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Roberta Bondar: Stellar Inspiration (Duration 19:37) Twenty Five Years Ago, Roberta Bondar Blasted Into History As the First Canadian Woman in Space

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Roberta Bondar: Stellar Inspiration (Duration 19:37) Twenty Five Years Ago, Roberta Bondar Blasted Into History As the First Canadian Woman in Space IN THIS ISSUE Roberta Bondar: Stellar Inspiration (Duration 19:37) Twenty five years ago, Roberta Bondar blasted into history as the first Canadian woman in space. A research scientist in neurology, she used her education in the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission on board Space Shuttle Discovery. Now, a quarter of a century later, she’s still flying high, reaching out to a younger generation to spark their curiosity in all things science and space. And she’s pursuing her passion of extreme landscape photography. The CBC’s Reg Sherren caught up with this busy lady to take a look back on her legacy. Credits News in Review is produced by CBC News Resource Guide Writer: Jennifer Watt Resource Guide Editor: Sean Dolan Host: Michael Serapio Packaging Producer: Marie-Hélène Savard Associate Producer: Francine Laprotte Supervising Manager: Laraine Bone Visit us at our website at curio.ca/newsinreview, where you will find an electronic version of this resource guide and an archive of all previous News in Review seasons. As a companion resource, we recommend that students and teachers access CBC News Online, a multimedia current news source that is found on the CBC’s home page at cbc.ca/news/. Closed Captioning News in Review programs are closed captioned for the hearing impaired, for English as a Second Language students, or for situations in which the additional on-screen print component will enhance learning. CBC Learning authorizes the reproduction of material contained in this resource guide for educational purposes. Please identify the source. News in Review is distributed by: CBC Learning | Curio.ca, P.O. Box 500, Stn A, Toronto, ON, Canada M5W 1E6 | www.curio.ca Copyright © 2017 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News in Review – March 2017 – Teacher Resource Guide ROBERTA BONDAR: Stellar Inspiration VIDEO REVIEW Before Viewing Note to teacher: Post the four quotations on large chart paper in four different spaces in your classroom. Divide students into four equal groups and ask them to bring a marker/pen and to record comments that they have in response to each quotation. Rotate students in a timely fashion so they have enough time to consider and respond to the four quotes. I don’t think the human race will survive the To fly in space is to see the reality of Earth, “next thousand years, unless we spread into “alone. The experience changed my life and my space. There are too many accidents that can attitude towards life itself. I am one of the lucky befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. ones. We will reach out to the stars. ”– Roberta Bondar, Canadian Astronaut – Stephen Hawking,” Astrophysicist Spaceflight isn’t just about doing experiments, I would like to die on Mars, just not on “it’s about an extension of human culture. “impact. – Chris Hadfield, Canadian Astronaut” ” – Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX Viewing 1. How did Roberta Bondar demonstrate an interest in space when she was a child? 2. Name one of Bondar’s educational degrees. 3. The Challenger spaceship exploded just over a minute after take-off in 1986. True False 4. The space lab’s mission was to explore the effects of weightlessness on living organisms. True False 5. What is Bondar’s view on the importance of going to Mars versus further exploration of the moon? 6. What educational subjects does Bondar think are important to human development? News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview 1 MARCH 2017 – ROBERTA BONDAR: STELLAR INSPIRATION After Viewing Task #1 1. Make a list of 5-10 questions regarding space exploration that you find interesting. 2. Join a small group (no more than four people) and share your questions. Choose one of the questions to research. Explain why you chose this question and how you plan to conduct and share your research. Task #2 Take a look! – Experiments to Explore Physiological Issues Facing Astronauts in Space The Educational Service Department of the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute has a “Destiny in Space” resource. This resource is a collection of information and activities about space exploration for grade four to grade 12 teachers. Each activity addresses a major challenge of exploring space. Below is a small selection and condensed version of these activities. To view “Destiny in Space” in its entirety go to robertabondar.com/documents/DestinyInSpace.pdf Your task: Find a partner and complete the activities. Be sure to take observational notes. Consider what each activity reveals about the biological challenges