♪♪ ♪♪ >> Stahl: All clear for takeoff.

♪♪ >> Noah: Get, like, an internship if you can.

Totally priceless experience, and I think it's really good at building character and confidence going into the work field.

>> Noah: We're at 150 and descending.

♪♪ >> Vincent: The students are ready.

Are you ready for their questions?

Over.

>> Jason: To talk to an astronaut and hear his voice back and him answering your questions -- that's incredible.

>> Lainey: What would you do if communication with Mission Control broke down and you couldn't communicate with Earth?

Over.

♪♪ >> Salama: How to measure the height?

Two things we should know.

The key of success for any teacher is not to deliver the information only.

You have to make sure that the students feel that they need this information.

>> Gorman: A huge mission of NASA's is to view Earth from space.

As science teachers, we should worry about where science is going and then let that dictate how we educate our students.

>> Spiller: On this episode of "Classroom Close-Up: New Jersey," exploring Earth and above.

Consider all the benefits that have come from studying our planet, with applications in cartography, agriculture, and climate., improving our quality of life and inspiring new careers.

♪♪ >> Stahl: For this mission today, we are going to observe our water tower out over the field there and the farm.

>> Noah: I like the views you can see from the drone, and, you know, it's not something you can just see on your own.

>> Stahl: And then I was going to do a little brief talk about what our flight objective is.

>> Noah: Our flight objective is just going to be a training mission.

>> Noah: Today, I was part of two tank missions, the first one of which was the Sentaero drone.

>> Stahl: All clear for takeoff.

♪♪ >> Eckstein: Today, we saw Noah Lagoff in his internship with American Water as a drone pilot.

He's a certified drone pilot.

It's good for our students as well as the school and American Water.

>> Stahl: Right now, Noah's operating our payload, a camera that retracts from the base of our aircraft.

Noah is doing an actual tank observation, so he was going and observing the condition of this elevated structure.

>> Noah: The part I like most about the drone is the views you can see from it.

When the opportunity arose, I just couldn't pass it up.

It seemed like a really cool job to be working with this kind of technology.

>> Stahl: Setting a drone up is a lot safer than putting someone up on ropes and ladders for the visual observation of the structure.

>> Noah: I can use this to fix on objects and have it follow that as the drone circles.

So right here, I'll fix it onto the tank.

One thing I've learned working with American Water with this internship is the importance of teamwork and being able to communicate with your crew.

Taking off.

♪♪ >> Kahn: This is our first internship with the UAS program.

The UAS stands for Uncrewed Aerial Systems.

>> Noah: We're at 150 and descending.

>> Kahn: For Noah to be able to see what he's interested in with aviation and how that is actually applied in the real world is important.

>> Eckstein: He had to interview with American Water.

He's actually their first high school intern.

He started as a seventh, eighth, and ninth grader in our aviation club.

♪♪ >> Man: All right.

>> Young man: This servo controls the rudder, which is this little steering thing back here.

>> Broadbelt: I advise the aviation program.

It's a great place for students to come out and learn a little bit more about different careers in aviation, get different skills to help them build their futures after they graduate from Gateway.

We work along with the Camden Youth Aviation Program.

So we have a group of pilots that come out and mentor our students.

>> Boy: Right here.

>> Weissman: Right there.

So our students are assembling what's called almost ready to fly radio controlled aircraft.

What are we trying to do?

Boeing is predicting over the next 20 years in North America alone, we're going to need something on the order of 130,000 pilots, 132,000 mechanics, and we need young people to come in.

We also need to improve our diversity.

Hopefully, they'll be interested in taking the next steps into the world of aviation.

>> Dericks: What we're looking to do is to prepare them for their future after high school, after they leave us.

We don't know what types of problems there will be in the future.

We don't even know the technology of tomorrow.

But we do know there's opportunity out there for them and we want to provide them as much opportunity as possible and as much exposure as possible so they can make a decision based on that.

>> Weissman: I've got the wing.

>> Broadbelt: In 2018, Noah was part of my first group that started as a freshman.

