Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS)
Greetings to you all,
This post will be a description of my experience in the WAS program (If you are not familiar with this program please refer to the link provided at the bottom of the page or my previous blog post titled 'Introduction').
Firstly, WAS is split into two Phases. Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 is a 5-month online course dedicated to the history of NASA, as well as many topics surrounding space exploration, and Earth and Space sciences. Currently I am on lesson 9 out of 12. If you do well enough in Phase 1, you can qualify to go to a week long summer residency at the University of Washington, and plan a mission to mars with other WAS students (Phase 2).
Once accepted into the program, you are given two weeks to complete one of the twelve lessons (which usually consists of a math problem, a reading, a reading quiz, and an essay or graphic that relates to the reading.
The math problems can be challenging if you do not have a solid background in math or physics. Even so, I have never taken physics, and the formulas provided for each math problem can be logically applied without too much distress, and the problems are not at all meant to be viewed as impossible. Significant figures are also applied to each math problem. If you do not know what these are, that is okay, but I advise you to do some research if you plan on participating in WAS. Clarification on how to use sig figs are also explained in the program (I still get them wrong sometimes).
The readings are very long, and you have to give yourself at least half a day dedicated to reading them, and then completing the 25 minute online reading quiz. The reading quizzes are very specific, so close attention has to be taken during the reading. I recommend taking notes (however you cant use them once you begin the test). Sometimes the reading quizzes can be a chore, but you will walk out of the program with a much larger knowledge bank. Cha chinggg.
The essay difficulty is about equivalent to a doubled-revised paper you would hand in to your english teacher. It takes significant research, organization, and time, but the difficulty level is nothing out of the ordinary.
Graphics sometimes are assigned with essays that describe what the graphic is. In some lessons, you are asked to draw, or make a model of a unique piece of technology that can be used to aid space exploration. These can be fun, but like everything else, require deliberate thought.
Towards the end of Phase 1 there is also a final project. Here is the link to mine: http://parismielke.wixsite.com/jupiter/about
Overall, I would say Phase 1 is pretty rigorous. However if you keep up with all your assignments, and put full effort into the course, you can walk away with a better understanding of your own personal capabilities, as well as 5 credits to the University of Washington for the class ESS 102 Space and Space Travel. Yes thats right, if you want to, you can apply for UW credit (but only do this if you are planning to put full effort into the course because this will begin a transcript at UW).
I have also heard, that those who make it into Phase 2, and keep in touch with the WAS program and Museum of Flight, are often given exciting opportunities to mentor, give speeches in things like 'WE Day', which usually involves traveling.
All in all, I highly recommend this program for anyone planning on majoring in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related field of study. Work hard, and it will be worth it.
Hopefully I am accepted into Phase 2 of the program, in which case a blog post about this experience at UW will be soon to follow.
Toodles!
Link to WAS Homepage: https://www.museumofflight.org/was
This post will be a description of my experience in the WAS program (If you are not familiar with this program please refer to the link provided at the bottom of the page or my previous blog post titled 'Introduction').
Firstly, WAS is split into two Phases. Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 is a 5-month online course dedicated to the history of NASA, as well as many topics surrounding space exploration, and Earth and Space sciences. Currently I am on lesson 9 out of 12. If you do well enough in Phase 1, you can qualify to go to a week long summer residency at the University of Washington, and plan a mission to mars with other WAS students (Phase 2).
Once accepted into the program, you are given two weeks to complete one of the twelve lessons (which usually consists of a math problem, a reading, a reading quiz, and an essay or graphic that relates to the reading.
The math problems can be challenging if you do not have a solid background in math or physics. Even so, I have never taken physics, and the formulas provided for each math problem can be logically applied without too much distress, and the problems are not at all meant to be viewed as impossible. Significant figures are also applied to each math problem. If you do not know what these are, that is okay, but I advise you to do some research if you plan on participating in WAS. Clarification on how to use sig figs are also explained in the program (I still get them wrong sometimes).
The readings are very long, and you have to give yourself at least half a day dedicated to reading them, and then completing the 25 minute online reading quiz. The reading quizzes are very specific, so close attention has to be taken during the reading. I recommend taking notes (however you cant use them once you begin the test). Sometimes the reading quizzes can be a chore, but you will walk out of the program with a much larger knowledge bank. Cha chinggg.
The essay difficulty is about equivalent to a doubled-revised paper you would hand in to your english teacher. It takes significant research, organization, and time, but the difficulty level is nothing out of the ordinary.
Graphics sometimes are assigned with essays that describe what the graphic is. In some lessons, you are asked to draw, or make a model of a unique piece of technology that can be used to aid space exploration. These can be fun, but like everything else, require deliberate thought.
Towards the end of Phase 1 there is also a final project. Here is the link to mine: http://parismielke.wixsite.com/jupiter/about
Overall, I would say Phase 1 is pretty rigorous. However if you keep up with all your assignments, and put full effort into the course, you can walk away with a better understanding of your own personal capabilities, as well as 5 credits to the University of Washington for the class ESS 102 Space and Space Travel. Yes thats right, if you want to, you can apply for UW credit (but only do this if you are planning to put full effort into the course because this will begin a transcript at UW).
I have also heard, that those who make it into Phase 2, and keep in touch with the WAS program and Museum of Flight, are often given exciting opportunities to mentor, give speeches in things like 'WE Day', which usually involves traveling.
All in all, I highly recommend this program for anyone planning on majoring in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related field of study. Work hard, and it will be worth it.
Hopefully I am accepted into Phase 2 of the program, in which case a blog post about this experience at UW will be soon to follow.
Toodles!
Link to WAS Homepage: https://www.museumofflight.org/was
Comments
Post a Comment