Students build half-scale model of space shuttle

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

While the space shuttle Endeavour’s launch has been postponed until later this week, the students at John F. Eberhart Elementary School didn’t have to wait for their mission.

Under the guidance of teacher-turned-commander Dan Greenfield, eighth-graders at the Chicago Lawn school have constructed a one-half-scale model of the space vessel while putting their math and science skills to use.

Lessons from the classroom meet with more than 360 feet of PVC pipe and 100 feet of polyethylene film, allowing the students to watch their education take flight, the math teacher explained.

“Area, perimeter, circumference, it’s all reinforced with a hands-on, actual, tangible experience that they are actually doing,” Greenfield said.

The program has been so successful, Greenfield has been contacted by teachers in other states for help developing lesson plans and contacts in the space industry. During “Space Week,” Eberhart students learn about the ins-and-outs of space exploration from the assembled shuttle in the school’s gym.

On Wednesday, the community is invited to see the students’ exhibit from 4 to 6 p.m. and take tours of the shuttle led by true mission specialists, the kids.

“Once we are done with everything, we will feel like experts,” said Araceli Martinez, 14.