Volume 6, Number 2     March/April 1998

Kids Learn NASA Aeronautics Via the Internet NASA project, called Aero Design Team On-line (ADTO), is using the Internet to help students and teachers understand NASA aeronautics and airplane design to apply to their studies and introduce students to vocational opportunities and pursuing high-tech careers. Students and the general public can visit a web site, http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/,to find out how aeronautical engineers use airplane models, wind tunnels, supercomputers, simulators and other tools during the airplane design cycle. The project continues through May, although plans are under way to extend it into the summer. "We're teaching about airplane design through the lives of people who are doing the work," says Susan Lee of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. "For example, we're following a wind tunnel test of a model of a future supersonic airliner." In addition, the kids ask questions via e-mail, learn how an airplane flies, view pictures of aircraft and participate in Internet chats with people from teams that design and test airplanes. During Internet chats, youngsters use computers to converse with mentors by typing questions and reading responses and dialogue via the World Wide Web. Teachers can visit the teachers' "lounge" at the web site. Various educational materials, including aeronautics lesson plans, are located in the lounge. The plans list creative ways to bring the ADTO projects into the classroom. Educators also have Internet chats with other teachers, describing classroom problems and solutions. "NASA is providing the web site because the agency has a mandate to help teachers and students understand NASA research in aeronautics. The web site gives knowledge to students that they can apply to their studies," says Ames Educational Group Leader, Garth Hull. "The Internet gives our engineers an effective tool to interact with audiences we normally would not reach. We hope by using this resource, these students will be better prepared to see vocational opportunities and become better informed citizens," he added. Another segment of the online project will follow the progress of astronauts' training in the largest vertical motion simulator in the world, located at Ames, Lee said. "They are practicing their Shuttle landings with a new simulator program that includes global positioning." The project is one in a suite of online offerings from NASA's Quest project at the following URL: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov.These interactive projects connect students with NASA employees to inspire them to pursue high-tech careers. For more information, contact John Bluck at Ames Research Center. Call (650) 604-5026, E-mail: jbluck@mail.arc.com Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

The Aero Design Team On-line (ADTO) helps kids understand aeronautics and airplane design.