RELEASE NO: 99-031

BUNKER HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN D.C. HOSTS FAMILY NIGHT ABOUT THE STUDENT ACTIVITIES PERFORMED AT GODDARD

Sixth grade students at Bunker Hill Elementary School, Washington, D.C., will host a one hour family night at the school on March 18 at 6 p.m. to discuss their participation in the Students United with NASA Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science (SUNBEAMS) project managed by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.  

Last week the students participated in a week long learning session on the Sun and the solar missions designed to understand it. As part of their stay at Goddard, the students launched rockets, interviewed scientists, performed math and science challenge exercises and created their own web page to share their reactions to their stay at the center.  

SUNBEAMS is an educational program designed to stimulate increased interest in the math and science disciplines. SUNBEAMS is a collaboration between Goddard and the local school system. As part of the program, teachers are invited to Goddard for a five week internship where they participate in current research and/or engineering projects. Teachers are paired with mentors from the center who help them develop lesson plans for students based on the teacher's work experiences at Goddard. During the school year, the teachers are encouraged to bring their class to Goddard to participate in a week long math and science program.

As part of the family night event, the students will conduct tours for family members of exhibits that depict the types of activities they participated in at Goddard. During a panel discussion, family members will have an opportunity to ask questions of the SUNBEAMS students, teachers and mentors.  

More information on the SUNBEAMS project can be found at the following website address: www.gsfc.nasa.gov/sunbeams.