Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Friday, February 2, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Dr. Vicky Hipkin introduced herself and taught her class to students from Weledeh school as any teacher would.

What made her class special, however, was that the space scientist did it from Montreal.

Grade 3 and Grade 5/6 students were treated to lessons on space via teleconference this week as part of the Canadian Space Agency's distance education project. While the Grade 3 students learned about building structures in space, the older group was introduced to what weather was like on Mars.

"Being so isolated, they don't have a chance to go to big science centres," said Melissa Davis, who teaches the Grade 6 group. "Since they're so far away they don't have that opportunity."

The CSA approached the school two years ago with the idea of a distance education project. The teleconference lesson fits into a classroom unit on space.

The students used the teleconference facilities in the CBC conference room to connect to the space agency.

"I've never seen anything like it before, except on Skype (an Internet telecommunications service)," said Alice Storrie, 10, about having a class through teleconference.

In addition to a Powerpoint presentation and a video teaching about the evolution of space travel, the Grade 6 students were led in a hands-on exercise. By directing a blow-dryer over a plate of sand, Hipkin showed the students what happens when wind blows over the surface of Mars. Hipkin also touched on general space exploration.

"Most of us are born wanting to explore," Hipkin said to introduce her class. "When we learn to walk it's because we want to know what's around the corner."

Hipkin may have been successful at recruiting a few potential space explorers.

"I'd like to go to Mars, actually," said Liam Cameron, 10. "The trip would be a pain in the butt though."