BOSTON GLOBE
June 20, 1999

MAKING SCIENCE COOL

WELLESLEY STUDENTS TELL KIDS ABOUT THEIR ZERO-GRAVITY RIDE

By David L. Chandler,
Globe staff

You can do science and still be cool,'' said Jenny Ross, 19, a slim, blonde, funkily-stylish Wellesley College sophomore, to a raptly attentive group of sixth- and seventh-graders at the Lewis Middle School in Roxbury. And the message was clearly getting through.

Ross and three other Wellesley physics students were presenting the results of a set of experiments they had carried out on NASA's famous ``vomit comet,'' the converted jetliner used to train astronauts and test equipment in zero-gravity conditions. The experiments were designed, among other things, to inspire younger students -- and especially girls -- to consider careers in science.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ``was very supportive of us,'' Ross said. ``They were excited about presenting women in science, especially women who don't look nerdy.''

The students agreed that Ross and her friends do not look nerdy. When she asked the class if she looked like a scientist, she faced a loud chorus of ``no.'' And the example the kids saw of four young women tumbling and spinning like tops, in the videotape of their weightless experiments, certainly made science look like a fun adventure.

Rosie Smith, a 12-year-old Lewis school student, said afterwards that ``it makes me want to go to college. I didn't before. I thought science was about writing on a board and stuff, but now I like it.''

That was exactly the hoped-for reaction.

The Wellesley experiments were part of a NASA program to encourage college students to propose and carry out scientific experiments in zero-gravity conditions, which the NASA plane can produce for 25 seconds at a time by following an up-and-down, roller-coaster-like course.

This spring, 47 teams -- six of them from Massachusetts -- were selected for the program, which culminates in two weeks of training and flights in Houston, at the airport adjacent to Johnson Space Center that the astronauts use for their training flights.

Most of the projects involved pure research on scientific, biomedical, or engineering subjects. But a few, like the Wellesley team's, were focused on education. They carried out a set of experiments involving how bubbles in water, a candle flame, and a game of catch are different in weightless conditions.

The four Wellesley students -- Ross, team captain Ann Sanders, Gretchen Campbell, and Tyler Wellensiek -- videotaped their experiments both on the ground and during weightlessness, and are preparing a tape of their experiences to be shown to students of all ages, but especially aimed at girls in middle school. That is the stage when research has shown that many girls suddenly lose interest -- or gain insecurity -- about science and math.

``They're really curious at this time,'' in middle school, before cultural and gender stereotyping really set in, said Lewis School principal Brenda Jones. ``If you can grab them now,'' then that interest is more likely to continue, she said.

Ross, asked by a student how she became interested in science and math, told of an experience that is all too commonplace: ``I once had a teacher who told me I couldn't do math because I was a girl,'' she said. But instead of being deflated, she became defiant: ``I went and did all the math problems I could. Now, I'm a math major.''

And, along with her teammates, an avid proselytizer. After describing the project and showing the videotape of their flights, the Wellesley students spent another hour talking to the middle school girls, answering their questions, and encouraging them to experiment for themselves with the toys and devices the team had used in zero-gravity.

It was just one of a half-dozen school visits they made before the end of the semester. Once they return in the fall, they expect to make additional presentations -- part of the ``outreach'' that NASA requires as part of every student proposal.

One of their experiments involved tossing a heavy rubber ball back and forth. In normal gravity, the person catching the ball may feel a backward push, but with feet firmly planted on the ground, she wouldn't move. While floating in the plane, though, as soon as she caught the ball she began flying backwards.

To simulate that experience, they encouraged the sixth- and seventh-graders to play catch with the same ball they used in flight, but this time doing it while one of them was standing on a rolling dolly. Just as in weightlessness, each catch of the ball propelled the catcher backward. It was a little taste of what the weightless experience might be like, and the girls took turns for almost an hour trying it out.

Science teacher Tom Lewis said the experience seemed to have just the effect in awakening a scientific curiosity that the college students had hoped for. The middle-school pupils were fascinated, asked good questions, and their faces -- even those of some students who had often had disciplinary problems -- were alight with enthusiasm, and inspired by the material.

On their videotape from Houston, the students included an interview with astronaut Pam Melroy, who is a Wellesley graduate. In it, Melroy said that ``Somebody between the age of 5 and 25 -- and it could be one of these four women from Wellesley -- could be the first person to set foot on Mars. It gives me chills to think about it.''

Or, it could be one of those kids from the Lewis school.

``It sounds exciting, to go up in space,'' said Jemeela Axell. ``I'd like to go up in space to see what it's like.''

Some of the students have already taken an interest in science, and this experience helped to reinforce it. ``I saw lots of constellations from my house,'' said Tamela Roberts.

``I always wanted to go float on the moon like an astronaut,'' said Rosie Smith. ``I'm going to dream about it till I do it.''

For more information on the Wellesley team's space program, consult their Web site:http://www.wellesley.edu/Physics/NASA/KC-135.html

1. JENNY ROSS, a Wellesley College physics student, whirls a gyroscope during an experiment on angular momentum at Lewis Middle School in Roxbury.

2. SYDNEY FERGUSON, a sixth-grader, prepares to catch a ball while standing on a teetering board in an experiment conducted by Wellesley student Tyler Wellensiek (center).

3. Wellesley students Jenny Ross (left) and Gretchen Campbell aboard NASA's converted jetliner used to train astronauts. / Photo / Courtesy of NASA