as the program's official online, interactive Web
site. Space enthusiasts can visit
http://homeworkhelp.aol.com/zero-g to review videos of teachers in
zero gravity action, photo galleries and fast facts about zero
gravity. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company
headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides
technologically advanced, innovative products, services and
solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information
technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology.
With more than 120,000 employees and operations in all 50 states
and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international
military, government and commercial customers. DATASOURCE: Northrop
Grumman Corporation CONTACT: Brooks McKinney, APR, of Northrop
Grumman Corporation, +1-310-331-6610, mobile, +1-310-864-3785, ; or
Rosalie Huerta Hagel of M. Silver Associates Inc., +1-954-765-3636,
ext. 26, mobile, +1-305-458-4823,
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