Astro-Blank Project

Astro blank project

Tyler Bean

1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.


Our project is a interactive model of all of the planets magnetic fields and the the magnetic field of the sun. we are using what is called a ferrocell to model what they look like. A ferro cell is the mixture of ferrofluid and wd40 spread between two panes of glass or acrylic with led lights below it.


2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? How did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

We learned a lot about the magnetic fields and what they do for the planets. How they work is something that i did a bit of personal research of but in our presentation we didn't talk about that. We did some research about why some of the planets have offset poles and other things along those lines.




3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?  We learned that we need to do a lot of brainstorming before we start. We learned that big words like magneto-hydrodynamics doesn't work for my group. We eventually figured out our presentation with a bit of hep from max



4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?

IT would be to either begin designing a system that can show the suns ever changing magnetic fields or work on a system to make it so that the ferrocell an have the “planets” inserted into the middle. That was our biggest challenge and one of the only ones we did not overcome


Astronomy

Manny Pacheco



Final Documentation


As we wrap up our projects, you’ll be asked to do two things:


a) make your project as complete as it can be and


b) post reflections to the NuVu site by addressing the questions below. You may compose your answers here and cut and past to the site when you’re ready. In addition to the responses, please post photographs, sketches, etc. of any graphical elements that help to highlight your work!!


Here are the four questions we’d like you to respond to ….


1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.

Our project was on a zombie star. A zombie star is a star that explodes and leaves a smaller one behind.




2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? HOw did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?


I had no idea that a star can leave another star after it dies.




3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?

Our struggles were trying to figure out a project. And something that went well was when we were using rhino and figured out our


4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?


Make the box into wood and test it out.


Astro-Physician(Physics) Project

Taylor Plourde

Final Documentation


As we wrap up our projects, you’ll be asked to do two things:


a) make your project as complete as it can be and


b) post reflections to the NuV site by addressing the questions below. You may compose your answers here and cut and past to the site when you’re ready. In addition to the responses, please post photographs, sketches, etc. of any graphical elements that help to highlight your work!!


Here are the four questions we’d like you to respond to ….


1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.


My project was a model of a zombie star, it was a balloon around a light bulb, that would get pumped up to show the life cycle of the first star. Then the balloon would pop and leave behind the light bulb that would symbolize the zombie star. The project was designed to educate about a largely unknown phenomena.


2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? HOw did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?


When thinking of ideas for our project I learned about a theory called Rainbow gravity that talks about the different wavelengths of light being pulled by gravity differently.


3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?


I didn't understand Rhino and I had to re-do the box like 10 times, so that sucked.


4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?


I would finish the box in Rhino and laser cut it, then test it and make any needed adjustments.


ASTROCHEMISTRY

Sophie Legett

1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.


My project was an astrochemistry themed board game, in which players would try to collect elements that compose a certain celestial body. There is a board to facilitate the choosing of cards, on which could be the elements, a “chance” card (steal, trade, etc), or a piece of astronomy trivia. The intention of the board game is to make the subject of planetary composition fun for new astronomers--to be both a fun game and a learning experience.



2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? How did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?


I learned about the chemical composition of different planets. I also learned, however, about how much we don’t know: in trying to make the board game scientifically accurate, I realized that there simply isn’t data for many of the objects in our solar system. In the beginning of the project I learned about the creation of the elements, specifically the order of fusion, and how the isotopes of elements fused in particular ways, not just any isotope. Knowing, or trying to know, about the different types of chemistry in space expanded my knowledge of both astronomy and chemistry in general.




3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?


Fortunately, I had a great partner and we worked well together to manage time, divide tasks, and communicate. I personally struggled a bit with managing my class time, mainly because we worked on this project through AP exams and I was sometimes preoccupied. It worked well for my partner and I to divide tasks-- I would create one aspect of the game and she would do another, etc


4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?


