Not Back to School Day

CLINGING TO SUMMER: Many kids - and adults - went back to school today, but not the student body of MPA. We decided to celebrate our non-traditional schedule by going to a (very small) amusement park, Bullwinkle's Family Fun Center in Edmonds.

It was our first trip there. An instant attraction was the water bumper boats, which the kids hadn't experienced before. They had fun floating and shooting (a small stream of water) at each other.

They were pretty wet when they were done, so for the second go-round, they both donned ponchos. I couldn't help but think CJ looked like Emporer Palpatine.

They also drove the standard bumper cars, and played some putt putt golf. I think it's only the second time the kids have played miniature golf. Annabelle's short game is a little rough, and in putt putt golf, it's all short game ;) . On the other hand, CJ scored a hole-in-one on hole 11! Go CeeJ!

One of Annabelle's favorite attractions was a bungee-assisted trampoline, where they got to bounce several feet high. "I feel like I'm on the moon!" Annabelle kept exclaiming with glee.

 CJ wasn't as enthused. He didn't really trust the apparatus.

While we had fun for sure, if I were mystery shopping the place the review would not have been stellar. The facility was completely devoid of sparkle and shine, and some spots were just rough looking, including this durpy dragon, whom Annabelle tried to impersonate, complete with peeling paint and covered by dead vines.

By and large, the staff who worked there seemed to be zombies, definitely not in love with their jobs, and not in like with working with kids, either.

In other news, I can't tell you how many times today I thought of Rick, starting his new job as a third grade teacher at Kent Elementary School. I have no doubt the kids loved him and he did great.

MARK YOUR LUNAR CALENDAR: You'll want to save the date of Sept. 22 on your calendar. It's International Observe the Moon night, inspired by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's mission to scout the moon.

Today, Jet Propulsion Laboratory posted a video about the event on Facebook. The video is fantastic. Not only does it inform people about Observe the Moon night, it does a wonderful job of explaining why we always see the same "face" of the moon - a topic that can be tricky to describe to kids (or adults for that matter!) I'd highly recommend checking it out: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=1135

PUT YOUR THINKING CAPS ON!: Another day, another NASA contest. The one I posted about yesterday had to do with choosing a target for the Cassini mission, but it is only open to grades 5-12, which took Bee and CJ out of the running. The contest announced today involves naming an asteroid, and it's open to students around the globe. From the NASA press release: "Students worldwide have an opportunity to name an asteroid from which an upcoming NASA mission will return the first samples to Earth. "Scheduled to launch in 2016, the mission is called the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx). Samples returned from the primitive surface of the near-Earth asteroid currently called (101955) 1999 RQ36 could hold clues to the origin of the solar system and organic molecules that may have seeded life on Earth. NASA also is planning a crewed mission to an asteroid by 2025. A closer scientific study of asteroids will provide context and help inform this mission. The competition is open to students under age 18 from anywhere in the world. Each contestant can submit one name, up to 16 characters long. Entries must include a short explanation and rationale for the name. Submissions must be made by an adult on behalf of the student. The contest deadline is Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012." The asteroid in need of a name was discovered in 199 by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research survey (LINEAR) survey at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. The asteroid has an average diameter of about one-third of a mile (500 meters).

There's a Web site with more info about the contest, and NASA Goddard has a cute video about it, too. 

Before you get too crazy with your asteroid name ideas, know that there are rules for naming asteroids. For example, it has to be 16 characters or less long, and it's preferably one word. It has to be pronounceable (in some language) and written using Latin characters. Naturally, it also has to be non-offensive. And it cant' be identical with or too similar to an existing name of a minor planet or natural planetary satellite.