| NASAs Johnson Space Center Houston recently | | | | Alliance, who volunteered as mentors for the |
| hosted a two-day BP Physics Challenge for 886 | | | | two-day experience. The Houston schools |
| Houston schools students, mostly juniors and | | | | students were amazed to learn how math and |
| seniors, with 800 more students expected to | | | | science can be applied to their everyday |
| attend. The math and science students either | | | | lives. |
| made their own rockets that would be launched | | | | |
| outside at the Space Center or conducted | | | | As exciting as the two-day challenge was, the |
| other experiments inside. | | | | height of excitement came during a tour of |
| | | | the Space Center for the Houston schools |
| For those Houston schools students, who made | | | | students. Bill Nye, known as the science guy, |
| their own rockets, they got the full | | | | was on hand to meet the students, many of |
| astronaut experience as most rocket | | | | which he hopes to see pursue a career in |
| launchings were scrubbed due to inclement | | | | science, math or engineering. Nye hosted an |
| weather. Unfortunately, the weather quickly | | | | educational program on PBS from 1992 to 1998 |
| turned cold and drizzly, canceling the launch | | | | and is an icon to many science and math |
| of most rockets. | | | | students even today. He was instrumental in |
| | | | the creation of the popular CBS NUMB3RS |
| Two Houston schools freshmen, however, did | | | | television series, where a math genius |
| get their rockets launched with different | | | | professor uses mathematical models to assist |
| results. Joshua Hawkins, from Booker T. | | | | the FBI in solving crimes. For years, Nye |
| Washington High School, had a successful | | | | pitched ideas to television executives for |
| launch and was thrilled to see how high his | | | | programs that would give todays children the |
| rocket soared. His friend, Keeland Bryant, | | | | incentive to enter science and math careers, |
| had a foot-long rocket made of plastic and | | | | connecting the dots between these fields and |
| cardboard. It unfortunately burned during the | | | | the real world. At age 51, he still annually |
| launch good thing no astronauts were aboard. | | | | applies to NASA for entry into its astronaut |
| | | | program. |
| While the rocket launches were either | | | | |
| launching or getting scrubbed outdoors, other | | | | At the Space Center, Nye encouraged the |
| students were conducting a metal ball drop | | | | Houston schools students to change the world, |
| experiment in order to measure the mass of | | | | telling them people of all ages like science. |
| the Earth. The experiment was chosen to allow | | | | They should learn it, because it is fun! |
| the Houston schools students to work with | | | | |
| straight-line graphs and become more familiar | | | | The two-day event was designed to interest |
| with Isaac Newtons universal law of gravity, | | | | students in the fields of math and science. |
| as well as learn several mathematical | | | | Students from across the Houston schools |
| calculations taught by employees from NASA, | | | | district participated. |
| BP America, Boeing and the United Space | | | | |