Traveling Science Show Teaches Students About Life in Outer Space

Students at took part in a visually stimulating and interactive science program Tuesday that taught that them all about life in outer space.

Paul Taylor of the Franklin Science Institute used various items such as a simple 2 liter soda bottle, balloons and one giant globe to demonstrate everything from gravity, to microgravity, action and reaction and more through his travelling science show which was presented as part of Catholic School’s Week.

All the students eagerly pointed upwards towards the ceiling when Taylor asked them where space is. But then he looked all around the school gym and pointed out to the students that space in fact is everywhere however up in outer space there is a big difference, and life up there can be difficult.

With demonstrations he showed the students how gravity works on Earth and how different it is in space which has what is known as microgravity. He asked the students if any of them had been on a roller coaster and noticed a feeling of being lifted out of their seat for a brief moment. That feeling is what microgravity is, Taylor said.  

Before taking the students through what life is like up there for astronauts, he demonstrated how they would travel into outer space via a space shuttle. By spraying a touch of liquid inside the plastic soda bottle and igniting it he was able to demonstrate how the chemical reaction causes the bottle to fly directing upwards, at what he believed was at the speed of about 30 miles per hour.

Taylor told the students that in order for the space shuttle to be launched it has to travel at 17,500 miles per hour.  Traveling at the speed would be the equivalent of getting to California by plane in five minutes, he told the students.

Because everything floats in space and there is no oxygen, astronauts need to be suited up in the proper attire in order to survive the many elements in this atmosphere which could harm the body.  Temperatures can vary from extreme cold to extreme hot.

With the help of a student volunteer, Taylor demonstrated some of the items astronauts need to wear in space which includes a tubing system which can pump in cold liquid or warm liquid to help the body survive extreme temperatures. Space suits are made of the same material that is used in bullet proof vests but about seven times as thick, and this is because the air pressure is so intense the body would not survive without this protection, Taylor explained.

Students also learned about how astronauts sleep in the shuttle by way of attaching their sleeping bags to the wall and how even substances like water will float and could be dangerous if it were to come in contact with equipment. He explained that there is a shower unit on a space ship but before an astronaut can leave the unit every drop of water must be vacuumed up in order to prevent it from floating about the cabin. Fire is also extremely dangerous in space as it would burn in every direction as there is no gravity, Taylor said.