Pupils' space tool design nets prize in competition

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - A group of fifth-grade students from the Freehold Township schools was recently chosen among 22 winners in the Lockheed Martin 2007 Space Day Design Chal-lenges national competition.

The winning team, the Mars Retrieval Experts, competed with 178 teams from 17 states in the nation and won for Best Design in Stretch and Fetch, one of six space-related design categories. The students and their teacher, Cathy Creech, will be honored at the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on May 4.

According to information provided by the school district, students in the shared time academic enrichment program, Mitchell Applegate and Christo-pher Raia from the West Freehold School and Austin Treubert from the Laura Donovan School, made up the winning team.

According to Creech, the enrichment teacher, the challenges presented to the students were real problems encountered by people living and working in space.

"Students worked collaboratively and used creative problem solving, critical thinking skills and teamwork to solve the problems," she said.

The Stretch and Fetch category involved designing a quick and easily operated device for an astronaut to retrieve an object that is out of reach while working on a planet or moon in the solar system. The device had to meet specific criteria and the team had to use an extensive rubric, scientific information and mathematical skills in developing the device to solve the problem. The solutions were submitted for evaluation along with documented research, scale drawings, photos and a video demonstrating the ongoing development of the device and its application.

According to organizers, the mission of the competition is to inspire young learners to achieve in areas of science, math and technology.

"The demand for young scientists and engineers is expected to increase at almost four times the rate of other occupations within the next 10 years," said Bob Stevens, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin.

Stevens said the goal of the competition is to strengthen interests in these fields.

According to the press release, winning the Space Day Design Challenges is not new to Creech. Her fifth-grade class at the Applegate school won in 2002. She said that much like last time, her students worked well together to conduct the research, and to design, construct and test their device. This year the enrichment students were part of a smaller group pooling their talents together to come up with a winning design.

"My teams felt this was a wonderful experience for them, as did their families," Creech said. "This is a very high level of achievement."

According to a press release from the school district, students in the shared time enrichment program in the Freehold Township schools are identified as gifted in the area of general intellectual ability. Programs are offered in grades three through five or for advanced placement in middle school programs. The primary purpose of the enrichment program is to nurture the gifted student's abilities by offering differentiated opportunities for instruction. Students receive instruction in the core academic subjects in a regular class and sessions in the enrichment class to capitalize on their unique learning styles.