We do give the students a chance to review and prepare for their drone certification test.

Noah took it on his own, and he's out there doing it.

I'm really proud of Gateway and the kids here.

>> Stahl: Noah's been really smart.

Really, really knows his stuff.

He's a really intelligent student.

His willingness to learn is excellent.

>> Man: Oh, phenomenal.

>> Noah: Thank you.

>> Eckstein: I love helping to provide the connections, being a matchmaker, and oftentimes the mentors really get a lot out of it.

The business gets a lot out of it.

And of course, the intern learned so much.

And when Chris Kahn, the director of unmanned safety, tells you you're doing a good job and gives you feedback, that means the world to a senior who wants to get into that.

It's going to make you braver to try other things in life in general.

It's going to build your confidence.

Essentially, you put the right student in the right situation, they meet the expectations and most of the time exceed them, which is what Noah has done.

>> Noah: Get, like, an internship if you can.

Totally priceless experience.

And I think it's really good at building character and confidence going into a work field.

♪♪ >> Spiller: It's a program with an eye on the future, exploring the unknown and encouraging innovation.

That's also the goal of NASA.

So if you could ask an astronaut one question, what would it be?

>> Man: Ten, nine, eight... >> Woman: We are going to talk to astronauts live from the International Space Station.

>> Mary Lou: If you could ask an astronaut a question, what would it be?

>> Jason: I get to talk to someone aboard the station is just -- I can't fathom it right now.

I don't think this is happening.

>> Leavitt: The antenna is actually going to move and follow the space station through the sky.

It's going to actually turn over on itself.

>> Calella: My ground station here will be directly talking to a radio that's on the International Space Station.

>> Mary Lou: ARISS stands for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.

The planets were kind of, like, aligned.

[ Laughs ] I reached out to the Sussex County Radio Club, and they had members there that knew people that had done ARISS contacts.

And so right away, like, we were able to form a network of people who had experience in doing an ARISS contact like this.

>> Kemmerer: I represent ARISS International, and I'm kind of the liaison between that organization, NASA, and the school here to help them prepare for and execute their contact.

>> Vincent: NA1SS, this is KD2YAQ for a scheduled school contact.

Do you copy?

[ Radio static ] November Alpha 1 Sierra Sierra?

November Alpha 1 Sierra Sierra.

>> Mary Lou: I was standing there and I was thinking, "Is it going to go through or is it not going to go through?"

>> Vincent: This is Kilo Delta 2 Yankee Alpha Quebec for a scheduled school contact.

Do you copy?

Over.

>> Mary Lou: For some of them, it takes up to 7 or 8 times before the astronaut responded.

So I just kind of, like, had that in the back of my mind that that could happen and not to get too nervous.

>> Vincent: November Alpha 1 Sierra Sierra?

November Alpha 1 Sierra Sierra?

>> Mary Lou: The signal, like, now from having practiced on ham radio for a bit and listened to that kind of air noise, I just, like -- I got that sense that a person was on the other end about to push the button and I -- I just felt it was going to happen.

>> Vande Hei: Kilo Delta 2 Yankee Alpha Quebec.

[ Cheers and applause ] >> Vincent: Martin, we hear you loud and clear.

We're delighted to make your contact today.

Our students are ready.

Are you ready for their questions?

Over.

>> Lainey: What would you do if communication with Mission Control broke down and you couldn't communicate with Earth?

Over.

>> Lainey: I really just thought that most communication was done through mission control and that you couldn't really communicate otherwise.

The answer to it was very thorough and pretty clear, honestly.

>> Matthew: Hi, this is Matthew.

>> Matthew: I was curious on how they were able to keep from the sun's radiation, being that there's no atmosphere.

>> Allen-McMillian: Today's event was totally awesome.

>> Allen-McMillian: This experience was celestial.

To have the unique experience, to speak with an astronaut who is currently above New Jersey is remarkable.

And to be a part of it, to hear students ask well-thought-out questions, to hear the astronaut respond and say, "Great question."

