Part of the Sally Ride Science website. This site features videos of Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan on board the STS-118. "Teachers inspire wonder, broaden our horizons and encourage our dreams. They open doors to discovery and  ... more

Part of the Sally Ride Science website. This site features videos of Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan on board the STS-118. "Teachers inspire wonder, broaden our horizons and encourage our dreams. They open doors to discovery and exploration. We invite you to join in on our celebration of teachers. We're honored to acknowledge Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan for her accomplishments on STS-118, and for being an excellent representative of all teachers."   less

Book Description: "At last, a book for every student that loves music. Written for middle school, high school and pre-engineering college students, this book compiles resources, information and stories of engineers who work passio  ... more

Book Description: "At last, a book for every student that loves music. Written for middle school, high school and pre-engineering college students, this book compiles resources, information and stories of engineers who work passionately in the music industry to design new and improved products for music enjoyment. Motivation to develop your skills, imagination to see the finished product, and the energy to see it through are all outstanding attributes of future engineers. In this book, the word engineer is used to mean those with a four-year (or more) engineering degree as well as those with a two-year engineering technology degree (music, audio, electronics, etc.). Ranging from the design and construction of stadium and studio sound systems, to the design and manufacture of iPods, electronic instruments, gaming sound, MIDI programming, and much more, you will understand what you need to know to work in this industry and find a satisfying and rewarding job as a music engineer. This book presents possibilities you might not have expected. You will see what types of engineers stream live concerts on the Web and create your favorite music software. You'll also find out how to identify companies that will hire you as an engineer. From the software engineers who design ring tones, to the electrical engineers who work on new microphones and speakers, to the computer engineers who create new thrill ride or animatronic sounds, the sound industry has a place for many types of engineers. You will learn what it takes to design music applications and get advice from engineers about how to succeed in the industry."   less

Sally Ride Science was founded in 2001 by former astronaut Sally Ride Americas first woman in space. The company mission is to empower girls to explore the world of science from astrobiology to zoology and from environmental e  ... more

Sally Ride Science was founded in 2001 by former astronaut Sally Ride Americas first woman in space. The company mission is to empower girls to explore the world of science from astrobiology to zoology and from environmental engineering to rocket science. We do this by creating innovative, high quality programs and publications for girls and their parents, teachers, and future employers. Our goal is to increase the number of girls who are technically literate and who have the foundation they need to go on in science, math, or engineering. Parents-see more ways to get involved at this URL: http://sallyridescience.com/forparents.shtml   less

Part of Discovery channel's chronological highlights of the Space Shuttle Program. "Sally Ride, a former nationally ranked tennis player with a doctorate in physics from Stanford University, was selected to be an astronaut in  ... more

Part of Discovery channel's chronological highlights of the Space Shuttle Program. "Sally Ride, a former nationally ranked tennis player with a doctorate in physics from Stanford University, was selected to be an astronaut in 1978 and spent four years preparing to become the first American woman in space. On June 18, 1983, she finally got her chance, lifting off in the Challenger as part of a team that included Robert L. Crippen, Frederick Hauck, John M. Fabian and Norman E. Thagard. It was the first shuttle mission with a five-member crew. Ride and her colleagues spent 147 hours in space, deploying satellites for Canada and Indonesia and conducting the first formation flying of the shuttle with a free-flying satellite, before landing on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Ride went on to serve on another shuttle mission in 1984, and, in 1986, served as a member of the Presidential Commission that investigated the Challenger disaster. After leaving NASA in 1989, she went on to become a college physics professor and an author of science books for children, according to NASA."   less

Scholastic Magazine's feature on five amazing women in honor of Women's History Month. They highlight: 1. Dr. Mae Jemison, first African American Woman in Space. 2. The flight of Amelia Earhart. 3. Rosa Parks - How I fought for ci  ... more

Scholastic Magazine's feature on five amazing women in honor of Women's History Month. They highlight: 1. Dr. Mae Jemison, first African American Woman in Space. 2. The flight of Amelia Earhart. 3. Rosa Parks - How I fought for civil rights. 4. Sally Ride - Challenging the space frontier. 5. Melba Patillo - Integrating Central High. There are student activities and related links.   less

Ms. article about special blog issue on Sally Ride. Excerpt: "Since America first saw Ride in her blue NASA jumpsuit, she has been the face of the “modern scientist”—an idol that more closely resembled girls and young women who we  ... more

Ms. article about special blog issue on Sally Ride. Excerpt: "Since America first saw Ride in her blue NASA jumpsuit, she has been the face of the “modern scientist”—an idol that more closely resembled girls and young women who were labeled “tomboys” or “brainy.” It seems like Ride enjoyed this sort of “tomboy heroism,” which let her to play off stereotypes while simultaneously debunk them. And one more influential act has come with her passing: In the obituary released by Sally Ride Science, the astronaut/scientist/trailblazer officially came out as a lesbian through the simple phrase, “survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaugnessy.” Ride’s sister Bear, a lesbian as well, confirmed the romantic relationship today—a relationship that was hidden from the public eye. As Ride hoped she would change society’s perceptions of women in STEM, Bear hopes that her posthumous coming out will be a boost for LGBT youth. She told BuzzFeed, “I hope it makes is easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them.” Since Ride’s first space mission in 1983, 42 American women have flown with NASA, though they still compose only 26 percent of NASA’s astronaut corp as of 2008. We have a way to go in eliminating the STEM gender gap, but let’s not forget the woman who brought this gap to our attention and forced us to reexamine the way we envision a scientist, and hope we boost little girls who want to pursue the field."   less

