02.01.

07

Lindsay Crouch
757-864-3189

RELEASE: 07-007

NASA SELECTS BARRETT ELEMENTARY TO EXPERIMENT ABOARD THE

'WEIGHTLESS WONDER'

HOUSTON - NASA has selected K. W. Barrett Elementary School, in

Arlington, Va., to fly their school's experiment aboard the agency's
reduced gravity aircraft, the "Weightless Wonder," a modified
McDonnell Douglas DC-9.

Barrett was one of 20 NASA Explorer School (NES) teams selected for
this unique experience, which will give teachers the sensation of
flying in space as the aircraft carefully executes a series of
parabolic maneuvers. To produce each parabola, the DC-9 will make a
steep climb followed by an equally steep dive, creating about 25
seconds of weightlessness.

The teachers and students are working on the design and construction
for their proposed project to get it flight-ready. Once complete,
Andrea Donovan, second grade teacher; Margaret Frick, library media
specialist, Fred Delventhal, instructional technology coordinator;
and Susan Golden, science lead teacher, will travel to NASA's
aircraft facility at Ellington Field and the Johnson Space Center in
Houston.

The K. W. Barrett teachers will arrive at Ellington on Feb. 4 to

prepare for their flight that week. Following their flight, the
teachers will be able to share their experiences and immediate
findings with their students back at home via video conferencing
technology through NASA's Digital Learning Network.
The school was selected a NASA Explorer School in 2005, giving the
school an opportunity to propose a reduced-gravity experiment. The
program, which now has 175 teams nationwide, allows schools and their
communities to work with NASA in a three-year partnership to develop
the nation's future science, technology, engineering and mathematics
work force.

K. W. Barrett Elementary's experiment, Spinning Toys: Balance and

Motion in Microgravity, will explore how a microgravity environment
changes the way objects move. The team will be conducting six
experiments involving the movement (spinning, tossing and dropping)
of two common playground toys - a Hula Hoop and a Frisbee. Learning
experiences were designed to facilitate the understanding of concepts
related to gravity, microgravity, forces and friction.

The team will issue a final report three months after the flight that
analyzes the experiment's effectiveness, scientific findings and what
conclusions were drawn from those results. In February, the team and
group of second grade students will present their findings at the
Barrett Science Discovery Night and NES Celebration.

With this program, NASA continues the Agency's tradition of investing

in the Nation's education programs. It is directly tied to the
Agency's major education goal of attracting and retaining students in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM,
disciplines. To compete effectively for the minds, imaginations and
career ambitions of America's young people, NASA is focused on
engaging and retaining students in STEM education programs to
encourage their pursuit of educational disciplines critical to NASA's
future engineering, scientific and technical missions.

For more information on NASA Explorer Schools on the Internet, go to:

align="center">http://explorerschools.nasa.gov/portal/site/nes/
For more information on other NASA Reduced Gravity Programs, call
Debbie Nguyen of NASA Johnson Space Center at 281-483-5111, or visit
the Web at:

http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov

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