An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, Illinois, USA on 05 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:44 UTC.
The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and N9CHA. The contact should be audible in most of eastern North America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. In addition, the audio should be available via IRLP and EchoLink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.
Gail Borden Library is over 130 years old with a long history of providing materials and services to community members. The first library building was donated by the family of Gail Borden, the inventor of condensed milk. The Library has a history of being innovative. GBPL was the first library in the country to create a center for preschoolers, offering intellectual and social stimulation in a creative, hands-on environment. GBPL was on of the first libraries in the country to install a fiber optic network, linking the library with the City of Elgin and six area schools. Other distinguishing hallmarks include developing services for the Hispanic population with the addition of Spanish-language materials and formation of a steering committee which led to the creation of a literacy training organization. The contact will be part of our Space: Dare to Dream exhibit which is bringing the daring and imagination of the space program through NASA materials and partnering with our local school district. The students participating in the contact represent 12 of the schools in the Elgin U-46 school district which covers 90 square miles and serves portions of 11 communities in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties with over 40,000 children in grades preK-12. They have been studying about space and scientific activities aboard the ISS. The event is planned to have live video streaming. Visit http://www.gailborden.info/webcast/ariss/ for more information.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. When do you anticipate the first "kid" going into space? 2. How long have you been living in the ISS and how many people can live there at a time? 3. What do you eat in outer space? 4. Do you have to wear a lot of special equipment while in space? 5. What are your daily jobs up in space station? 6. In space is it different at day then at night? 7. Do you miss your family? How long do you have to be away from them? 8. Are you weightless in the ISS and if you are, how does it feel? 9. Is it hard to stay in space so long? 10. How good are the computers that you use? 11. What made you want to become an Astronaut? 12. How much will the Aercam help with the EVA's outside the Shuttle and ISS? 13. How will exploring space now going to help people my age when we grow up and what changes could be made in our lives because you are in outer space? 14. How do you read in outer space and what books are you reading now? 15. Is it ever sort of scary or strange being in space? 16. What do you see on the surface of the moon? 17. What experiments are you currently working on that will have a significant impact on man on earth and what have you discovered so far? 18. Who is your favorite author? 19. What is it like blasting off and being in space? 20. What will you do when you return to Earth?
Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .
Next planned event(s): 1. King Academy, Mount Clemens, Michigan USA, Tue 2007-09-11 16:06 UTC via N8LC
2. Westbrook Intermediate, Friendswood, Texas USA, Fri 2007-09-14 18:40:52 UTC via W6SRJ
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).
Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO