| Los inventos protagonizan la Escuela de Verano de la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias Posted: 16 Apr 2013 05:40 PM PDT Los inventos serán protagonistas este año en la Escuela de Verano de la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias con un programa repleto de actividades lúdico-educativas en el Hemisfèric, el Umbracle, el Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe y el Oceanogràfic. Además, hasta el 1 de mayo, las familias pueden beneficiarse de una promoción especial de manera que el precio de la Escuela está rebajado de 240 a 220 euros (oferta no acumulable a otros descuentos).
La Escuela de Verano de la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias se dirige a niños entre 5 y 12 años, y se realizará en tres turnos de lunes a viernes del 24 de junio al 12 julio. Durante una semana, los niños participan en diferentes actividades y talleres en el Museo de las Ciencias, aprenden ciencia en el planetario del Hemisfèric y hasta pasan una noche entre tiburones en el Oceanogràfic y participan en la suelta al mar de una tortuga curada en las instalaciones del acuario, entre otras propuestas.
Este año, la Escuela gira en torno al mundo de los inventos e invita a los niños a convertirse en un auténtico inventor de la mano de algunos de los más grandes de la historia: Leonardo da Vinci, Tesla, Edyson, los hermanos Montgolfier, Isaac Peral, Jacques-Ives Cousteau….Los participantes se divertirán con sus compañeros al manipular, construir, montar y desmontar, probar, experimentar e inventar durante una semana en la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Para la Escuela de Verano, la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias cuenta con la colaboración de Waterballs, Alba, Instituto Confucio, Aquaservice, Frigo, Puleva, Fotolateras y la Escuela Municipal de Vela. Más información Escuela de Verano de la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
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| Did you know that ... on 17th April 1970 the crew of Apollo 13 returned to Earth safe and sound? Posted: 16 Apr 2013 11:01 PM PDT Although what the Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert actually said was “OK, Houston, we’ve had a problem here”, the phrase that has come to be famous to mean than an unexpected problem has arisen is “Houston, we have a problem”. Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission of the United States Apollo programme and the third with the objective of landing on the moon.
The spaceship was launched on 11th April 1970 at 13:13 hours but the plan to land on the moon was abandoned owing to the explosion of an oxygen tank two days after takeoff. This put the service module on which the unit depended out of action. Despite the difficulties experienced by the crew that were caused by the limited energy, the loss of heat in the cabin, the lack of drinking water, and the need to repair the carbon dioxide extraction system, the spaceship and its crew returned safely to Earth on 17th April.
The Space Academy of the Science Museum reproduces the three basic stages in preparing a launch to the International Space Station (ISS) itself. Visitors are guided by the voice and image of the astronaut Pedro Duque as they get to know the space laboratory, the launch lift, and the shuttle service that affords access to the space flight simulator.
The entire trip takes the public through different environments in which they experience the same feelings as the astronauts with real images and even movements. They will get to know various areas including the antechamber of the launching ramp, the lift, and the metallic footbridge by which the spaceship is reached. Furthermore, they will also share the unique experience of what a space launch entails, including the journey, the visit to the European space laboratory of the ISS, and the subsequent return to Earth.
Visitors thus become familiar with the fact of weightlessness, the everyday objects used by the astronauts, and the scientific experiments they carry out. The International Space Station is at an altitude of 400 kilometres and travels at a speed of 7.7 km per second; at night it is visible from the Earth with the naked eye as a bright fixed point in contrast to the sparkling stars that crosses the whole of the horizon in about five minutes.
The construction of the Station was initiated in 1998 and represents a collaboration between the NASA (from the USA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Japanese Space Exploration Agency, and the Brazilian Space Agency. In the year 2000 its first crew moved in and 16 countries are now working on the project. It is the size of a football pitch (108 metres long by 80 metres wide), and contains six laboratories in which up to seven astronauts carry out experiments and research in the fields of biology, medicine, materials, etc.
The duration of the space missions generally ranges from one week to six months, although some astronauts have been in space for more than a year. Almost all the water that is consumed at the ISS for drinking and cooking has to be taken there from Earth. However, water is also recycled whenever possible; for example, up to 24 litres of water are extracted daily from the ambient air and it is even obtained from urine after purification. Every 24 hours at the ISS there are 16 dawns and 16 dusks, owing to which its crew members usually sleep eight hours at the end of each day. Spacewalks may last a long time; some astronauts have spent up to 9 hours outside the spaceship.
When the astronauts return to Earth they are very tired and sometimes feel dizzy or even faint. Their muscles and bones have weakened and their hearts have to work overtime to pump their blood through their bodies. For some time they tend to have problems standing up, walking, turning at corners, and keeping their balance. If they close their eyes they may fall over and they even find it hard to sleep. Some astronauts mention that after months back on Earth they have let a cup go in the air and have been surprised to see it fall to the ground.
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