NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for grades 6-8 educators on June 4, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. This seminar will address the Next Generation Science Standards. As a result of this seminar, you will be able to use the lesson “Engineering a Stable Rocket” from NASA’s Rockets Educator Guide to address the middle school dimensions associated with forces and interaction performance expectations. This seminar provides an overview of the activity, explores the NASA connections, shares tips and tricks for implementing this lesson in the classroom, showcases videos of students engaged in the lesson and discusses possible modifications or extensions.
This is the only time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.
For more information and to register online, visit the NSTA Learning Center.
On June 20-24, 2011, 20 educators participated in the Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers and Students, or WRATS, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, located at Wallops Island, Virginia. Of the 20 participants, 10 were NASA Explorer Schools educators who have been recognized for their best practices in using the Rockets Educator Guide content module on the NES Virtual Campus. 
As we look forward to the final launch of Endeavour, George Hatcher joins us to explain what it’s like to sit at the console in the launch control center during countdown. Learn about the tremendous amount of teamwork required between the Flight Control, Guidance and Navigation engineers and the entire team in the firing room to ensure a safe launch.
In this episode of NASA Now, you’ll visit NASA’s Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility, called B-2, at NASA Plum Brook Station. You’ll meet Dr. Louis Povinelli and Brian Jones who explain why rockets are built in stages and the importance of testing a rocket before it is sent into space. B-2 is the world’s only facility capable of testing full-scale upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines under simulated high-altitude conditions. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low pressure, low temperatures, and dynamic solar heating. This simulates the harsh environment of space the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel.