Team STEMbers George Hademenos (TX) Patricia Edmiston (LA) Christine Lange (WI)

Identifying the Problem What are the effects of traveling to suborbital space?

Available materials A weather balloon Helium GPS-activated cell phone a payload compartment camera Vernier probes and data collection instrument

Student-Driven Experiment Possibilities Temperature vs Time of flight Temperature vs Volume Temperature vs Altitude Temperature vs Pressure Acceleration vs Time of flight Acceleration vs Pressure Acceleration vs Temperature Pressure vs Altitude Pressure vs Volume Geographical surveying Position vs Time of flight Meterological investigation Ozone investigation CO2 levels or O2 levels As well as any other experiment the students can conceptuali ze.

Budget Constraints Develop a budget to identify the most economical approach to conducting the experiment.

STEM Alignment S – investigate specific quantities in suborbital space – understand forces, terminal velocity T – GPS - communications, collection of data, website development E – design an experiment to collect and analyze data - adhere to weight constraints M – data graphing analysis – curve fit analysis

Global-based Challenges Meteorological – ability to collect localized data/information about weather trends of patterns and relevant to the topographical areas. Geographical – survey local trends, access landscapes, identify regions affected by natural disasters. Atmospheric – understanding the basic properties and compositions of the stratospheric layers.

Team Participation and Collaboration Students will collectively agree on the data to be collected based on the scope of the problem, the weight limit, and resource availability. Students will use a site like WikiSpaces or Edmodo for discussion between schools regarding their findings for use in their individual class presentation. Teachers will collaborate to design a presentation of our project at the National Science Teachers Association Conference.

Acknowledgements To our STEMtastic, STEMulating, STEMrades: Brad, Jannita, Lance, Mike B, Mike G, Pat, Patti, Peg, Todd for opening our eyes to the wonderful technology available to us free!!!! for giving us the opportunity to network with wonderful colleagues. for the delicious food that kept us going and for helping us realize we can survive on 3 hours of sleep each night.