More than 20 Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) elementary science teachers traveled to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Jan. 25 to tour the facility. The visit began with a Science on a Sphere presentation featuring Earth’s history. Teachers then visited the Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration facility, which is one of the world’s largest class 10,000 cleanrooms, or sterile spaces. The 86,000 square foot facility was used to prepare the Hubble Telescope for its four missions and is now being used for the development and building of the new James Webb Space Telescope. NASA plans to launch the telescope next year.
Also included in the visit was a tour of the Spacecraft Testing and Integration facility, a building that contains thermal vacuums, vibration platforms and acoustic chambers. The acoustic chambers are designed to simulate conditions found in a space environment. Teachers observed the James Webb Space Telescope on the vibration platform as NASA specialists ran tests to prepare it for launch.
Their experience ended with a trip to the visitor’s center where several NASA exhibits are on display for visitors to observe. Leigh Ann Anderson, CCPS science resource teacher for grades kindergarten through eighth, said the experience was valuable for the teachers. “This trip provided the teachers with first-hand knowledge about space exploration that will be invaluable in the classroom,” Anderson said.
