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For Release: April 29, 2003

Katherine K. Martin
Media Relations Office
216/433-2406
katherine.martin{at}nasa.gov

Student Teams Set for "Dime Drop" at NASA

Four high school student teams will get to test their science
experiments at the third annual Dropping In a Microgravity
Environment (DIME) Competition being held at NASA's Glenn Research
Center, Cleveland. 

DIME Drop Days, set for April 29, 30 and May 1, will give each team
the opportunity to test the experiment they designed and constructed
over the last several months in Glenn's 2.2 Second Drop Tower. Teams
will alternately conduct their initial drop tower experiments on
Tuesday, April 29 from 1 - 4 p.m. and on Wednesday, April 30, from 9
a.m. - noon and 1 - 4:30 p.m. 

Teams participating this year are Cleveland Heights High School,
Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Gettysburg Area High School, Gettysburg,
Pa., Sycamore High School, Cincinnati, Ohio and Troy Athens High
School, Troy, Mich. 

As part of the competition, early in the school year the student
teams developed a hypothesis that could be tested through
experimentation and prepared a scientific research proposal. During
DIME Drop Days the teams will test how their experiment performs in
the absence of gravity under the guidance of Glenn engineers and
scientists. Experiments this year involve magnetic force,
sonoluminesence (sound and light), buoyancy, and crystal formation of
super cooled water. 

"By participating in this program, students develop a hypothesis that
is tested through experimentation and learn how weightlessness, or
microgravity, can be created by dropping their experiments in a free
fall here on Earth," said Richard DeLombard, DIME program creator and
coordinator. "We hope this event helps to inspire the next generation
to get excited about science by allowing them to perform their
experiments in real-life research facilities."

In addition, the team experiment drops will be webcast starting at 9
a.m. on Wednesday, April 30. Students around the world will be able
to witness the experiments as they fall down the drop tower as well
as the reactions of the participants. Webcast participants will also
be able to ask questions of Glenn engineers and participating team
members. 

DIME is a NASA-sponsored educational program that guides teams to
design and build science experiments, which are then operated in a
NASA microgravity drop tower facility. The program is a
project-oriented activity lasting one school year for selected teams.
This year, for the first time, a nationwide competition was held
among teams comprised of students in grades 9-12 with an adult
advisor. NASA also provides all expenses for the winning teams' trip
to DIME Drop Days at Glenn. 

More information about the DIME Program, including instructions to
access the webcast is available at:

http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/DIME.html

Note to Editors/News Directors: Media representatives interested in
covering the event should contact Katherine Martin or Glenn's Media
Relations Office (216-433-2901) in order to be cleared through
security and escorted to the event.

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