Oh, that's wonderful.

Just reaffirms the effort that we've put into educating our youth in New Jersey.

When you have the parents -- we had the PTA representation here -- and then you have the students who are on the front line.

And as I toured the halls in the school, I was able to see other examples of how this school infused this theme into every corner of the content.

It's truly amazing.

>> Jason: To talk to an astronaut and hear his voice back and him answering your questions, that's incredible.

>> Mary Lou: They're going to look back on it later and they're going to be like, "Ooh, I talked to an astronaut today, and he answered me."

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ >> Spiller: Coming up, one answer to the question, "Why do we need to know this?"

But first, we're looking back at how the education community faced the challenges of learning during the COVID pandemic.

It's our latest installment of Making the Grade.

♪♪ >> Kayla: Now we're going to do two cans, but going different directions.

[ Students cheering ] >> Cerniglia: Today was an activity all about communication.

>> Man: Talk it out here.

[ Indistinct conversations ] >> Cerniglia: Students were passing a big aluminum can around with their feet.

It's part of the Wingman program.

>> Karros: Wingmen are people that are willing to stand up and say, "Hey, I'm smart, I'm nice, and I want to be friends with you."

-The Wingman program came about because of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.

Ian Hockley, who was the father of one of the children who was tragically killed, felt that if more people understood children and differences and taught children how to be kind, that school would be a safer, more inclusive place.

>> Kayla: The importance of Wingman is to become closer with your community and your classmates and all your friends in this class.

>> Murray: It's all about building a sense of community.

>> Girl: Me and Leslie had somebody in one of my classes who was a little shy, so we tried to go up to them and tried to get them to participate more, and they eventually did.

They had a lot of fun.

>> Murray: Our goal is to try and make our students understand that empathy is something that we can try and learn.

>> Young man: Great way to try to have everybody included.

The communication was wonderful.

>> Murray: We put our students through training.

>> Murray: Please remember, we also have our scripts if you need it.

You can use that as a crutch if you're feeling a little bit nervous and you need something to rely on.

>> Murray: And then it's their job to facilitate it to the rest of the school.

Our second activity was a Jolly Rancher activity.

>> Young woman: Everybody has a Jolly Rancher?

So the color of your Jolly Rancher will depend on what question you're going to answer on the board.

If you have red, how did the Wingman program impact you?

>> Girl: It impacted on me because I'm less nervous to talk to people now.

>> Girl #2: I got green, and I feel connected to the school because everyone here is kind.

The teachers are kind.

>> Girl #3: If I'm being honest, even if I don't really get to talk to much people that often, I think it's still nice to see that they get to talk to each other, and that makes me feel connected enough.

>> Jackson: You guys can start.

I like being a Wingman because I get to make a difference in people's lives.

I get to interact with them and let them know that they have someone there and that they're not alone.

Karros: The Wingman program became about having kids in the school stand up and teach other kids how to communicate and make friendships.

>> Carli: When I was in the cafeteria, I saw some people alone, and I thought maybe I should go talk to them.

And after I did, I made some really amazing friends.

And I'm kind of hoping because of Wingman, everybody else, does, as well.

>> Karros: Being a Wingman is being a friend -- being a friend to everyone, regardless if you know them.

I wish I could be a Wingman.

I wish I could be in eighth grade and have this program in my school.

>> Murray: Great job, everybody.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> Narrator: Here at the Great Falls in Paterson stands a statue of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of our country.

It overlooks the majestic view where Hamilton, in 1792, as secretary of the Treasury, commissioned the construction of factories that used the Great Falls as a source of hydropower.

As a result, Paterson became the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.

>> Salama: Now I'll let you know how to measure long distance.

>> Narrator: 222 years later, Ahmed Salama, a math teacher at the Panther Academy in Paterson, took his students on a class trip to the Falls.

>> Salama: We can't jump to the bridge so we could, so... >> Salama: They're not here for the history or the view.

>> Salama: How to measure the height?

Two things we should know.

