Students shoot for the stars in space presentation
As part of a class project on the solar system, fifth grader Dylan Meyer shared how Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, reaches temperatures of -297 to -171 degrees Fahrenheit.
CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press
Levi Drake points out the Army base as he explains the setup of his space colony using a LEGO design. Fifth graders were expected to plan the space for colonies in space thinking about current technology and the future possibilities of technology. Math was also included in some of the problem-solving that went into the designs.
Ben Clubb, left, designed a dome to protect his space colony in Mandi Ferguson's class. Noah Miller, right, designed a rocket ship in a digital design program called Tinkercad.
Ian Frengle explains his planetary project during an open presentation of their solar system projects to their school and families. Frengle attends Scott Busch's fifth grade class.
COEUR d’ALENE — What would a space colony look like? No, it's not the plot to a blockbuster film. As part of series of space-themed projects, fifth graders at Ramsey Magnet School of Science learned about celestial bodies in the solar system and put their imagination and problem-solving skills to work developing their own design of a 3D colony in space.
In total, 90 fifth graders presented their hard work to families and the rest of the school Wednesday afternoon to a packed room.
Some designs used LEGO for the build, others used a software design program called Tinkercad. A few even used clay to create their imagined vision for humanity
Fifth grade teacher Mandi Ferguson said that, a few years ago, the fifth grade teachers started combining the colony building and space units into a cohesive educational segment.
"We love whenever we can integrate science with all of the things. They have to work through the issues they might have and what would that look like in future terms," Ferguson said.
Students learn more about NASA and new ventures like SpaceX. Math also gets entered into the equation when it comes to calculating designs. Part of the considerations also include which professions would be useful to bring along when entering a new planetary system. Doctors, linguists and biologists are all interesting to consider bringing on an imagined mission to space.
All in all, the fifth grade project presentations were a hit in Ferguson's estimation as the students were able to teach families members and staff about particulars of their focus from the solar system and design for space colonization.
"We had an amazing amount of parent turnout the parents and grandparents," Ferguson said.
Levi Drake points out the Army base as he explains the setup of his space colony using a LEGO design. Fifth graders were expected to plan the space for colonies in space thinking about current technology and the future possibilities of technology. Math was also included in some of the problem-solving that went into the designs.
Ben clubb left, designed a dome to protect his space colony in Mandi Ferguson's class. Noah Miller designed a rocket ship in a digital design program called Tinkercad.
Ian Frengle explains his planetary project during an open presentation of their solar system projects to their school and families. Frengle attends Scott Busch's fifth grade class.