Nasa, AOL team up to give kids a virtual space trip

BY A CORRESPONDENT
May 3, 2006

NASA and AOL have joined forces to bring the excitement and adventure of space exploration to young people. Through a Space Act Agreement, NASA's Office of Education and Space Operations Mission Directorate will collaborate with AOL to create "KOL-Expeditions NASA Earth Crew Missions", a series of live webcasts.

To kick off this new partnership, AOL's Kids Online service, KOL, will present a webcast from 10 to 11 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 4, during National Space Day at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The event will feature Radio KOL DJ Rick Adams and information about training for missions, living and working in space.

During the show, students will have an "out of this world" opportunity to talk with the Expedition 13 crew members aboard the International Space Station. The station is a laboratory orbiting 215 miles above the Earth. Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams began their six-month mission on the station March 31. Additional webcast participants include NASA astronauts Paul Richards, Ricky Arnold and Goddard's Chief Scientist, James Garvin.

"A partnership with AOL allows NASA to leverage our unique content, people and facilities," said Angela Phillips Diaz, (acting) assistant administrator for education. "Through this online experience, we can excite students to think about their place in the Vision for Space Exploration, and begin them on a journey to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics."

"We're thrilled to partner with NASA as part of our KOL Expeditions program, enabling millions of kids to discover new frontiers by interacting with NASA scientists and astronauts," said Mark Stevens, KOL education director & GM, AOL@SCHOOL.

KOL Expeditions is a new site designed to provide kids, parents and teachers with a platform to make learning fun through interactive missions, video content and other special activities. The NASA/AOL station webcast, the second initiative on the site, lays the groundwork for what will be a series about space exploration.

The site will also feature educational materials and interactive activities to inspire elementary-aged kids to explore the world of science and space.

Space Day, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, started in 1997 as a grassroots educational initiative held each year on the first Thursday in May. The goal of Space Day is to use the excitement of space exploration to encourage students' interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Hundreds of thousands of teachers and millions of students have participated in Space Day events in 21 countries. The program, which is supported by more than 70 official partner institutions, has been honored with the Space Foundation's Education Achievement Award.