Campers at UW’s Teton STEM Academy nervously watch as a blowtorch scorches and
partially burns up their heat shield. However, the egg -- substituting for an astronaut
-- was unaffected and simulated surviving reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. From left
are Chip Kobulnicky, a professor in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy and
director of the Teton STEM Academy; Adeline Kunkel, a freshman-to-be at Greybull High
School; and Kapri Miller and Lily Ormond, who both will be freshmen at Riverton High
School this fall. The experiments took place outside the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility
on UW’s campus. This year’s camp runs June 16-23. (UW Photo)
Some smoked. Others got scorched. A few totally went up in flames.
But, by and large, campers at the University of Wyoming’s Teton STEM Academy built heat shields that protected their eggs -- face-painted and substituting for
astronauts mimicking reentry into Earth’s atmosphere after a space mission. To be
deemed successful, the heat shields had to withstand high temperatures from a constant
flame emanating from a blowtorch for two minutes. More importantly, after the experiment,
the yolk inside the egg had to be preserved to determine the astronaut had survived
the ordeal.
“We were really nervous, but we were really confident,” says Kapri Miller, who will
be a freshman this fall at Riverton High School.
Miller and teammates Lily Ormond, a freshman-to-be at Riverton High School, and Adeline
Kunkel, who will be a freshman at Greybull High School this fall, clasped hands and
exchanged high-fives after it was revealed their astronaut -- er, egg -- survived.
Matt Bryant, a science teacher from Miami Valley School in Dayton, Ohio, kept careful
watch over the scientific experiments and operated the blowtorch.
“It’s kind of what I expected -- mostly success, a few failures,” he says, standing
outside the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility, where the experiments took place.
Twenty-four students -- who will be entering ninth, 10th and 11th grades this fall
-- from across Wyoming are exploring the interdisciplinary sciences as they relate
to a mission to return to Mars during the science camp that began June 16 and concludes
June 23 on UW’s campus.
Heat shields protect spacecraft and their payloads upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, playing
a primary role in space travel. Space heat shields rely on advanced materials and
engineering principles.
During the exercise, campers watched a video before choosing the materials they thought
would be most effective in constructing a worthy heat shield. Materials to pick from
included aluminum foil, cork, cotton balls, lasagna noodles, spackle material used
for drywall, steel wool sponges and yarn. Campers had up to 100 points of credits
to spend on materials. To make the experiment more challenging, the teams received
better scores if their 4-inch heat shields were constructed with less than the full
100-point allotment.
The team of Kelton Stucki, who will be a freshman at Riverton High School, and a student
who only went by the name Cox, a freshman-to-be at Cheyenne Central High School, clenched
their fists in victory when their egg survived. Before the exercise, the two explained
they built their heat shield using three layers of aluminum foil, one layer of sponge
and two layers of cork with spackle. The two were confident, as they surmised cork
is a hard material to burn.
“No scorching. The egg looks totally fine,” Bryant determined upon inspection.
“Unless anybody needed less than 75 points, we won,” Stucki proclaimed.
However, Stucki spoke too soon, as a team of teachers built a successful heat shield
that only required 50 points of materials. A team of counselors followed up with a
heat shield that only required 55 points of materials -- and withstood four minutes
of heat from the blowtorch.
“This (constructing heat shields) is a new activity. We have not done this before,”
says Chip Kobulnicky, a professor in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Teton STEM Academy. “Some material breaks away and takes the
heat with it. Other materials do not conduct heat as well. I don’t think the thickness
of the shield matters as much as the conductivity of the material and then how much
it insulates from the outside.”
The camp explores the scientific and technical challenges presented by a human mission
to Mars from activities based in physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, health sciences,
engineering, mathematics, arts and communications.
During the hands-on camp, students were allowed to design a Martian colony; choose
landing sites on Mars; learn about digital communication; explore solar and hydrogen
energy sources; take a field excursion in the Snowy Range; test for signs of life
in soil samples; interpret geological features; and visit UW’s 2.3-meter Wyoming Infrared
Observatory on Jelm Mountain near Laramie.
“I like the smiles I see on the kids. They’re thrilled to be here, which is great,”
Kobulnicky says. “That’s the idea. I think a lot of them have made good friends, too.”
Due to a generous gift from the estate of the late Harry and Mary Ann Lawroski, of
Teton County, the Teton STEM Academy was free to the campers.
For more information, email Kobulnicky at chipk@uwyo.edu.
