FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nancy Poulos 718-461-2219 npoulos@schools.nyc.gov Student Science Experiment Takes Flight to the International Space Station Middle school students from World Journalism Preparatory School designed a microgravity experiment that has been chosen to fly to the International Space Station in October 2014. Flushing, New York - October 2, 2014 - Through a Flight Experiment Design Competition, over 600 students at World Journalism Preparatory School (WJPS) were given the opportunity to design science experiments to fly in low Earth orbit and then on the International Space Station in microgravity. Teams of students designed and executed experiments that would function in the microgravity conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The competition is sponsored by the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), under the direction of Jeff Goldstein, Director of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. Of the 18 schools involved in the SSEP Mission 6, WJPS was the only school in New York to compete. Through several levels of competition at WJPS, a winning experiment emerged. Under the guidance of teachers, Christian VanDeurs and Dr. Mark Baribault, seventh-grade team members Raul Castrejon, Michael Fourniotis, Gabriella Marin, Ethan Reres and Jamila Tejada designed an experiment titled, “Can Zero Gravity Affect the Germination of Chia Plants?” The experiment will compare and contrast the germination of Chia seeds in microgravity aboard ISS against germination in earth’s gravity. The students hypothesize that the seeds will germinate faster in microgravity than they would in earth’s gravity. The students were provided with a nanotube in which to conduct the experiment. A nanotube is a flexible tube that can be manipulated into two or three chambers with clips. It is also known as a Fluid Mixing Enclosure (FME). The first chamber of the nanotube will hold distilled water and air; the second chamber will have the chia seeds, cheesecloth (for the germinating seeds to rest on) and carbon dioxide, and the final chamber will hold a formaldehyde solution. Once on ISS, crewmembers will remove the clamp between the first and second chambers and the seeds will be in contact with the water. After 12 days, the clamp to the final chamber will be removed and the formaldehyde mixture will halt the germination process and preserve the plant material.

www.wjps.org    Cynthia  Schneider,  Principal  Nancy  Poulos,  Assistant  Principal  Nicholas  Jurman,  Assistant  Principal  

World Journalism Preparatory School

A College Board School NYC DOE 25Q285

 34-65 192nd Street

Flushing, New York 11358 718-461-2219

Fax:  718-­‐461-­‐2633  

When the experiment is back on Earth, the WJPS students will compare the quantity and size of seeds that germinated in microgravity to seeds that germinated on earth. The experiment could prove that chia seed germination is more efficient in microgravity. Two experiments were “WJPS Honorable Mention” finalists: “The Effect of Microgravity on Aging and Longevity” by Cleo Zhang, Nicole Yu and Howie Chen and “The Physiological Effects of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa on Caenorhabditis Elegans” by Amina Chowdhury Flying with the science experiment will be two Mission Patch designs that exemplify the sense of community at WJPS during the SSEP experience. One patch was designed by high school senior, Willfree Kim, and the other by middle school seventh-grader, Kerlin Pyun. The experiment and Mission Patches will be carried aboard the Orbital Sciences’ unmanned resupply spacecraft Cygnus, which is scheduled to launch on October 24, 2014 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Funding for WJPS’s participation in the SSEP program was provided by the Children’s First Network 402, a Space Grant from Cornell University and the P.T.A. of WJPS. WJPS is a New York City public school located at 34-65 192 Street in Flushing. It serves 615 students in grades 6 through 12. The school opened in September of 2006 under the direction of its current principal, Ms. Cynthia Schneider. In 2013, WJPS was awarded a silver medal by US News and World Report as a Best High School. WJPS students use journalism techniques, strategies and investigations to frame their learning. The SSEP is undertaken by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in partnership with NanoRacks LLC. This on-orbit research opportunity is enabled through NanoRacks LLC, which is working in partnership with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

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WJPS will host a press conference on October 24, 2014 at 11:45 am at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum.

Attached: Photographs

Photograph of NanoRacks Fluids Mixing Enclosure (FME) Photo Credit: Anthony Castagliola, WJPS 6.7 inches long, outer diameter .5 inches, inner diameter 3/8 inches Students in the lab: Students in the lab: Photo Credit: Nancy Poulos, WJPS From left: R. Castrejon, M. Fourniotis, E. Reres, G. Marin, J. Tejada

Students and teachers: Photo Credit: Anthony Castagliola, WJPS Front: M. Baribault, R. Castrejon, M. Fourniotis, E. Reres Back: C. VanDeurs, G. Marin, J. Tejada

Mission Patch Designs: Photo Credit: Helen Reed, WJPS

By K. Pyun By W. Kim