As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute professional development Web seminar for educators on April 3, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn how to use an innovative air traffic control simulator to engage your students as they explore the mathematics involved in the role of an air traffic controller. In the three-plane problem featured in this lesson, the challenge is to change routes and speeds to line up the planes safely, with proper spacing, at a given route intersection.
This is the final time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.
For more information and to register online, visit the NSTA Learning Center.
NASA has released a new educational game with an air traffic control theme for Apple iPhone and iPad devices. Sector 33 is designed to challenge students in middle school and above to use basic math and problem-solving skills.
As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project is hosting a 60-minute Web seminar, Smart Skies, on Sept. 22, 2011, at 8 p.m. EDT. Learn how to use an innovative air traffic control simulator to engage your students as they explore the mathematics involved in the role of an air traffic controller. In the three-plane problem featured in this lesson, the challenge is to change routes and speeds to line up the planes safely, with proper spacing, at a given route intersection.
As students in NASA Explorer Schools educator Kaci Heins’ class worked through the Smart Skies NES module, she thought it would be amazing if she could take a field trip out to her local airport to see air traffic controllers in action. Heins arranged for her students to go up inside the air traffic control tower, talk to the controllers, and see the planes take off and land. The students learned how the controllers keep the passengers and the planes safe. They also visited the airport fire station where the students saw the trucks, tried on the fire gear, and saw the truck spray water across the tarmac. Heins reports, “It was one of the best field trips I have ever done and the students loved every second of it! It is experiences like these that can make the biggest impact on our students. I hope you can try to work something out like this in your area!”
If you’re looking for ways to extend the 
In this episode of NASA Now, you’ll meet aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, who is helping NASA solve this complex problem. Learn why there is no perfectly designed system and all technological solutions have trade-offs, such as safety, cost or efficiency. Learn about the types of conflicts aircraft encounter and how engineers use trade-offs to come up with the best overall solution.