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TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Amber Bright, a Gregory-Portland Intermediate School teacher, will venture to NASA Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field in Houston to conduct experiments aboard the "Weightless Wonder" aircraft as a member of the Pre-Service Teacher Institute Alumni Flight Team.
PORTLAND —Amber Bright loves talking about space.
Not the need-to-make-more-room-in-your-closet kind, but the kind that boldly ventures to go where no man has gone before.
It's a love affair Bright, a Corpus Christi resident, has had since childhood when she first took trips to NASA and became fascinated with the explorers who defied gravity.
Now a 5th and 6th grade math and science teacher at Gregory-Portland Intermediate School, Bright will get her chance to defy gravity at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston as a member of NASA's Pre-Service Teacher Institute (PSTI) Alumni Flight Team.
Bright, 35, was selected as one of five teachers from across the country who will conduct experiments aboard the "Weightless Wonder," a reduced gravity aircraft that produces periods of weightlessness for up to 25 seconds at a time.
The experiments will be conducted as part of the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, which gives undergraduate students the opportunity to propose, build and fly experiments in a reduced gravity atmosphere.
"I get to be one of those teachers who helps inspire that next generation of scientists, astronauts and mathematicians who get to go to Mars," said Bright, a mother of three. "It's so exciting to be with those kids who are going to make such a great impact on the future."
Bright will travel to Ellington Field in Houston on Thursday, where she and her teammates will undergo physiological training before flying their experiments the week of July 16-21.
The "Weightless Wonder" aircraft, which is used to train astronauts and has been nicknamed the "Vomit Comet" by many of its passengers, will perform a series of approximately 30 roller coaster-like parabolas over the Gulf of Mexico.
During the free falls, Bright and her teammates will gather data in a unique environment that mimics space. Bright inquired about her odds of not getting sick, which she was told are about one in ten.
"They do give you medication to help with the queasiness," Bright said. "This is a once in a lifetime thing that even if I do get sick, it'll be worth it in the end."
A recent graduate of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in interdisciplinary studies, Bright first participated in the Pre-Service Teacher Institute program last summer, which is for Early Childhood, Elementary Education and Middle School Education majors preparing to teach in an elementary or middle school classroom.
Ashlé Robinson, acting program facilitator for the program's Alumni Flight Team, said Bright and her teammates were chosen from 80 of the program's alumni for their ability to weave more than every day classroom learning into their applications.
"They showed us how they can incorporate those things they'd learned and how creative they were in using that to reach out to students," Robinson said.
In addition to submitting detailed lesson plan proposals, the team had to write several short essays and acquire support letters from their school districts.
The experiments will be videotaped and will involve some of the team's proposed lesson plans as student outreach. The experiments also will help the team learn concepts such as inertial balance and determining mass on earth versus a micro gravity environment.
The team will evaluate their findings, draw conclusions and provide the results to NASA.
Bright plans to share her experience with her students through lots of pictures, video and conducting similar experiments in the classroom.
"The best part of the experience is … showing them what gravity is, how it affects us and what it looks like," Bright said. "It's one thing to see someone you've never seen before do it but to actually see your teacher go up there and float around, I think that will be very beneficial to my students."
© 2012 Corpus Christi Caller Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Not the need-to-make-more-room-in-your-closet kind, but the kind that boldly ventures to go where no man has gone before.
It's a love affair Bright, a Corpus Christi resident, has had since childhood when she first took trips to NASA and became fascinated with the explorers who defied gravity.
Now a 5th and 6th grade math and science teacher at Gregory-Portland Intermediate School, Bright will get her chance to defy gravity at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston as a member of NASA's Pre-Service Teacher Institute (PSTI) Alumni Flight Team.
Bright, 35, was selected as one of five teachers from across the country who will conduct experiments aboard the "Weightless Wonder," a reduced gravity aircraft that produces periods of weightlessness for up to 25 seconds at a time.
The experiments will be conducted as part of the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, which gives undergraduate students the opportunity to propose, build and fly experiments in a reduced gravity atmosphere.
"I get to be one of those teachers who helps inspire that next generation of scientists, astronauts and mathematicians who get to go to Mars," said Bright, a mother of three. "It's so exciting to be with those kids who are going to make such a great impact on the future."
Bright will travel to Ellington Field in Houston on Thursday, where she and her teammates will undergo physiological training before flying their experiments the week of July 16-21.
The "Weightless Wonder" aircraft, which is used to train astronauts and has been nicknamed the "Vomit Comet" by many of its passengers, will perform a series of approximately 30 roller coaster-like parabolas over the Gulf of Mexico.
During the free falls, Bright and her teammates will gather data in a unique environment that mimics space. Bright inquired about her odds of not getting sick, which she was told are about one in ten.
"They do give you medication to help with the queasiness," Bright said. "This is a once in a lifetime thing that even if I do get sick, it'll be worth it in the end."
A recent graduate of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in interdisciplinary studies, Bright first participated in the Pre-Service Teacher Institute program last summer, which is for Early Childhood, Elementary Education and Middle School Education majors preparing to teach in an elementary or middle school classroom.
Ashlé Robinson, acting program facilitator for the program's Alumni Flight Team, said Bright and her teammates were chosen from 80 of the program's alumni for their ability to weave more than every day classroom learning into their applications.
"They showed us how they can incorporate those things they'd learned and how creative they were in using that to reach out to students," Robinson said.
In addition to submitting detailed lesson plan proposals, the team had to write several short essays and acquire support letters from their school districts.
The experiments will be videotaped and will involve some of the team's proposed lesson plans as student outreach. The experiments also will help the team learn concepts such as inertial balance and determining mass on earth versus a micro gravity environment.
The team will evaluate their findings, draw conclusions and provide the results to NASA.
Bright plans to share her experience with her students through lots of pictures, video and conducting similar experiments in the classroom.
"The best part of the experience is … showing them what gravity is, how it affects us and what it looks like," Bright said. "It's one thing to see someone you've never seen before do it but to actually see your teacher go up there and float around, I think that will be very beneficial to my students."
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