NASA HS3 Hurricane Mission Connects to K-12 Classrooms Video
NASA’s Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission studied hurricanes and tropical storms during the 2012-2014 Atlantic hurricane seasons using NASA Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft. In addition to completing cutting-edge atmospheric science, the HS3 team shared the excitement of their scientific mission with K-12 students and teachers from across the United States. Classrooms directly connected to the HS3 mission through the NASA Mission Tools Suite for Education (MTSE). Teachers describe how they use MTSE in their classrooms and what their students learn from these direct connections with NASA mission specialists.
Video Transcript
Dr. Emily Schaller, NASA Airborne Science Program: What are some of the names of the hurricanes that you guys can remember?
Sandy! Irene. Katrina.
NASA is flying over hurricanes so that we can better predict how and why hurricanes strengthen or weaken.
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Michael Wilkinson, Fieldston Lower School, NY: First mission I worked with was HS3. We use the Mission Tools Suite to connect to the scientists and pilots to get information about the Global Hawk mission itself, but also to get information about the storms as they're active. We also really make use of it to connect to the scientists and exchange ideas about how to do science.
Michael Wilkinson, Fieldston Lower School, NY: Having the opportunity to ask questions and just chat with these different mission specialists, they love the fact that they're talking to the real people doing the real work.
Steve Wehlan, Berlin Intermediate School, MD: Everything you've been teaching them is coming to life. You can start to see these connections that you can make. And what the kids are learning in school are connected directly to what is happening out in the field.
Michael Wilkinson, Fieldston Lower School, NY: In a way it's like having an expert come and visit, but the expert's at work. So, you're almost, you're coming to visit them. And they know that they're in flight and actually doing the work as they're talking with them. They feel pretty proud of knowing that knowledge of just how diverse the work is that NASA does.
Denise Gregorius, Fruitland Intermediate School, MD: Talking about all the different opportunities they could have, that scientist is just one thing and then that so many things that branch off.
Michael Wilkinson, Fieldston Lower School, NY: I hear kids saying that they'd like to be a pilot, they'd like to be an engineer, they'd like to be a scientist. All kinds of careers come out of this. And it's so wonderful they can see all these young and dynamic and diverse people that are doing all these different jobs with NASA, and see what the potential is.
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