Submissions came from Austria, Canada, Ireland, Macedonia and 18 states. The grand prize winners were five high school students from Ireland. In addition to the general tour, students participated in learning activities at the Ames Aerospace Encounter and visited the 80 X 120 wind tunnel, FutureFlight Central, and the NAS visualization and computer labs. Credit goes to all Ames volunteers who provided support in making this exciting and unique educational experience for all the tourists. Students design their space settlements and related materials and then submit their entries to Ames for judging.
Teachers use the contest as an instructional thematic in their science curriculum.
The contest promotes team building, space physics and project-web based learning in addition to addressing national science standards. Space colonies are seen as permanent communities in orbit, as opposed to living on the Moon or other planets. The work of Princeton physicist Dr. O'Neill and others have shown that such colonies are technically feasible, although expensive. Entries for next year's contest are due on March 31, 2001. Encourage your children and teachers to participate.