Virtual Worlds for Learning Real World Engineering

• By Maggie Masetti
• December 27, 2011
• 1 Comment

This is the James Webb Space Telescope’s second year participating with the RealWorld/InWorld Engineering Design challenge. We interviewed the teacher behind the program, Sharon Bowers, last year, so we thought we’d do a little follow-up.

Here are last year’s winners and participants talking about their experience:

This winter we have started having guest speakers from the JWST project talk to the students InWorld about the satellite and how it works, as well as the science it will do.

So far, we’ve had Don McCarthy from the NIRCam Science Team speak. NIRCam is the Near Infrared Camera on the JWST.

Here is Don’s presentation:

After Don, Richard Lynch, an engineer and the Spacecraft Manager talked to the students about how JWST was designed and some of the most interesting design aspects, like the mirror and the sunshield. Here is his presenation:

We’ve also had a research scientist, Amber Straughn, talk, as well as the Deputy Project Manager, Paul Geithner.

If you have a PC and would like to join us for one of our guest speakers, you can go as a tourist. You will have to email rwiw@nianet.org for a temporary guest pass in order to hear the presentation. Please register at the RWIW site (http://www.nasarealworldinworld.org/) and you will get weekly reminders about upcoming Q&As.

Alternatively, you can watch their videos later; they will be linked on this page: http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/realworld.html