BIODIVERSITY WITH NASA
In a partnership with NASA, IASEA promoted a live chat via satellite between the astronaut Mike Barratt, in orbit on the ISS, and students from Paraty - RJ.
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PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
To foster Environmental Awareness and to develop Socioemotional skills in Brazilian students.
It was the first time that Brazilian students had the opportunity to speak alive with an astronaut aboard NASA International Space Station. The students could hardly believe it. Everyone was extremely motivated and involved.
The project had two weeks of activities: first, the students attended Lectures and Workshops on the Preservation of the Planet and its Biodiversity. Then, using all the knowledge acquired, they prepared questions for the Astronaut Mike Barratt.
The Workshops' activities were built with the purpose of developing five important socio-emotional skills in young people: Analytical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence and Teamwork.
BIODIVERSITY WITH NASA
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During two weeks of activities, 60 students from 3 schools in Paraty - Rio de Janeiro learned about the biggest environmental challenges faced by the Planet. The students had classes with very special guest speakers, including:
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Dr. Simon Boxall, Oceanographer, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
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Dr. Karen James, Researcher, Natural History Museum , London
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Dr. Kevin Zelnio, Marine Biology and Conservation Scientist, Scientific American
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At the end of the workshops, the students prepared several questions for the Astronaut Mike Barratt, based on everything they learned and discussed during the week. Nine questions were selected. Once the questions were chosen, they were translated into English, and nine students were chosen to ask the questions to Dr. Barratt. These students took English classes in order to understand and read their questions. Everyone was tremendously involved with the experience.
From NASA, Dan Garrison came to Paraty, to help IASEA with the entire connection between Paraty, Houston and the ISS. Dr. Garrison is the Chief Scientist of NASA's Astromaterial Research & Exploration Science Directorate (ARES), and also an advisor to NASA's Department of Educational Programs.
The Event Day arrived! On the stage, the students, side by side, had their questions in hand. In the audience, family, friends, guests and many, many journalists. Astronaut Mike Barratt would only have a connection for 9 minutes, the space station's overflight time over the Brazilian Green Coast, where Paraty is located. Everyone was very excited and anxious. Would everything be ok, would the connection work? Dan Garrison has previously told everybody that sometimes the connection works, sometimes not.
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Total silence. Everyone's attention was on Dan Garrison, on the corner of the stage, in connection with Houston. And suddenly, yes! We hear the voice of the Astronaut, straight from the ISS. The connection worked! We had nine minutes. The students started asking their questions (which NASA had already sent to Dr. Barratt 2 days before).
Mike Barratt's responses were amazing. The connection ended, and many applauses. The students were immediately surrounded by journalists. They were so proud of themselves and very self-confident in front of microphones, lights and cameras. Mission Accomplished!
The project became an unforgettable experience for all the participants.
For Sabrina de Araújo, a 13-year-old student who made one of the questions, talking to the astronaut was an "incredible and extraordinary experience". She said the project made her and her friends more interested in the sciences and the environment. Sabrina is a student from a public school in a low-income community. Smartly, she used all the attention from the journalists on the day of the event to ask for a science laboratory for her school and more projects like this one, that make "students more aware".