NASA classroom coming to Palmer

Palmer Junior Middle School is home for a week to one of the largest traveling classrooms in the country.

Yesterday, students from several local elementary and middle schools started using the Mobile Aeronautics Education Laboratory (MAEL), a mobile NASA research center in which 14 students spend an hour in the lab -- an 18-wheeler equipped with the latest aeronautic technology -- solving different problems.

Students from Palmer Junior Middle School, Wasilla Middle School, Teeland Middle School, Big Lake Elementary, Willow Elementary, Athenaeum, Beryozava, C U Online and correspondence schools will all take part in the lessons.

The MAEL features 10 computerized work stations that engage students in activities that simulate a cross-country flight.

It has been traveling around the country for four years, and has been in 37 states.

"One of the primary goals of the MAEL is to motivate students to consider careers in technology, engineering and science," said Dr. R. Lynn Bondurant, creator of MAEL.

While students will get to use the mobile classroom during the day next week, tonight, sponsors get a shot at figuring out problems on a simulated mission.

Business partner night includes a mission at 6:30 p.m., in which adults will get to participate in much the same style as the students.