Mission Zero offers young people the chance to have their code run in space! Students shall write a simple Python program to take a reading from the colour and luminosity sensor on an Astro Pi computer on board the International Space Station, and use it to set the background colour in a personalised image for the astronauts to see as they go about their daily tasks. [source: official Mission Zero website]
This online mentorship (splitting teams in breakout rooms for efficency) was a very special one to me as it marked the launch of the Vianu Projects Club. Basically, any student can join by completing a form and then he or she will have the marvelous chance to participate in NASA and ESA projects, carefully guided by me. Straight from the start, I already reached 10 little learners characterized by deep curiosity and amazing intelligence.
Even though most of them are 5th graders from my school (the youngest kids I got to mentor so far 🙂 ), I also taught students from other counties in Romania, thus gaining national reach.
In the near future, I hope the club to bloom and have more and more students eager to learn. Moreover, I will extend my idea and, as I have recently joined an international non-governmental organization named Save the Children as a volunteer, I plan on offering my free mentoring services to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to facilitate their access to top-quality education.
What is more, at the end of the project, I presented the kids with other ESA international activities and I was delighted to see that each and every one of them raised their hand in order to mark the fact that they are eager to participate in all of them. I also gave them a Feedback Form to complete, and as it was a pleasure working with them, I cannot forget to mention some of their heart-warming answers:
Question: Is there anything else you would like to tell me?
Answer: That I want more projects like this!
Natalia T.
Question: What did you not like and would like to change in the future?
Answer: I liked everything.
Radu T.
Question: What did you like best?
Answer: I liked the fact that I had the opportunity to work with a company that I only saw on TV when I was younger. (referring to the European Space Agency)
David M.
Question: What’s your opinion on the first project done together?
Answer: Super cool. We had fun.
Matei P.
Question: What’s your opinion on the first project done together and what did you like best?
Answer: It seemed interesting to me that I can create a project that can really run in space and I enjoyed exploring all my ideas.
Marc S.
Therefore, I will definitely make sure to share all updates on my mentorship and volunteering experience on this website, so stay tuned – great things are coming!
