Follow us on Twitter

NASA has selected teams of middle and high school students to test their science experiments in microgravity competitions that simulate the microgravity in space. High school students will participate in "Dropping in a Microgravity Environment," or DIME, and students in sixth through ninth grades in "What If No Gravity?" or WING.

DIME and WING challenge students to design and build a microgravity science experiment that is tested in a 2.2 second drop tower at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. While in freefall, the students' experiments will experience microgravity conditions, as if they were on the International Space Station.

Four high school student teams were selected in the nationwide DIME competition. NASA will provide funding for up to four students and one adult advisor from each team to come to Glenn in April 2010 to conduct its experiment and review the results with Glenn engineers and scientists. While at the center, they will tour Glenn facilities and participate in workshops. Teams were selected from the following high schools:

• Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, Illinois
• Plattsburgh High School, Plattsburgh, New York
• St. Ursula Academy, Toledo, Ohio
• Tualatin High School, Tualatin, Oregon.

Additional high school student teams selected in the DIME competition will ship their science experiments to NASA to be tested in the drop tower. The experiments and resulting data will be returned to the teams so they can prepare reports about their findings. Additional DIME teams were selected from the following high schools:

• Columbus High School, Columbus, Georgia
• Emerson Preparatory School, Washington
• Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, Illinois
• Northbrook High School, Houston, Texas
• Troy Athens High School, Troy, Michigan (four teams).

Student teams in sixth through ninth grades were selected for the WING competition. Each team will ship its experiment to Glenn for testing. The experiments and resulting data will be returned to the teams so they can analyze the experiment results and submit a written report to NASA. One student team not affiliated with a school was selected from within the community of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Additional teams were selected from the following schools:

• Crestwood Middle School, Mountaintop, Pennsylvania (two teams)
• Dunstan Middle School, Littleton, Colorado
• Gate of Heaven School, Dallas, Pennsylvania (two teams)
• Good Shepherd Academy, Kingston, Pennsylvania
• Hanover Area School District, Hanover Township, Pennsylvania (two teams)
• Hazleton Area School District, Drums, Pennsylvania (two teams)
• Lake-Lehman School District, Lehman, Pennsylvania
• Northwood Elementary School, Mooresville, Indiana
• Smith Middle School, Troy, Michigan
• Tunkhannock Area Middle School, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania
• Wyoming Area Secondary Center, Exeter, Pennsylvania
• Wyoming Valley West School District, Kingston, Pennsylvania (two teams).

These and other NASA educational programs help the agency attract and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, disciplines that are critical to space exploration. The Teaching from Space Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston funds the DIME and WING competitions.

For information about NASA's DIME and WING student competitions, visit http://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/DIME.html.

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education.

For information about NASA's Glenn Research Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/glenn.