What is that?

♪♪ I told them we need to measure the height that Paterson Bridge was.

Can you see it clearly here?

Two essential things to know, to measure the height -- distance and elevation angle.

We don't know the distance.

We know, yes, the elevation angle.

We could know the elevation angle, but we don't know the distance.

>> Narrator: So Ahmed and his students brought some measuring tools.

Some are common, and some not so common, like the hypsometer.

>> Young woman: It has an inverted protractor that measures the elevation and the depression angles.

>> Salama: The whole process is unknown distance, and we had to observation for that reason.

>> Narrator: So the students placed the hypsometer in two different locations near the falls.

>> Salama: We have to align the first position with the second position.

♪♪ We are over a perfect distance, which is 60 feet.

Try to make it perfect.

Can you see the tip of the bridge?

>> Girl: Yeah.

>> Salama: Zeta 1 is what?

Three... >> Students: Three degrees.

>> Salama: And zeta 2 is what?

>> Students: 10.

>> Salama: 10.

Work down this.

And then we moved back about how many feet?

>> Students: 60.

>> Salama: And we combine some angles to use it for our formula, which is zeta 1 plus 2.

What's zeta 1 plus 2?

>> Amanda: Today's trip was to show us how we can use trig equations and apply it to, like, real life situations.

We can find out the height of something that we can't possibly find, like, physically.

>> Salama: X is what.

>> Young woman: 60?

>> Salama: 60.

>> Young woman: So using the formula that we use, we got around 77 feet of the falls.

>> Narrator: Next, the students went to the other side of the falls to calculate the height from a different location.

>> Salama: You look at it, you're going to find the edge of the river, and then we're going to move some distance, okay, over the other edge.

>> Salama: Over the bridge, it's known distance.

You could look down to some landmark -- say, the rock under the bridge -- But you have to know what is the location vertically, first location and second location.

>> Salama: That's tangent of what?

>> Young woman: 45.

>> Salama: 45.

Enter.

>> Salama: The key of success for any teacher is not to deliver the information only.

You have to make sure that the students feel that they need this information.

>> Salama: And it's 80.

The height is 80.

And it's not 77 or 76?

>> Young Woman: You got to subtract the height of the hypsometer.

>> Salama: We subtract the height of the hypsometer, which is about between three and four.

Minus three.

And our calculation was 77.

>> Flavio: This trig formula is something he came up with, like, with all of us as a group.

We're all involved with it, and we came with the formula together.

I think that it's great that we have a teacher that's, like, really hands-on and cares about the students and helps them out a lot with, like, projects like this and is always hands-on and behind us and tell us what to do and always helping us.

>> Salama: You guys were here at the Falls this morning, and you measured the height of the falls using basic trigonometry.

And what I'm going to do... >> Narrator: Back at the Panther Academy Planetarium, the students were shown how the concepts they used at the falls can also be applied to more distant objects.

>> Swangin: You see, because if you take this parallax concept, it's not only used for terrestrial objects, but it's used to measure some of the most distant objects in the universe.

It doesn't differ, you know, if you take something that's close and you use trigonometry or geometry.

The same thing applies to any other object that is farther away.

But if we have a star out there in space, we can use that triangle to determine the distance of that star.

So I have a philosophy, and the philosophy is bring the science to the students or take the students to the science.

In other words, take them and place them in a situation where they can conduct scientific experiments.

I think that's one of the best approaches to learning.

>> Festa: Mr. Salama is one of our best math teachers.

He connects math to real world.

So he takes these abstract concepts and he applies them in a more concrete way to solve problems.

>> Salama: We don't know the distance between us and the bridge, but we could make it... >> Salama: We need to start from the beginning and teach the kids first how to be sincere to this country, how to be productive, how to be successful.

And teacher, even if he use regular board or smart board, is not going to be effective enough.

He should go outside and get involved with community.

What's sine of minus zeta 2?

>> Students: Cosine of... >> Salama: Cosine of zeta 2 directly, right?