Because of time, we didn’t really get to finish and test the game. I would want to spend more time creating all the cards instead of just a sample, making the board itself more stable and efficient, and making sure the rules worked well by testing the playing. Also, I would like to have done some more research on how scientists are currently trying to determine the composition of planets. This would be an important step in achieving my learning targets as well as making the game more educational.


Astro-Art Project

Linea Kay

1. Through this project, I wanted to display the evolution of space art over the years. By creating a gallery of space art from the early 1900s to now, I intended to convey to the audience how our changing vision of space has caused the art we produce to evolve. Displaying the works chronologically in the gallery emphasizes the changes and advancements we have made as humans when it comes to our representations of space. 

2. I learned how to connect astronomy with art, which was a valuable exercise in finding commonalities between two fairly unrelated things. I also learned a lot about famous space artists throughout history, both artists who specialize(d) in space and artists who simply included space in their wide range of subjects. I got to understand more deeply the need of humans to interpret both the things they see and the things they can’t fully understand. 

3. Throughout the process, I was able to assemble a good variety of space art, each from a different artist, but sharing a common theme, and I’m happy with the pieces that would have made up the final exhibit. I probably should have spent less time on research and more time on the actual physical project, because I was rushing towards the end and didn’t get the chance to finish the actual exhibit to the extent that I wanted to. 

4. I might follow my original plan of including my own artwork along with the gallery, just to add another, more personal touch. I also might include an audio tour to go along with the gallery, to help the audience to be further immersed in the experience, and I would also figure out the lighting for the gallery. All in all, I would have wanted to make it a more polished experience, and one that could be up on the wall for a longer period of time so people could actually view it. I feel like the concept is good, and I would have liked to have the exhibit up so I could get feedback from the potential viewers. 

Different Interpretations of the Stars

Sarah Bacon

Our goal for this project was to have the audience learn about other cultural views of the constellations and how they differ. We wanted them to walk away and think about how their lives may have an impact on their interpretation of the stars.

I discovered new views of the stars created by the myths from multiple cultures. Being able to step away from the boundaries placed upon the stars and applying your interpretation to create a new view of something is a major part of astronomy.

The project itself went well, but my partnership didn’t go as planned. We had a difficult time splitting up the work evenly. There wasn’t much initiative from my partner to help with this project. The coding was hard because I over complicated it when, in reality, it was fairly simple.

If I had more time, I would reprint everything in the book. I already revised it to a point where it is more cohesive and in an order that makes sense. When I reprinted it, the star/dot image was a lot smaller than I originally planned for, so I didn’t want to keep reprinting it and waste paper and ink. My final product stayed on track with my learning targets.

Archaeodisaster project

Tessa Maria


1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.

My project was on Archaeoastronomy. Originally I had intended on it being a jigsaw puzzle but have since changed it to a crossword puzzle. The idea behind the puzzle is still the same as before just on a different format.


2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? HOw did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

Before starting this project, I knew the key constellations in the sky and a few stories behind them. After working on this project for so long, I have learned a lot more about stars and even have branched off and done my own research on astrology.



Picture of original puzzle has been lost.

3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?

Starting my project was pretty easy. However, I missed about 2-3 weeks worth of classes towards the homestretch resulting in me misplacing my work and having to come up with a new idea fast.


4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?

I would continue with my jigsaw puzzle idea and implement the ideas I had about wiring them up so they light up the constellations. I think that completion of my project would result in my learning targets being reached.

Trevor's Astro-blank project: Life to Life

Trevor White

1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.

My project was supposed to help get people excited about life elsewhere. People would play my game and think about what aliens would look like or how they would live. Without interest there is no project. Without projects there are no discoveries.



2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? HOw did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

Working on this project has gotten me excited about other life! The possibility that Earth is not an exception is intriguing!




3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?  I was working by myself so I didn’t have to collaborate. I enjoyed the freedom of being able to do my ideas. I learned that changing and adapting as my idea came to life was very helpful. I wish I had more time to work on my project.



4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets? I would make a better rule book. I would also make better cards. I would probably laminate them and make more. I would also make a box.