Our project is a interactive model of all of the planets magnetic fields and the the magnetic field of the sun. we are using what is called a ferrocell to model what they look like. A ferro cell is the mixture of ferrofluid and wd40 spread between two panes of glass or acrylic with led lights below it.

2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? How did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

We learned a lot about the magnetic fields and what they do for the planets. How they work is something that i did a bit of personal research of but in our presentation we didn't talk about that. We did some research about why some of the planets have offset poles and other things along those lines.

3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?  We learned that we need to do a lot of brainstorming before we start. We learned that big words like magneto-hydrodynamics doesn't work for my group. We eventually figured out our presentation with a bit of hep from max

4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?

IT would be to either begin designing a system that can show the suns ever changing magnetic fields or work on a system to make it so that the ferrocell an have the “planets” inserted into the middle. That was our biggest challenge and one of the only ones we did not overcome

As we wrap up our projects, you’ll be asked to do two things:

a) make your project as complete as it can be and

b) post reflections to the NuVu site by addressing the questions below. You may compose your answers here and cut and past to the site when you’re ready. In addition to the responses, please post photographs, sketches, etc. of any graphical elements that help to highlight your work!!

Here are the four questions we’d like you to respond to ….

1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.

Our project was on a zombie star. A zombie star is a star that explodes and leaves a smaller one behind.

2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? HOw did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

I had no idea that a star can leave another star after it dies.

3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?

Our struggles were trying to figure out a project. And something that went well was when we were using rhino and figured out our

4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?

Make the box into wood and test it out.

As we wrap up our projects, you’ll be asked to do two things:

a) make your project as complete as it can be and

b) post reflections to the NuV site by addressing the questions below. You may compose your answers here and cut and past to the site when you’re ready. In addition to the responses, please post photographs, sketches, etc. of any graphical elements that help to highlight your work!!

Here are the four questions we’d like you to respond to ….

1) What was your project …. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of what it was supposed to be and its intended impact on your audience, however that was defined.

My project was a model of a zombie star, it was a balloon around a light bulb, that would get pumped up to show the life cycle of the first star. Then the balloon would pop and leave behind the light bulb that would symbolize the zombie star. The project was designed to educate about a largely unknown phenomena.

2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? HOw did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

When thinking of ideas for our project I learned about a theory called Rainbow gravity that talks about the different wavelengths of light being pulled by gravity differently.

3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?

I didn't understand Rhino and I had to re-do the box like 10 times, so that sucked.

4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?

I would finish the box in Rhino and laser cut it, then test it and make any needed adjustments.

My project was an astrochemistry themed board game, in which players would try to collect elements that compose a certain celestial body. There is a board to facilitate the choosing of cards, on which could be the elements, a “chance” card (steal, trade, etc), or a piece of astronomy trivia. The intention of the board game is to make the subject of planetary composition fun for new astronomers--to be both a fun game and a learning experience.

2) Reflect on the project …. What new content ideas did you learn? How did you understanding of astronomy expand as a result of this work?

I learned about the chemical composition of different planets. I also learned, however, about how much we don’t know: in trying to make the board game scientifically accurate, I realized that there simply isn’t data for many of the objects in our solar system. In the beginning of the project I learned about the creation of the elements, specifically the order of fusion, and how the isotopes of elements fused in particular ways, not just any isotope. Knowing, or trying to know, about the different types of chemistry in space expanded my knowledge of both astronomy and chemistry in general.

3) What did you learn about project management? What went well for you in this process? What were your struggles?

Fortunately, I had a great partner and we worked well together to manage time, divide tasks, and communicate. I personally struggled a bit with managing my class time, mainly because we worked on this project through AP exams and I was sometimes preoccupied. It worked well for my partner and I to divide tasks-- I would create one aspect of the game and she would do another, etc

4) If we were NOW in mid-project and NOT facing the end of school, what would be the next steps you would take with your project? How could you more closely attain your learning targets?

Because of time, we didn’t really get to finish and test the game. I would want to spend more time creating all the cards instead of just a sample, making the board itself more stable and efficient, and making sure the rules worked well by testing the playing. Also, I would like to have done some more research on how scientists are currently trying to determine the composition of planets. This would be an important step in achieving my learning targets as well as making the game more educational.