Russell Billings
Kearsley High School, Kearsley Community Schools

Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory STEM Competition & Symposium

Objectives
Participants and attendees alike can witness firsthand the benefits and potential of STEM in our past and future. Interest and wonder come alive as students rediscover the thrill of adventure and discovery by performing in a “new underwater world” where the effects of gravity are diminished.

This program creates a framework that brings together students, community members, educators and industry and serves as a catalyst for educational improvement in a far-reaching program for all educational disciplines including Social Science, Language Arts, Business & Marketing, Career Counseling and Vocational Technology Programs. The program utilizes a unique and dynamic approach to draw students out of their complacency toward STEM and motivates them through an experiential learning adventure.

Student/Participation Objectives:
1. Inspire, motivate and reawaken students’
latent dreams by expanding their horizons.
2. Train students to market the merits of STEM
to other students and maximize student
participation.
3. Enhance the STEM pipeline from high
school (grades 9-12) into the undergraduate
level.

Program Objective:
1. Create and conduct the 1st Michigan
Regional NBL STEM Competition for 2007.
2. Establish a foundation that will serve as
both a catalyst and liaison for education
& industry.
3. Develop funding sources for the success,
continuation and expansion of this
exciting endeavor.

Approach
High school students “dive into science” by performing simulated space missions and space walks known as Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs) in a Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). Using principles of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), students design, build and construct modular space pods in 10 feet of water in the school’s swimming pool and conduct missions that simulate NASA’s Astronaut Sonny Carter’s NBL training facility at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Student “Astronauts” and “Mission Support Technicians” are responsible for designing, prototyping and building the mock space station modules to be used in the NBL. Student Mission Operations Technicians focus on coordinating the marketing and logistics of the two-day STEM event, which includes the NBL/EVA Competition, the STEM Discussion Symposium, Exhibit Hall Student Presentations, Student Lead STEM Seminars and NASA exhibits. The event concludes with a live videoconference with NASA astronauts in Houston, Texas. Student leadership consists of Project Managers who ensure that all deadlines, constructs and communication between all entities are coordinated and on schedule.

“Astronauts” trained by Scuba School International instructors perform NBL/EVA mission activities that include riding a stationary bike, conducting scientific experiments such as measuring the effects of volume as a function of buoyancy, and operating a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) designed by CAD college students at Mott Regional Technology Center.

Relevance
Yeats, a renowned poet, is quoted as saying that “Education is not the filling of a pail, but lighting the fire.” In my fifteen years as a high school physics teacher with experience in leading student teams in programs such as FIRST Robotics, High Powered Rocketry & Science Olympiad, nothing has lit the “fire” in students as what I have seen in response to this program. Already this program has received national attention and recognition from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Aerospace (AIAA), National Headquarters of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the Space Foundation and NASA. In a day and age where

The national goal of establishing a lunar colony by 2020, a manned Martian expedition by 2035 and the other countless challenges of alternative fuel sources and global warming will require tremendous input from the STEM sectors of our society. American students are more than capable to provide solutions to these complicated challenges as they face us in the dawn of the new millennium.

Clearly the youth of America are the greatest asset that we, as a nation, have. These valuable assets need to be developed for their own benefit and that of our nation as well.

Measurement
Last year 72 students directly participated in the inaugural run of this program with another 750 students and 350 community members viewing the mission runs, student exhibit booths and exhibit material on loan from NASA Glenn, GRC.

With only one year of experience in this endeavor, measurement is still in the developmental stages. Of the 32 student astronauts who participated in 2006, seven graduating seniors have gone on to pursue engineering degrees, with five additional students pursuing career fields related to STEM. Three students have requested assistance for placement in cooperative engineering work programs related to engineering. Many of the students who witnessed the event in 2006 have expressed an interest in participating in the 2007 program. Currently data is being collected to analyze the actual impact of this event and all of the preparatory activities for the 1st Michigan Regional NBL STEM Competition to be held in May of 2007.

Challenges
The challenges facing this program come largely from putting inexperienced students into roles where they are expected to produce real-world results. Students are forced to ask questions and to seek help from a wide group of professionals to help put everything together. Students face problems related to time, funding, training and equipment glitches. A diverse group of students quickly discover that they must work together as a team and effectively learn to communicate about every aspect of the program.

In response to this program, NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy has requested to come and participate in the 2007 program. Bringing a NASA astronaut into the project challenges us to raise this project to the next level of professionalism! While this is an extreme honor, it presents us with the problem of covering his travel and accommodation expenses. As this program is expanding to include up to 10 other schools, additional resources are needed to ensure its success, continuation and potential for future expansion.

Other institutions have expressed an interest in either partnering or supporting our program to take it to the next level. The following businesses and agencies are discussing their potential involvement for 2007: NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Johnson Space Center, The Space Foundation, National Headquarters of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), The Mott Regional Technological Center, Institute of Technical Training (ITT), Ecker Mechanical Contracting, Michigan State University, Kettering University, Northrup-Grumman, Zero-g Corporation, American Institute of Aeronautics and Aerospace (AIAA), Scuba Schools International (SSI), The DIVE Shop and Flint’s Longway Planetarium.