Tallaght students set for launch of school space programme

Tallaght students set for launch of school space programme

By Mary Dennehy

TALLAGHT Community School is preparing to launch a six-month space programme, which will see students speak live to an astronaut on the International Space Station.

The Skype interview was set to be the first live interview between an Irish school and an astronaut in space.

TCS Science space talk 26 January 2017

However, a project run by the European Space Agency and Science Foundation Ireland will this week see 300 students from Limerick, Tipperary and Kildare talk to European Space Agency astronaut, Thomas Pesquet.

However, what is admirable about Tallaght Community School’s project is that it’s being led by the teachers and the students, with no outside funding, and will see students not only live-Skype an astronaut in space but embrace science and space across all subjects.

Science teacher Ian Boran told The Echo how students will be learning about space and space explorations, and advances in history class, studying the planets and their distances from earth in geography, examining the difference between exercising on earth compared to on a space station in PE, studying voyage blogs in English and learning about the speed of the station and its velocity in maths. 

The theme of space will also feature in music classes, with students working on songs such as Ground Control to Major Tom by David Bowie.

The school will also be inviting guest speakers into the school between now and October, when the live skype interview takes place, and releasing a weather balloon, which will track the temperature and the air pressure as it rises.

Mr Boran said: “This is a whole-school project and a way of promoting science and astronomy in a fun and inclusive way.

“Secondary school is also a stepping stone to greater things and we’re encouraging young people to think big.”

First year student Dean Gooding (12) expressed his excitement over the project.

He told The Echo: “I’m really excited for it.

“Science was always one of my favourite subjects but it is great being able to see what you learn in school being put into the real world.

“I never thought I’d get the chance to talk with someone in space and everyone has lots of questions.

“I’d like to ask the astronaut about food, like how do they make their food last for a long time and keep it from going off?”

Each year group will get to put forward two questions for the live interview, which was made possible after an application made by the school had been accepted through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) programme via the European Space Agency.

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