Every year Toyota Motor Manufacturing of West Virginia funds a                                       project entitled                                     “Challenger e-Mission,                                Operation Montserrat.”                                

In this interactive                                 simulation all eight                                     grade students from                                     Hurricane Middle                                      School receive an opportunity to work with NASA through e-missions.

E-Missions are simulated, problem-based, learning adventures delivered into the classroom via distance learning technology - the use of internet and video conferencing equipment, where “live” scenarios are conducted in a classroom by a Flight Director at Mission Control from the Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University.            

E-Missions are great tools for teachers to motivate students to learn math and science, while at the same time meeting standards and objectives in the classroom. Each e-Mission provides a website with standard-based materials, activities, and lesson plans to help teachers prepare students for pre-mission.

During e-mission the class assembles as an emergency response team and then connects to the Flight Director at Mission Control (NASA). All teams work together with Mission Control to handle the problem situation as the scenario unfolds. Hurricane Middle School uses Operation Montserrat as their mission. Montserrat is a real island in the Caribbean Sea. The island contains a volcano in the Soufriere Hills of the island. This volcano actually erupted on July 18, 1995, which caused two-thirds of the island’s population to be forced to evacuate.

On Mission Day at Hurricane Middle School new data is received every few minutes, in the classroom via satellite and teams perform calculations, create graphs, and assess the situation. The teams in the class then make recommendations to Mission Control based on their analysis. The students are divided up into four teams: Volcano Team, Hurricane Team, Evacuation Team and Communications Team. The Volcano Team calculates rock fall and volcanic data to predict what will happen with the volcano. The Hurricane Team tracks the approaching hurricane and calculates estimated times of arrival on the island.  The Evacuation Team uses population maps and available transportation options to move residents out of the danger zones to safe shelters on the island. The Communication Team’s job is to keep Mission Control informed about this brewing situation on Montserrat and to relay recommendations from all teams.

I recently had the opportunity to watch this event in person at Hurricane Middle School and was very impressed by the students and the teacher. The students I observed used critical thinking, math, science and problem solving skills to calculate which parts of the island would be hit by the hurricane and/or the volcano. They then determined which areas needed to be evacuated. The classroom setting was a fast-paced, engaging learning environment.  The teacher of the class is Mrs. Becky Adkins (spouse of TMMWV’s Team Manager Clint Adkins) whose role was to help prep, observe and assist students for Mission Day. There were a total of 290 students this year who participated in this activity, eleven of those students are children of TMMWV team members.

The mission that I observed was a success because the students were able to avoid disasters and save the lives of the people on Montserrat. This was all done while using great communications skills and working as a team.

TMMWV sponsors this event each year at a cost of $3,600 and I think that is money well spent. You can’t put a price tag on real life experiences that these students learn through this simulation. Mrs. Adkins said that this event is the highlight of the year for the students and that they are grateful for the sponsorship because they wouldn’t be able to conduct this activity without TMMWV’s support. I would like to thank Mrs. Adkins for her hard work at Hurricane Middle School and the students for allowing me to observe Mission Day.