Wednesday, February 1, 2012

MEASURING UP: As always, science class was loads o' fun today. There were two (count 'em, two!) mini field trips during class. The first was to a courtyard off the lunchroom, where the kids' science teacher had installed a rain gauge. It was a shade of things to come.

One back in the classroom, the kids found out they each were going to build their own rain gauge. Yee-haw! We can hardly start to

The teacher had a prototype, which we took outside (marking the second field trip) and the kids took turnes being the rain. :)

We're looking forward to using the rain gauges at home. So much so, that when we heard there was a low chance of rain this entire weekend, we all were a tad disappointed, if you can believe that!

SOMBER ANNIVERSARY: This is a tough (to put it mildly) week for spaceflight fans. In a span of seven days, this is the 'season' when NASA lost the Apollo 1 astronauts, the Challenger crew and today, the fine folks on board Columbia.

Tonight, we watched a short and bittersweet video featuring several of Columbia's astronauts. CJ, Annabelle and I all cried while watching it. :/ It's so excellent to hear the excitement in the voices of the astronauts- particularly of Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli army, and  Kalpana Chawlam of India, representing their nations.

Damn, they were all so, SO close to coming home, mission complete. Little did they know, their fate was sealed when they left the launch pad and projectiles flew up damaging their heat shields.

Columbia was the very first oribter launched, STS-1, on Aprl 12, 1981, with just two astronauts aboard.  It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project on 15 July 1975.

What a contrast it is watching STS-1 as compared to reliving Columbia's tragic end.
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5 comments:

  1. grandpa rFebruary 1, 2012 at 10:24 PM

    Not supposed to rain for days!!! But that's the way Science goes.

    I remember Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia. That's also how Science and Technology go when you're working on the edge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeanne Walker HarveyFebruary 2, 2012 at 1:59 PM

    Hello, I just read your December 16th post in which you read the book I wrote, MY HANDS SING THE BLUES. And then Annabelle and CJ created truly wonderful collages inspired by the art of Romare Bearden and the illustrations of Elizabeth Zunon. I've begun posting children's collages which are inspired by the book on my blog, and wondered if I might post Annabelles and CJ's also? And they might might like seeing some other kids' collages. I love all the projects they've been doing! It's on True Tales & A Cherry On Top on which I review nonfiction picture books, mostly biographies: http://jeannewalkerharvey.blogspot.com/p/kids-artwork.html

    Best,
    Jeanne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jeanne Walker HarveyFebruary 2, 2012 at 2:03 PM

    Hello again,
    I forgot to leave my email address:
    jwh at jeanneharvey.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. aunt reneeFebruary 2, 2012 at 9:04 PM

    Frontier exploration is for the brave and true. And we are ALL so lucky we have this breed of brave souls gambling everything on our behalf.

    Second star on the right, straight until morning...

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  5. kakiskyFebruary 2, 2012 at 9:13 PM

    You are right, aunt renee - were/are so lucky those with "the right stuff" were willing to put it on the line.

    And you're right, grandpa r - science and tech on the edge can be dangerous.

    And yes, Jeanne, help yourself to the kids' collages. :)

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