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PUNE: They did the moonwalk, the space walk, repaired a space ship and grew vegetables in 'space' and came closest to feeling like Sunita Williams!

Meet Charu Mathur and Sujata Deshpande (Abhinava Vidyalaya), Leena Bokil (Indian Institute of Aeronautical Engineering), Aarti Patil ( Vidyanchal school) and Nagesh ( MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul), the five Pune teachers, who recently returned from the USA after attending the level 1 and level 2 of NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Space Academy for Educators' Programme (SAEP), organised in collaboration with Honeywell Hometown Solutions.

Dressed in blue NASA space suits, the teachers spoke twenty to the dozen about their 'space journeys'. Sujata remembers being suspended from a rope from a high ceiling, trying to carry out a simulated space shuttle repair work, while Charu remembers experiencing a moonwalk after being strapped to a 1/6th gravity chair and Aarti remembers how frightening it was to take a free fall from a four-storied wall, though adequately harnessed!

If that was not all, the teachers were also exposed to equipment like the multi- axis chair allowing the participant to experience the sensation of being on-board a tumbling aircraft, the 'Aviation Challenge simulation', which gave them an experience to land on water with a parachute and be rescued by a helicopter and several others.

And here is the icing on the cake. They rubbed shoulders with renowned American astronauts, Ed Buckbee, founder of the Space Camp and Story Musgrave, who has been into space for a record six times!

Says Nagesh, "It was great to meet Musgrave, as he had designed the Sky Lab 30 years ago. People may recall that it was this very Skylab, which went out of control and was to hit Pune city in the late seventies. Luckily, it was diverted into the sea at the last moment. Musgrave was therefore intrigued to meet a Puneite!"

The Pune teachers were part of a 300-strong contingent of teachers from 16 countries and 47 states of the USA, who were selected to participate in this programme. Of course, for Aarti Patil and Sujata Deshpande, this was their second visit to Nasa, as they had already completed the level 1 training programme earlier.

On their return to Pune, the teachers are enthusiastically sharing their new-found knowledge and experience with their students.

Sujata for instance, has begun explaining the Newton's third law of motion in a fun way. She uses the air blown out of cold drink straw to push a thermocole bullock cart forward. "This is a far better method than the blackboard," she says.

Aarti on the other hand, has tied up with the Science Activity Centre at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Iucaa) to expose her students to the joy of learning physics through the medium of toys. "We have also been visiting IUCAA often for star gazing sessions," she says.

Charu has recently introduced her std VIII students to making rockets using discarded PET bottles and gardening in 'space'.

"I brought back some special basil seeds from the NASA centre. The students are supposed to grow these seeds in a chamber, which has zero oxygen, and zero carbon dioxide. An attempt is being made to simulate gardening in space," she says.

The teachers are convinced that these practical, fun lessons will enthuse school children to pursue 'pure sciences' in later years.

Says Nagesh, "Yes, if we begin teaching physics and other science subjects in a fun way, am sure our children will develop greater interest in science subjects!"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Pune_teachers_attend_NASA_work...