TMCnet News
Teachers Feel Zen Of Zero(Tampa Tribune (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 1--CAPE CANAVERAL -- Middle school teachers from the Tampa Bay area and across Florida slipped free from the Earth's gravitational constraints Tuesday, part of a program to nudge students toward careers in math, science and engineering. For David Mershon, who teaches science to eighth-graders at Lakeland Highlands Middle School in Polk County, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "'2001: A Space Odyssey' is one of my favorite movies," said Mershon, a physics teacher dubbed "the Wild One" by his teammates. "This is a kid's dream." Mershon, 45, managed a few midair twists and somersaults during his ride aboard a special Boeing 727, but he had to skip a couple of zero-gravity experiments that he was going to bring back to his class. About 30 teachers from across Florida went up on the morning flight. Teachers were strapped into seats at the rear of a wide-open cabin area, and when the plane reached altitude, around 35,000 feet, they bounded forward into a large romper-room area. As the aircraft rose sharply, everyone was flat on their backs and the G-forces made them twice their normal weight. Then, as the plane crested and headed back toward Earth, everyone lifted off the floor and danced in midair, lighter than feathers. The plane plummeted, dropping about 10,000 feet in about 20 seconds -- faster than the human cargo, which caused the weightlessness. Most of the teachers squealed like children and giggled -- a common reaction, flight directors said. Some weren't so chipper, though. A few reached for vomit bags. In all, teachers endured 15 weightless experiences, each lasting about 20 seconds. Some bumped heads. No one was seriously hurt. The opportunity is offered by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, which helped to catapult about 60 Florida teachers into weightlessness on Tuesday in two flights from the Kennedy Space Center shuttle landing center. This parabolic or weightless flight is true weightlessness, not a simulation. NASA has used parabolic flight to train astronauts for 40 years. About 200 teachers from across the state applied for the flights Tuesday. Five from the Tampa Bay area, including Mershon, were selected: -- Jonathan Coombs of Lakeland, who teaches science in seventh and eighth grades at Lawton Chiles Middle School. -- Arturo Rodriguez of Port Richey, who teaches science in sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Chasco Middle School. -- Karen Stewart of Land O' Lakes, who teaches science to seventh-graders at Charles Rushe Middle School. -- David Cox of Tampa, who teaches science in sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Benito Middle School. The teachers attended a workshop last month in Melbourne, where they designed experiments to perform while weightless -- tossing a Koosh ball, for example, seeing how water reacts, and watching a Slinky when weightless. The answer to the last one: It stretches out into a straight line and then just hangs there. Zero Gravity Corp. is the only company in the nation licensed to offer weightless flights to the public. Through the Northrop Grumman Foundation, teachers got the ride of a lifetime for free and are now certified "zero-nauts." Zero Gravity typically charges about $5,000 per customer. Since launching Zero Gravity in September 2004, the company has flown more than 3,000 people on 150 weightless flights. "It was such a rush," said Stephen Sims, a math teacher in Volusia County. "The scientific part of it went right over me at first, because I was having the time of my life. I was grinning the whole time." BY THE NUMBERS 30 Minutes to get to the right altitude before parabolic flights could begin 10,000 Distance in feet the airplane dropped within 20 seconds to create weightlessness 60 Number of teachers who took the weightless flights on Tuesday 15 Periods of weightlessness experienced by teachers on each flight; each episode lasted about 20 seconds 0 People injured -- and the combined weight of everyone on board during the parabolic portion of the flight. 4 Number of people on the flight who made use of the vomit bags Source: Northrop Grumman Foundation Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or [email protected]. To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |