Teamwork Propels Birchwood Students at Young Astronaut Day
Students from Birchwood School of Hawken turned in a stellar showing together as teams as well as paired off for separate competitions, finishing at or near the top team spots and turning in top three finishes in smaller groups at the 30th Annual Young Astronaut Day held this past Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Cleveland Public Library Main Branch.
Birchwood’s Pilot Team (grades 1-4) made up of members Isabella, Enoch, Juliet, Isla, Eliesha, and Jacob earned a first-place team award in its grade division while Birchwood’s Mission Specialist Team (grades 5-8) made up of Lucy, Nelson, Brian, Rodrigo, and Sofia splashed down in second place in its grade division – both outstanding performances considering that each competing school can send only one team per grade division of up to six members.
Pilot Team event groups left no doubt as to why their team finished ahead of all others in grades 1-4, placing as follows: Jacob and Enoch, 1st place, “Paper Airplane Challenge”; Eliesha, Isla and Enoch, 2nd place, “Space Communication Challenge”; Juliet and Isabella, Honorable Mention, “Robots Exploring Mars.”
Mission Specialists Team pairs also placed as follows: Nelson and Sophia earned 2nd place in “Reach for the Moon”; Brian and Rodrigo, 2nd place, “Lunar Lava Tubes Maze”; and Lucy, 3rd place, “Rolling Rovers.”
The Birchwood Young Astronaut Day Teams are coordinated by science teachers Rana Bottino and Lauren Miller (1st-4th) and Linda Brown and Sam Miller (5th-8th).
Young Astronaut Day is a STEM outreach event for students in grades 1-12 with the goal to inspire and educate students about NASA and the STEM field. Students work as a team to solve engineering challenges ranging from parachute drops and balloon cars to Lego robots.
Teams are tasked to complete three activities that create one mission within a two-hour period. This requires them to build strong teamwork, communication, and critical thinking skills. The kids also enjoy an appearance of an Astronaut keynote address and interacting with the scientists and engineers who are leading the activities and volunteering.
Begun in 1992, the Young Astronaut Day program is presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Northern Ohio Section. For more information, visit aiaa.org/yad.
