United States 2004

World Space Week 2004 Report

World Space Week 2004 was celebrated across the United States.

Nationwide

Teachers across the U.S. excited students about science and math during World Space Week. Many did so using the World Space Week teacher activity guide. Many students designed Lance's Lab during World Space Week.

California

Space Ship One was launched from the Mohave Desert on October 4 to win the X-Prize.
World Space Week Youth Spokesperson, Lance Bass of NSYNC, appeared in Los Angeles schools October 7-8 to promote science and math education. The appearances were widely covered by the Los Angeles media.
The Space Frontier Conference was held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach October 8-10. The conference, sponsored by the Space Frontier Foundation, highlighted exciting commercial initiatives in space. It included a speech by Burt Rutan, designer of Space Ship One, and an appearance by World Space Week Youth Spokesperson Lance Bass.
The Space 2004 Conference, organized by AIAA in San Diego on September 28-30, helped launch World Space Week.

Florida

Chapel Trail Elementary, in Pembroke Pines held a World Space Week event, "Family Stargazing Night & Poetry Under the Stars." Newspapers and other media were notified. Students watched the SpaceShip One live webcast, reported to the school, and were written up in the XPrizenews.org website. We invited all teachers in Broward County to participate in World Space Week.

Iowa

Iowa Space Grant sponsored the Fifth Annual Space Week Challenge. Classrooms across Iowa could participate in the Challenge and win prizes by participating. The top class from each level will win a classroom telescope and be eligible for the Grand Prize. The divisions are by the class levels and are K-3, 4-8, and 9-12. The top class overall will win a trip to the Science Station and IMAX. There will also be a drawing for the teachers and those selected, one teacher from each division, will get to attend the Space Exploration Educators Conference in Houston. The contest involves listening to the Earth and Sky broadcast and doing classroom activities about the solar system and then taking a quiz based on the information from the broadcast and the activities. Details are available at http://www.ia.spacegrant.org

Mississippi

Students at Luther Branson Elementary School in Canton celebrated World Space Week for two weeks, starting October 1 and ending October 15. Besides studying the solar system, there were many different activities. (See photo below.)

Decorated our front door and Hallway about space.
Each student created a planet that was hung from the ceiling in the classroom
Students created a community of aliens or "Space Neighbors"
Students created rooms for a Space Lab.
Took a field trip to the Russell C. Davis Planetarium in Jackson, MS., on 10/14
Teachers presented a presentation that they created about the solar system.
Watched a video about space labs and how astronauts are trained.

New York

On Tuesday, October 5th, the Long Island Space Society held an international "space exploration meet-up" day (see http://space.meetup.com/) at the Velvet Lounge on Route 25A in E. Setauket. It is intended as a gathering for local enthusiasts to talk about space. The activities of the past few days and the past year should give us plenty to discuss. Scheduled time is 8 pm. Contact Arthur Smith - apsmith@lispace.org for more information.

Texas

World Space Week was celebrated in Dallas, October 9, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Avenue in Dallas (SE side of Love Field). Activities included exhibits from local clubs including the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, National Space Society – North Texas Chapter, Dallas Area Rocket Society, Mars Society, Moon Society and Olympus Mons. The astronomy groups had solar observing. Kids activities included coloring picture books and experiments with string, straws and balloons. Solar System Ambassadors for JPL were on hand to discuss current space missions including the Mars Rovers, Cassini and the recently returned Genesis mission. They were free handouts from NASA/JPL.
The Space Store in Houston celebrated World Space Week on October 9 with a children's event featuring an appearance by famous astronaut Walt Cunningham. The first 50 people received a free World Space Week 2004 poster. The Apollo 7 Astronaut read from the Dr. Seuss book, "There's No Place Like Space." Mr. Cunningham was also available for autographs and to answer questions. The Space Store is at 1400 NASA Road One Suite D, phone 281.333.4030
Many K-12 teachers in the Clear Creek Independent School District received World Space Week Teacher Kits sponsored by Hernandez Engineering. They used these materials to promote student interest in science and math.
On October 14th, CountdownCreations.com and collectSPACE.com were proud to host at Rocket Town an "Evening With The Astronauts" to benefit the Association of Space Explorers, an international nonprofit professional and educational organization of over 300 individuals from 29 nations who have flown in space. As part of ASE-USA's first National Congress and World Space Week, a delegation of their astronaut members visited Rocket Town to meet the public. Astronauts in attendance included Karol "Bo" Bobko, Dan Brandenstein, Bob Crippen, Sen. Jake Garn, Owen Garriott, Hank Hartsfield, Rick Hieb, Rick Hauck, Jon McBride, Rusty Schweickart and Charlie Walker.
The Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas hosted its 8th annual World Space Week event this past October. Activities included school workshops throughout the week, FREE DVD presentations from Evans & Sutherland, and a World Space Week Family Day on Saturday October 9, 2004. This event included a Family Astronomy Workshop focusing on Saturn, space-related crafts, astronomy games, a presentation by our local JPL Ambassador, and a telescope demonstration and solar viewing by members of the South Plains Astronomy Club (SPAC). We had over 225 visitors and participants for the entire week.