>> Salama: And I feel happy when I see my kids are successful, and I love what I'm doing, yes.

♪♪ >> Spiller: In a practical, hands-on environment, students are often engaged, stimulated, and eager to learn as much as possible.

So imagine their reaction when the NASA remote sensing van drops in for a visit.

>> Gorman: Okay, so who can tell me about satellites in general?

>> Gorman: You can teach all the major science disciplines through Earth sciences or the Earth SySTEM.

And it's very easy to incorporate the STEM component with the earth science, especially if you use satellites and remote sensing.

What was the first satellite put up into space?

>> Young man: I believe it was Sputnik One.

>> Gorman: A huge, huge mission of NASA's is to view Earth from space.

So, guys, I know you're all excited that the NASA's remote sensing van is coming here today.

>> Gorman: They learn a lot from me as a teacher.

They also teach me a lot.

But when we can bring people in from the outside, you sort of get validated as a teacher because they're teaching the same sort of thing.

Plus, you get a unique perspective.

♪♪ >> Moore: My name is John Moore and I'm an environmental scientist, so I spend a lot of time going out through forests and wetlands and understand all those types of things.

But my specialty is looking at Earth from space.

♪♪ Welcome to the NASA RV.

So what you're looking at right now is a mass of satellites only that are looking specifically at the Earth or some aspect of the atmosphere or... >> Moore: The purpose of the van is to really promote the idea with Earth SySTEM that Earth-observing satellites have been flying around for decades and becoming an increasingly more important part of society and science.

>> Dorofy: They're orbiting the Earth, and they're constantly getting these daily visible images.

>> Dorofy: We looked at a free program called Eyes on Earth through NASA.

They developed this software, which is basically looking at a model of the 3D Earth.

You're looking at real-time satellite imagery -- surface temperatures, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sea level.

So the students had an opportunity to look at all of those data sets, make comparisons, look for relationships between the data sets, look for patterns.

>> YOung woman: We're seeing, like, the measurements of, like, water and ice and how high the measurements are and how low they are in certain places.

>> Gorman: They use the real data from satellites to make inferences about what's going on with the Earth.

>> Young woman: But down in here, you can see it's almost like a hole.

And it's so low that they must have, like, a drought or something because there is so... >> Madison: I know I had a fun time with the water and ice model because you got to see how in 2003 specifically, there was more ice on the planet.

And now due to rising temperatures, it has lessened.

>> Alex: We got to check out carbon monoxide levels and talk about why that might affect us and why they might be higher in some areas.

>> Dorofy: Why do you think that that southern part of Asia is experiencing higher carbon monoxide levels?

>> Ashley: Deforestation?

>> Dorofy: Right.

Which is -- That deforestation would be... How is that done?

>> Ashley: We do learn a lot from Ms. Gorman, but it kind of, like, elaborated a little more on what we already knew, and it kind of helped us understand, I think, a little more.

>> Kyle: It just teaches me so many things that I didn't know, too -- just, like, how the world works.

So it's definitely interesting to learn about.

>> Gorman: You have to be an extremely scientifically-literate citizen in order to make good decisions for your family, for your community, to be relevant in the job market 10-15 years from now.

>> Moore: So when Mr. Dorofy had you looking at them and comparing one data set to another, that's what Earth SySTEM scientists do because it affects -- the ocean affects the atmosphere and vice versa, so... >> Moore: My experience in education is sometimes we sell what students are able to handle.

We sell them short, and this is all about exposing them to high-level opportunities and information.

You just never know who's going to grasp, when an idea can really be life-changing.

>> Gorman: As science teachers, we teach science, but we should really think of ourselves as scientists, and we shouldn't really worry so much about science education.

We should worry about where science is going and then let that dictate how we educate our students.

♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] >> Spiller: That's all for now.

Thanks for watching.

If you'd like to learn more, you can visit our website, classroomcloseup.org, and search the video library.

And remember to join us next week for more inspiring stories on another episode of "Classroom Close-Up: New Jersey."

♪♪ ♪♪