MAY 12, 2005

Young minds grill astrophysicist on space

ARVADA PRESS, p. 10. BY CHRIS DIMICK chrisd{at}milehighnews.com

Only one hour after landing at Denver International Airport from National Aeronautics and Space Administration offices in California, astrophysicist and NASA official David Koch was fielding a firing squad of questions.

As the deputy principal investigator for the upcoming NASA Kepler Satellite Mission, Koch expected to field and volley questions in relation to the mission during his visits to the area. The $450 million Kepler mission satellite is being designed and constructed in Boulder, and Koch serves as the main link between NASA and the builders.

He fended off most questions with accurate, quick responses, until one came that made him stop midpresentation and take a hard think.

This was Koch's off day from the project, but that didn't mean he didn't have to test his knowledge of astrophysics. The question didn't come from a scientist or designer, but an intrigued 9-year-old.

"How did the stars and planets begin?," asked Savon Chea.

"That is a hard question," Koch answered." There are many theories on that, but have any of you heard of the Big Bang?"

Chea asked the question sitting among about 100 other fourth graders, who also had similar far-reaching and specific questions throughout Koch's presentation at Swanson Elementary School.

Part of the Great Explorations in Math and Science program recently offered to fourth graders at the school, Koch's presentation on telescopes, stars and galaxies capped off an eight-week volunteer program focused on space science.

The GEMS program was headed by fourth grade student teacher Helen Bachtell, and allowed students to once a week trade in their lunch/recess break to learn about space sciences.

About 20 students took part in the program at Swanson, which was one of 36 schools in the country testing the curriculum for the Lawrence Hall of Science, based at the University of Callfornia at Berkeley.

"It is cool to know about space because when people ask you about it, you know the answers," said participant Malachal McGuire, 10. "What is cool about space is I never thought it could be that big."

Bachtell is to report the results of the GEMS program back to Lawrence, which could one day sell it to schools as science curriculum.

"Space science is one of the things that is not covered well in the public school system," Bachtell said of why she introduced the GEMS program. "But kids are always interested in space and want to know what is going on out there. This program is a good extension to what they are already taught."

Because Koch's Kepler Mission is a sponsor of the GEMS program, Bachtell invited Koch to stop by Swanson and talk to the students before his monthly visit to Ball Aerospace in Boulder.

Ball Aerospace is the contractor building the satellite in the Kepler mission, which will be launched into outer space in June 2008 to visually search for habitable planets in our galaxy.

This is the first NASA mission capable of finding Earth-sized and smaller planets," Koch said. "Right now we have found 150 planets orbiting other stars, but these are gas giants that are not habitable. The Holy Grail is to look for and find something like Earth that is habitable."

Finding a habitable planet is the first baby step toward finding life elsewhere in the universe, which was another topic of discussion among the fourth grade group.

Possibility of aliens, the history of naming the planets, and whether someone would get "squished" if they were on Venus were other questions asked Koch during the presentation.

He does the talks about once or twice a year with young children, more often with adults.

"I find it difficult to speak to children because I don't remember where their level is," he said. "But am always surprised how much they already know. The comprehension kids have for all kinds of science now is very good."

Although it can be like a rendition of space science Jeopardy, Koch saidhe loves giving presentations like the one Monday.

"I like to talk to children because they get so excited about space. There are three things children get excited about: dinosaurs, which don't exist anymore; ghosts, which never existed; and space exploration, which is going on right now. This brings excitement to the classroom and also gives children the opportunity to find out what NASA is doing and what we plan to do."

Children are vastly curious, Koch said, which can lead to stumpers not even Einstein can answer.

"I don't know where the Big Bang came from," he said after the crowd shuffled back to class. That is a good question."