In Peques and More we bring a interview with the heads of the Curiosity Laboratory. This is a project, supported in a Blog, made for purposes educational Y funny to learn and enjoy while they do it. His focus of analysis is Mars for the actuality of this planet and why in the space mission of Curiosity Spain participates. It is also a project that may be of interest to other parents or families that can serve as a complement to other usual activities such as sports or music. In this project the children investigate, are fascinated and share their curiosity hobby Leaning on the blog. Among the achievements they are achieving is that "little scientists" They prepare for the future, learn to work hard and organize research tasks as a team, discover their skills and abilities and also share it with their friends. We leave you with the interview to learn more about the Curiosity Lab:
When did the Laboratory creation project begin?
It was an October afternoon, almost mid-month, on the 14th, of that year 2012. It was already dark and the expectation had taken over much of Planet Earth: the paratrooper Felix Baumgartner he was going to jump from 39 km of altitude and, if he succeeded, he would not only become the first human being to achieve it but also be the first to overcome the speed of sound without mechanical support and free fall. After a few minutes, the challenge became reality.
This historical event coincided with the birth of the "Curiosity Laboratory", a blog created by "little scientists" of some ten to twelve years to follow the space mission on Mars. A few minutes ago we had registered the name of Curiosity for the space vehicle on mission to Mars and Laboratory For being little scientists.
How did it occur to you to start writing a blog as a support for your project?
We were going to start writing when we all stopped to watch the historical leap online. That's why our first entry was titled Landing!, because if Felix did it in Roswell (New Mexico), we did it in the Network of networks with these words: “It is difficult to summarize what it feels like right now, in which just a few moments ago we have seen Felix Baumgartner jump from 39 km, and the feeling with this Laboratory for small scientists is very similar. Little by little it will come true. We count on you! ”
Our blog was thus launched on the Internet with almost similar speed and broad perspectives. We also added adventure notes, tuned with little uncertainty. If we were still impressed by the historic leap, the challenge we started without knowing anything, even how to make a blog, was no less. The spirit of overcoming has since joined the team. If the one who had overcome the sound barrier said to himself, at one point, "jump!", Something also said to us "start!"
Who participates in the blog and how do you organize yourself?
On the first occasion we met the whole team we wrote our Who we are, as in every good project. But it wasn't easy, because we really didn't know who we were then. Without thinking much, rather we wrote what we wanted to be: “We are a group of researchers. Y scientists. Y of 10 years. As small as we are, it might seem that we are not scientists. But what is being a scientist? According to the one next to me, to be scientists, you just have to feel like knowing more. David tells us in the ear that although we are not so old, we can learn more about these things from the Curiosity Mission on Mars. Borja asks what our mission is going to be. We really don't know it well, but we would like to learn many things about the Curiosity mission on Mars. ”
On the first anniversary of the blog, the same as then and some more, we were able to complete it: “We have been exploring the world of Mars for a year thanks to our good friend Curiosity, and as Javi says, the truth is that we are learning many things. We have friends from many countries who are informing us of what is happening on our Red Planet. Today we don't have time for more, but here we are! We will leave the pages under construction until we can, perhaps with your help, improve them and complete them with current information. "Our motto is dare to the impossible.
What is the scientific mission of the Curiosity Laboratory?
In our first meeting to see how to build the blog, one of the little scientists asked what it was going to be. our mission. He caught us off guard, because we didn't know what to answer either. Then we decided to think in silence the first ten points that we had at the time in the head and, in the sense of clockwise, we began to say them and write them as they came out of our mouth:
1. Learn 2. Play 3. Enjoy 4. Research 5. Follow the “Curiosity Rover” 6. Share science 7. Friends 8. Meet more “little scientists” 9. Discover 10. Surprise me even more
Then another proposed to look for a photo that we would like to illustrate our decalogue and we found one of a man climbing a long staircase to the clouds. And we don't hesitate to put it on!
Gradually, our motto of "dare to the impossible" has come to life. It really confirms that it is possible to "enjoy learning" while "learning enjoying." It is specified in that, but our blog has given for much more.
What objectives have you been able to fulfill with the writing of the blog?
If someone asked us what what is it for, now we would respond precisely with the ten points that summarize our mission, which are the same as we wrote from the beginning:
- Learn, because every time we investigate, from the NASA website to the press information, we know a waterfall of very interesting new things related to our Red Planet, with space, with a mission in which, for the first time, Spain has collaborated with its best space technology
- Play, because with what we do it is possible to have a lot of fun
- Enjoy, because as we have said it is possible to "enjoy learning" and "learn enjoying"
- Investigate, because we love to discover interesting things, data and experiences, which also help us a lot in the work of the school and to know many novelties to talk with our friends
- Follow the Curiosity Rover because now we know that it is the boldest space mission carried out by the United States and Spain in the space race, with impressive possibilities for scientific advances
- Share science, because when you exchange experiences with your friends about what we are learning it is doubly fascinating
- Friends, because in addition to being more than we already were, we have also been able to contact new friends inside and outside Spain
- Meet more "little scientists", because together with the above we were surprised that throughout this planet Earth there are many kids like us who are also interested in science and the mission of Mars
- Discover, because it helps us to get out of our little world, to venture into unknown worlds, to realize the impressive immensity of the universe and the spectacular advances of the human being
- Surprise me even more, because really the mission of the Curiosity on Mars is endless news, news, findings and discoveries of those that will go to the history books and the photos of the knowledge books.
What are the sources and how do you organize the content you publish on the blog?
And the way to achieve our mission is as simple as it is entertaining. Many times we enjoy looking for information in news, images and videos that populate the Web, and then write with our words. It helps us to learn also about computer science and technology, because we like to "enroll" the good information in our blog. Always we try to respect intellectual property, we put the credits of the images and, as in the scientific journals, we include the citations and references.
Other times we have interesting videoconferences with experts or scientists who, although outside Spain, have attended to our interest and answered our countless questions. Others have simply contacted our friends and collaborators, such as Alberto, who from Southampton, near London, collaborates and sends us texts and images.
We have even had the good fortune to visit the company CRISA, from EADS-Astrium, in Tres Cantos (Madrid), headquarters where important Curiosity components were made and where duplicates of many of its pieces are preserved. It took place during World Space Week 2014. There, José Moreno, its Technical Director, received us and showed us a large part of the rooms and equipment with which the delicate pieces that will travel through our outer space are built. Already before, José had come to Codec and shared with us his experience, since he has worked on the space project for many years and was fortunate to witness in the United States the launch of the rocket that transported the capsule with Curiosity into space. We celebrate it by taking the chocolates that we like so much: the Mars because they are not only rich but they are very “from Mars”.
How long have you been working in the Curiosity Lab?
After almost two years in this adventure, we remain very excited, because the Curiosity is not only about to reach Mount Sharp, with its almost 5,000 meters of altitude, the highest mountain of the planets that surround us, but also has provided the possibility to make very good friends, learn many things and have fun as real scientists. Now we hope that many other small scientists will join our project and collaborate with their contributions.
And here the interview with the protagonists of Curiosity Laboratory, and we thank Jesus, David, Gonzalo, Javier de A., Javi S., Nico, Santi S., Simon, Carlos R., Diego, Nacho O., Alberto de Southampton, Beatriz de Asturias, Salva de Venezuela and many more. And also to the Codec Association that has helped us coordinate the responses of the children who write on the blog and is doing an extraordinary job of collecting information so that we know more about this interesting educational project and about little scientists who work to know many details and information of this exciting robot displaced to Mars.