The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival, hosted by Lockheed Martin, will be the country’s first national science festival and will descend on the Washington, D.C. area in the Fall of 2010. The Festival promises to be the  ... more

The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival, hosted by Lockheed Martin, will be the country’s first national science festival and will descend on the Washington, D.C. area in the Fall of 2010. The Festival promises to be the ultimate multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary celebration of science in the United States. The culmination of the Festival will be a two-day Expo in the nation’s capital that will give over 500 science & engineering organizations from all over the United States the opportunity to present themselves with a hands-on, fun science activity to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Our mission is to re-invigorate the interest of our nation’s youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science gatherings in the United States. We will accomplish our mission by: * • Offering stellar, multi-faceted programs with high entertainment value and integrity of scientific content. • Appealing to a large, diverse audience of all ages and backgrounds, from professionals to novices, from science enthusiasts to the merely curious • Engaging the greatest minds in science. • Involving the most dynamic leaders in business, technology, government, education and culture. • Building a strong foundation of prestigious and impressive institutional partners resulting in increased communication between the scientific and educational communities. • Producing each program at the highest level of quality, applying professional media and theatrical standards of excellence and technical sophistication. • Spreading the message through powerful media partnerships and an effective communications strategy resulting in increased public awareness of the importance of science in their lives. • Sustaining the Festival’s impact through year-round programming and curriculum development and a content-rich, interactive website. • Creating a science festival programming template to facilitate the development of more local festivals throughout the United States.   less

Sally Ride's TOYchallenge is a national toy design challenge for 5th-8th graders. A chance for teams of imaginative kids to create a new toy or game. Toys are a great way to learn about science, engineering, and the design process  ... more

Sally Ride's TOYchallenge is a national toy design challenge for 5th-8th graders. A chance for teams of imaginative kids to create a new toy or game. Toys are a great way to learn about science, engineering, and the design process! As girls and boys create a toy or game, they experience engineering as a fun, creative, collaborative process, relevant to everyday life. Kids grow through engaging in TOYchallenge in many other ways, too: from developing a sense of teamwork, to becoming familiar with the engineering design process and building self-confidence. Each TOYchallenge team needs an adult coach to support the team as they work together to brainstorm, research, design, and test their creation. The coach is not there to tell the kids what to do, but to support and guide a team from brainstorming to building and exhibiting a working prototype (and we give the coaches lots of advice and support, too). The competition results in a lot of "self-learning" - students learn things that they need to know on their own, skills that they don't always learn in school. When they form their own plans and come to their own conclusions, students not only retain what they've learned better, but they also feel more empowered, motivated and fulfilled. They learn skills they will use for the rest of their lives, whatever they choose to do as a career: imagination and collaboration skills are as important as engineering ideas. This is a competition where everybody wins!   less

Great archive of technologies associated with recorded music with images. Some were successful, others not. Excerpt: "From phonographs to records to iPods, with a few hiccups along the way. Edison's phonograph, which came about a  ... more

Great archive of technologies associated with recorded music with images. Some were successful, others not. Excerpt: "From phonographs to records to iPods, with a few hiccups along the way. Edison's phonograph, which came about as a happy accident, paved the way for the entire field of recording technology - recordings on thread, ungrooved records for home recording and a whole slew of magnetic wire recorders, initially used during World War II and eventually adopted by civilians. Several attempts were made to improve the record player, from making it wireless and broadcastable through a radio, to developing hi-fi systems, to installing an in-car record changer that could play up to 14 records with minimal skipping, before cassettes and then CDs took over. Between CDs and iPods, we were treated to the Mini Disc (pictured above), Sony's attempt to miniaturize CDs and make the players more portable. And finally, after loading MP3 after MP3 onto their iPods, people became nostalgic for vinyl. Follow the development of recording tech in our gallery."   less

The Redwood Valley Railway is a ridable miniature railroad in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, California [1]. It was established in 1952 by Erich Thomsen, and has expanded to 1.25 miles of track and over 160,000 passengers a y  ... more

The Redwood Valley Railway is a ridable miniature railroad in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, California [1]. It was established in 1952 by Erich Thomsen, and has expanded to 1.25 miles of track and over 160,000 passengers a year.[2] The railroad uses 5" scale model live steam locomotives on a 1 ft 3 in (381 mm) narrow gauge track. Rides last approximately 12 minutes. As of December 2007, tickets for adults and children are $2 (children under 2 years old ride free). A five-ride ticket costs $8.   less