Stephen Hawking Microgravity Education & Research Center

A partnership of Space Florida and Zero G

Florida Science Supervisors ConferenceOctober 25, 2007

Gwendolyn AnelloVice President Education & Research

Zero Gravity Corporation321-537-4144

Gwendolyn@GoZeroG.com

Stephen Hawking Microgravity Education & Research Center

A partnership of Space Florida and Zero G

The Hawking CenterWill become the foremost center for education and research programs utilizing

microgravity in the world

• Conduct outreach activities, local programs & provide materials for Florida K-20 educators and students

• Develop microgravity certifications for teachers, 2-year, and 4-year post-secondary education programs

• Administer annual Professional Development Programs for teachers that incorporate weightless flights, including fundraising for regional district-based programs

• Hold a statewide student engineering competitions for Florida students, teachers, and their engineering projects

• Develop a statewide RFP for research flights to be competed to Florida universities and research organizations to build and establish Florida microgravity research expertise

• Promote Florida’s new center and education programs that feature Florida & its messages in high-profile programs

Impact On Florida Florida is home to ZERO-G Education & Research operations

Resource supports Florida’s aspirations to remain key player in commercial &

government aerospace activities

Creates an innovative, engaging education and outreach mechanism:• K-12: student and teacher education and inspiration• K-20: research capabilities unique to Florida• General Public: Ensures Floridians are reminded of the

importance of space to their state

Hosts Turn-Key, high visibility Space programs and Activities

Space Florida• Created to strengthen state’s

position as the global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration and commerce.

• Committed to attracting and expanding the next generation of space industry businesses:

• highly trained workforce• proven infrastructure • unparalleled record of

achievement

ZERO-G

• The only commercial, FAA-approved Weightless Flight experience worldwide.

• ZERO-G uses a customized Boeing 727-200 aircraft.

• NASA uses Weightless Flights to train astronauts & Ron Howard used them to film weightless scenes in Apollo 13.

• Each flight offers 15 segments of weightlessness lasting about 30 seconds per segment.

• Operates nationally, from most large regional and international airports.

• All individual seats sold/marketed through the Sharper Image

• www.gozerog.com

ZERO-G Education Programs• Programs include training/workshops

and flights

• Flights include seats for journalists and sponsors.

• Educational value confirmed by independent evaluations.

• Amazing student data coming in from veteran teachers

• Truly makes science and math cool to youth.

• Teacher program proven & customizable

• Student programs have tremendous potential

QuickTime™ and aH.264 decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

How ZERO-G works

• Aircraft flies through an “arc” in the sky between 24,000 – 32,000 feet

• A dedicated block of airspace is provided by the FAA

• Experience 15 parabolic arcs including: Lunar, Martian & zero gravity

• True weightlessness -- exactly the same as astronauts experience

Program Development• Two pilot programs in Florida in 2005 for 40 teachers

• 700 teachers total by the end of 2007

• 2007 Partnership with Space Florida for the Stephen Hawking Microgravity Education and Research Center

– Reached more than 1,800 educators through outreach by teachers, invited presentations

– Highly interactive web site launch at FAST 2007

– 17 Hawking Center Fellows, 17 teacher experts, mentors and Zero G education Coaches

– Hawking Center Teacher Guide available online

– Demonstration flight secured 2.5 million media impressions

– Professor Hawking Flight and Events: 206.5 million media impressions.

– 4 Flight-based professional development programs for 100 teachers in 2008

• Developing regional and district programs, university partnerships, outreach to promote STEM Education

Flight-Based Teacher Professional Development

Teacher Content Workshops provide training in specific Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) content

FlightsTeachers

demonstrate & record experiments

Experiment WorkshopsTrain teachers to create

exciting, visual flight activities that demonstrate STEM topics learned

Design ExperimentsTeachers work

together and with with students to

design experiments for the flights

Inspire StudentsTeachers share first

hand experience, incorporate photos

and video into classroom & other

presentations

Applicable Concepts

Observation & Prediction

Newton's Laws of Motion

Conservation of Momentum

Measurement

Geometry

Upcoming Programs for Teachers

2007

Workshop November 10

Center for Space Education

Kennedy Space Center

Flight December 8

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

2008

4 Professional Development Programs

Scheduled Quarterly

Accomodate up to 100 teachers

Locations TBA

www.HawkingCenter.org

Independent EvaluationThe fundamental strength … derive from its purpose, which is keyed into a

national interest in the science education of our youth: to adopt strategies that

increase the number of students who seek careers in Science, Technology

Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

• inspires K-12 teachers ...

• prepares teachers to conduct scientific experiments while aboard G-

Force One.

• consistently rated this program very highly for its objectives, operations,

and activities.

Curriculum Research & Evaluation, Hartford, CT February, 2007

From the Teachers…

During the 2006-2007 school year, a couple of changes were made to our school level science plan… we incorporated our experiences with Zero G into appropriate lessons, hosted a Family focused science night and generated excitement/interest in science by sharing weightless stories with students, parents and staff whenever possible!

In one year, our fifth graders improved the mean scale score by nine points and our percentage of students scoring at a proficient level (3 or higher) rose from 58% in 2006, to an impressive 74% in 2007.”

-Meagan Graves, Teacher Grade 5-Enterprise Elementary School, Port St. John, Florida

From the Teachers…

“Since I first began integrating the ZERO-G experience into my instructional materials three years ago, my AP Physics classes tripled in size!” Students are choosing to study Physics and Chemistry with Ms. Houts over nearly every other optional course thanks to the science buzz she created school-wide!

-Deb Houts, High School Physics and ChemistryNorth East High School, Oakland Park, Florida

Student Concepts• Student competition for middle

and high school students

• Student and teacher teams compete in a zero-g engineering task.

• Education & publicity value of first ever student ZERO-G program

• Each flight includes 35 seats for participants, media and sponsor discretionary use.

Benefits Encourage student interest & pursuit

of science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Turnkey programs to support and expand STEM education initiatives

Community outreach, high media interest promotes importance of STEM and teaching.

Turnkey programs and custom/partner programs

Link sponsors with exciting, innovative education programs

Extraordinary publicity opportunity for partners and sponsors

Hawking Center District Opportunities• Space Florida Supported Programs: 4 in 2008

• Grant programs

• State (MSP, Succeed, Choice)

• Federal (MSP, NSF, DOE)

• Florida Foundations

• Privately Sponsored Programs

• Statewide and local corporations

• Community organizations

• Unique sponsor benefits!

• Local Initiatives(2 - 4 flight programs)

• Program, flight and team sponsorships

• State/federal funds

www.HawkingCenter.org

Gwendolyn AnelloVice President Education & Research

Zero Gravity Corporation321-537-4144

Gwendolyn@GoZeroG.com