From: mkennedy@head.globalcom.net (Marilyn Kennedy)
Subject: LFM Alive and Well here in VA
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 21:41:50 -0400
Live from Mars is alive and well here in Virginia too! Like so many of us on the discuss group, I have been working with my new 4th grader "inductees"...I guess too busy working to update messages tothe discuss group .... As was mentioned in someone's message in the LFM discuss group, I was surprised how many of my new students knew so little about Pathfinder. This lack of awreness was very hard for me to comprehend because my "graduated" class of 4th graders and I were so into it. One of highlights of the summer was all of my students gathering that 4th of July weekend on my deck, sharing the experience as part of the NASA team! Like Marcy,I started the year with some basic solar system activities (solar system snack)and my all time outdoor favorite is the "pacing out" the au distances of each planet with our own giant steps. It is always fun to watch my kids' faces as they pace out Pluto and find themselves in the neighboring pastures! As part of our math class (LFM integrating across the curriculum) using some of Ken Edgett's material, we made bar graph comparisons of the Grand Canyon and Mariner Valley. Charting the height and length of the canyons out on graph paper is a great visual for my students. Then using the CD's from Georgia Tech with MGS and Pathfinder the students have been getting the basics, along with the MGS and Pathfinder web pages ( though I continue to be frustrated (understatement) with firewalls and by being denied access to some cool downloads- links off the LFM virtual mars sites). Next week I will be showing my students some sections of last years LFM broadcasts so they can glimpse the action behind the scenes of MGS/Pathfinder. My students and I have been able to participate in a couple of web chats (Ken Edgett---so awesome), but sometimes those California chat times conflict with eastern lunch times. Sandy is aware of this so hopefully we can join in some other chats. Right now, my students are getting ready for "weather world" and are learning the basics of weather ( a whole new topic of investigation for these 9 year olds) They have also been "investigating" habitats here on Earth, (a good foundation for investigating habitats on other planets). Today, my student-scientists spent the day in the Shenandoah National Park and did some basic "PET" activities while investigating habitats. So here in the Shenandoah Valley, my students are on their way making their footprints to the future....... Marilyn Wall John Wayland Elem Bridgewater VA PS Check out the newest images from Hubble- Pistol STar- Astronomers estimate that this star may be 100 times more massive than our sun!!! Cool images