Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Learning About Satellites on an Historic Day

Today marks the 50th anniversary of human space flight.

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In honor of this historic day, Dr. Igor Geogdzhayev, NASA scientist and dad of Masha in 3rd grade, came in to teach the students about Earth Observing Satellites including his most recent project, GLORY.

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Here are just a few of the new bits of information we learned from Igor:

  • The A-Train doesn’t just take you from Inwood to the Rockaways, it’s also an orbital pathway in space.  The Afternoon Constellation, also known as the A-Train, is a series of Earth-observing satellites flying in close formation. The A-Train orbits the Earth once every 100 minutes.
  • Aerosols, or dust found in the atmosphere, can have an effect on global climate.  The aerosols can range from salt from evaporated sea water to soot from volcanic eruptions or factory emissions.  Aerosols can reflect or absorb sunlight in our atmosphere. 

 

 

http://www.nasa.gov

Earth Day at HCES

Ask your child about today's Earth Day assembly.  

Here are photos of our two presenters, Dr. Merry Cai and Michael Foster.

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Here were some interesting highlights...

* Newspaper hat parade,

* Special rocks found in Earth's mantle, that absorb carbon dioxide,

* Environmental heros,

* Making pledges to help the environment in our own lives.

Earth_day_banner
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The Debate Over Bottled Water

In keeping with this week's theme, Issues Facing our Environment (culminating in our Earth Day assembly tomorrow), the 6th grade students discussed and debated America's obsession with bottled water.  Students watched a short video on the benefits of bottled water, produced by the International Bottle Water Association as well as short video entitled, "The Story of Bottled Water," produced by environmental activist, Annie Leonard.  

IBWA: http://www.youtube.com/TheIBWA#p/a/u/0/LIeR6SoQ84A

"The Story of Bottled Water:" http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

Some other resources students reviewed were:

Click here to download:
NYC_Water_Supply_Report.pdf (9.23 MB)
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Click here to download:
Vermont_to_kick_out_bottled_water.doc (40 KB)
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Bald Eagles in Real Time

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Take a look at the Bald Eagles in their nest... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/04/07/135148362/eagle-cam-soars-with...

After viewing the live stream of a Bald Eagle family in Decorah, Iowa, 5th grade students were inspired to find out more about our nation's symbol.  Here are some samplings of what they uncovered:

* Bald eagles can be found in Canada and the United States usually near sea coasts, rivers, or large lakes.

* The breading season is November through April.

* The nest, usually made of sticks can weigh up to 4,000 pounds and be 8 feet in diameter. 

* Some nests last as long as 30 years, with the Eagles returning from year to year.  The nests can be found 10-150 feet above ground in a tree.

* The females are larger than the males.  They can weigh from 4.5 to 13.5 pounds with a wingspan of nearly 8 feet.

* Both the male and female take care of the eggs and then the eaglets.  

* The preferred foods are fish, duck, geese, rabbit, muskrat, carrion, and other small mammals and water birds.

* The female usually lays 1 to 3 bluish-white eggs that incubate for 35 days.  The eaglets will leave the nest after 10 weeks.  

* The voice of bald eagle is characterized as a harsh cackle.

* Bald Eagles migrate alone or in pairs and are known to mate for life.

 

 

 

Earth Day Assembly Coming Up

Two HCES parents, Donna Gitter and Vivian Kuan have organized a great Earth Day assembly for us on Friday, featuring Professor Merry Cai from Columbia University and Lamont Observatory and Michael Foster from the American Museum of Natural History. This is sure to be an inspiring presentation.

We will dedicate this week's classes to talking and learning about climate change. Come ready to share your thoughts, ideas and questions!