A Near-space Research Experience for High School Students

A near-space research experience for high school students was created at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona in 2011, and held each summer since then with the goal of exposing high school students to advanced STEM topics, specifically those topics relevant to the fields of computer, electrical, and software engineering. During this intensive week-long experience students are exposed to fundamental concepts involved in researching the near-space environment through the launch, flight, and recovery of a high-altitude balloon carrying student-built balloon satellites, or, “balloonsat” payloads. This is the only research experience of its kind that the author is aware of outside of one conducted by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. This paper provides details of the topics, schedule, enrollments, and student evaluations of the most recent Near-Space Research Experience conducted at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona during June, 2016. Introduction With graduates well-placed throughout the aerospace industry, and with a nearly a century-long track record in the field of aviation. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University continues to lead the way in aviation, aerospace, and engineering. On the Prescott campus, the College of Engineering specializes in excellence in undergraduate education and strives to provide students with opportunities for hands-on learning and intensive interaction with the faculty, both inside and outside of the classroom. Due to the hands-on nature of the engineering curriculum, the College has many well-equipped laboratories that are available to undergraduate students during the regular school year. During the summer, however, reduced demand for laboratory facilities by undergraduate students provides the opportunity to repurpose the laboratory space for other activities—such as outreach to K-12 students. Additionally, Prescott has a relatively mild summer climate that is conducive to engaging in outdoor summer activities, unlike most of the rest of the state of Arizona. For these reasons, the College has a well-established record of hosting a variety of summer experiences for high school students. Most outreach programs fall into one of the following categories: the development of classroom material, including Web-based resources; the professional development of teachers; conducting outreach activities at the local school; conducting or sponsoring engineering contests; sponsoring teaching fellowships or offering service-learning courses; conducting outreach activities on the college campus. This paper discusses a Near-space Research Experience for high school students, which is covered by the final category in the list—an outreach activity conducted on the college campus. Review of the literature reveals a number of institutions that conduct outreach on their campus during the summer. However, none of these attempt the technical depth or level of project complexity that is reported here. It is important for outreach programs to support what is happening in science education in the student’s classrooms back home. As one example of a standard, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provides content standards for K-12 science education. The NGSS Executive Summary states that “Science and engineering are integrated into science education by raising engineering design to the same level as scientific inquiry in science classroom instruction at all levels, and by emphasizing the core ideas of engineering design and technology applications.” This standard supports the idea of this outreach program that provides high school students with a research experience that integrates science and engineering and introduces them to foundational concepts in engineering design and technology. A Near-space Research Experience Few subjects capture the interest of young people more than the idea of exploring space. Although the outer space environment is difficult and expensive to reach, near space—defined as the region of Earth’s atmosphere between 65,000 and 328,000 feet—is relatively accessible through the use of meteorological or “weather” balloons. High-altitude ballooning provides a unique opportunity to engage high school students with an experience that will expose them to fundamental science and engineering topics. During this carefully structured week-long experience, students are introduced to basic concepts involved in researching the near-space environment through the launch, flight, and recovery of a high-altitude balloon carrying studentbuilt balloonsat payloads. Table 1, the schedule for the research experience, is quite intensive due to the need to complete the many tasks necessary for a successful flight. The students were kept busy from arrival Sunday evening (not shown) through the graduation luncheon held at noon on Friday. Sessions were normally held from 8 5 with an hour provided for lunch at the campus dining facility. Additionally, several technical presentations were provided in the evening during which a faculty member provided presentations on engineering entrepreneurship and a history of the computer. During the morning of the first day students meet the instructors and overview the schedule for the camp shown in Table 1. Additionally, students learn about the near-space environment, are introduced to balloon flight procedures, and watch a video recording that introduces all the steps necessary for a successful flight. The purpose of these activities is to provide students with an overall context within which to learn the many concepts that are introduced during the week. Next, students learn about the microprocessor-based sensor system they will build that records the data taken during the ascent and descent of the balloonsat payload during a high-altitude flight. The sensor data recorded during the flight includes the voltage of the battery supply, internal and external temperatures, and the ambient atmospheric pressure. Students quickly realize that analyzing and plotting the hundreds of measurements taken during the flight requires a computational aid, such as the software package Matlab. This combination of hands-on use of technology to obtain and analyze scientific data corresponds closely to NGSS science and engineering standards. Monday, 6/13/16 Tuesday, 6/14/16 Wednesday, 6/15/16 Thursday, 6/16/16 Friday, 6/17/16 Wake Up Call 6:30AM Wake Up Call 6:30AM Wake Up Call 6:30AM Wake Up Call 6:30AM Wake Up Call 6:30AM 7:15-7:45AM Breakfast , Earhart's 7:15-7:45AM Breakfast , Earhart's 7:15-7:45AM Breakfast , Earhart's 7:15-7:45AM Breakfast , Earhart's 7:15-7:45AM Breakfast , Earhart's 8AM 11AM Intro to Balloon Operations, Payload design and construction, and Intro to Matlab/Processing