faced by astronauts. How muscles respond in space Attach 0.5 kg weights to your arms and 1 kg weights to your legs. Exercise for about five minutes, choosing movements that work your arm and leg muscles. Make a note of each exercise (climbing steps, leg and arm lifts/curls, etc.). Remove the weights and do the same exercises again. Record your observations: What did you notice? What was different? What do you think happens to muscles in a weightless environment? How do astronauts cope with this challenge? Keeping your balance 1. a) Try to stand on one leg for a minute. Try this six times. Record the time for each effort. Calculate the average time that you can stand on one leg. b) Repeat these steps with your eyes closed. Describe any movements in your body that you notice as you and your partner attempt this activity. 2. Hold your hand at arm’s length. Watch your fingers as you rock your hand side to side from the wrist. Start slowly, then speed up. What do you notice? Now hold your hand still and shake your head back and forth while watching your fingers. Start slowly, then speed up. What’s different in this case? NOTE: In the first case, a tracking reflex in your eyes helps you focus on your fingers when they move slowly. This reflex can track up to 60% of movement per second. When the fingers move faster than that, they start to look blurry. The second case involves a reflex between the inner ear and eye. This reflex helps your eyes stay still even when your head is moving. This reflex can follow much faster movement than the tracking reflex. What can you conclude about human balance and vision at the end of these activities? How do you think an astronaut’s vision and balance might be impacted in space? News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview 2 MARCH 2017 – ROBERTA BONDAR: STELLAR INSPIRATION Where are your arms and legs? Brains depend on signals from nerves within the body’s eyes, muscles, joints, and skin to determine the position of our limbs. As strange as this seems, the brain can’t continually nor precisely determine where your limbs are without signals to the nerves from external stimuli such as visual objects, air turbulence or internal cues provided by muscle movement. The experiment a) Ask your partner to sit with their eyes closed and legs crossed on a desk chair with wheels. b) Ask them to curl their hands into fists and place them on their knees with their thumbs pointing up. c) Push the chair so that it begins to slowly rotate. Change directions intermittently. Use smooth movements, be quiet, and don’t touch your partner. Ask your partner to move their fists to the left or right to show the direction they think the chair is moving. Stop pushing the chair after 10 turns, letting the chair slow gradually. d) Ask your partner to open their eyes when they think the chair has stopped turning. e) Record your observations and, if you wish, conduct the same experiment with you as the subject. Keep in mind that your ideas might be tainted by the fact that you just conducted the experiment on your partner. News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ curio.ca/newsinreview 3 MARCH 2017 – ROBERTA BONDAR: STELLAR INSPIRATION THE STORY Before reading 1. What three words come to mind when you think of people who are astronauts? 2. Do you think there are any stereotypes or assumptions about what type of person should be an astronaut? 3. What qualifications do you think astronauts need to have to be effective at Proving she is the best their jobs? Bondar says the inspiration to become a high achiever came when she was a Grade 8 student 4. What challenges do you think Roberta in Sault Ste. Marie. Even though she scored Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut, highest in a test for would-be school crossing might have faced when she joined the guards, the honour went to the student who came NASA space program? How do you think second simply because he was a boy. Since then, she overcame these challenges? Bondar says that proving that she is the best and most qualified person at the challenges she takes While reading on is her number one objective. This became Three (3) colour activity: critically important when she decided to become Use a highlighter to highlight Bondar’s an astronaut. intellectual strengths. Early life Use a different highlighter to highlight Bondar’s parents, taught her to handle tools, experiences that potentially influenced her shoot guns, work a lathe and play sports when decision to become an astronaut. she was young. They encouraged her passion for Use a third highlighter to highlight building rocket models and nurtured her personality traits that made her astronaut fascination with science by building a chemistry material. lab in the basement. Highly regarded Bondar had a rocky time in high school: her interests were not in things like fashion, boys or Roberta Bondar once said there were only three dancing.
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