FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Further information: Don McKendry, director, 740-826-3305.

John and Annie Glenn Historic Site hosts NASA Mobile Aeronautics Education Laboratory April 18-22

NEW CONCORD, OHIO – 2005 – What was originally thought to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for area students visiting the John and Annie Glenn Historic Site and Exploration Center is becoming an annual dream come true.

For the third year in a row, the museum is hosting the NASA Mobile Aeronautics Education Laboratory (MAEL). From April 18-22, students will have a chance to see science and aviation in a whole new way. This year’s visitors will bring the total attendance at the MAEL to more than 700 students. Schools participating this year are: West Muskingum, Maysville, Mid-East Career Center – Buffalo Campus, Tri-Valley, Philo, Cambridge, Grover Cleveland, John Glenn, East Muskingum, and Meadowbrook.

Groups of students will alternate between the MAEL and the site, so they will have a chance to experience both the high technology of the unit and the history of the Glenn’s and their era.

The MAEL is a 53-foot tractor trailer housed laboratory that is sponsored by NASA Glenn Research Center and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. The huge unit, which will park next to the Glenn site in downtown New Concord, allows students to simulate the process of cross country aeronautical flight. Students will participate in aircraft design, weather calculations and virtual reality flight simulations using ten different workstations housed in the trailer.

The program was developed by a team of NASA engineers, staff and contractors, working closely with Cuyahoga Community College, to support the Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy (SEMMA), a K-12 grade program designed to peak students interest in and curiosity about science and math.

Site Director Don McKendry said, “For a program of this magnitude to come to this area is wonderful opportunity for students, and we’re very happy to be able to bring it to them.”

For further information about the John and Annie Glenn Historic Site and Exploration Center, call 740-826-3305.