Canadian Association for Girls in Science
CAGIS News — Summer 2006
Message from the President
Welcome to the FANTASTIC FLIGHT issue of the CAGIS
newsletter. You will be able to read about Bessie Coleman, the
first ever African American woman pilot, read some cool did
you know facts, and learn how to make your own mini helicopter!
Also be sure to take a look at the CAGIS website contest.
This new contest is in celebration of the CAGIS website relauch! You may have already seen the new public portion of
the CAGIS website, which was relaunched on March 8, in
celebration of International Women’s Day. Now the membersonly clubhouse has been relaunched as well! Notice the fresh,
cleaner look, the new content in existing sections, and several
new sections as well! These include a section for newsletters
so you can check out past newsletters, a section for member
submissions (yes, we will post what you send us!), a new contest, and more! Be sure to visit the CAGIS website at
www.cagis.ca, enter the clubhouse (your password was sent to
you with your welcome letter when you joined), take a look
around, and enter the contest.
Finally, take note of the survey included with this newsletter.
This is the same survey that was included with the last newsletter. If you have already filled it out, and sent it back to
us, thank you! If not, please fill out the survey and send it
back to the address on the front. Enjoy your summer!
Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko
Women in Science: Bessie Colman
Nuha Soliman
Bessie Coleman was the
first African-American
woman to ever fly an airplane. She was born on
January 26, 1892 in Atlanta, Texas.
At first, Bessie was rejected from American
aviation schools because of racism. Bessie then saved some
money, learned French, and applied to flying schools in France,
where discrimination would not stop her from learning. She
went to a seven-month training course at L’école d’aviation des
frères Caudron, at Le Cotroy in the Somme. There, Bessie
learned to fly in a Neuport Type 82 biplane.
In June 1921, she became the first ever African-American
woman to earn a pilot license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, and was the only woman of sixty-two
students in the course to do so.
Bessie was an important role model for women, opening her
own aviation school and showing that anyone can accomplish
her dreams. She proved that your race or gender could not
stop someone from doing what she believed in.
On May 2, 1926, Bessie Coleman passed away, but she left us
with many lessons about life.
Did You Know…
•
hot air balloons were used for observation platforms
during World War II?
•
albatrosses can sleep while flying?
•
the first flight by the Wright Brothers lasted just 12
seconds?
•
the largest flying animal was the pterosaur, which lived
70 million years ago? (it had a wingspan of 11-12 meters!)
Sources:
•
biology.about.com; www.hightechscience.org;
www.aviationhistory.org
CAGIS members, we want your stuff to put into our newsletters!!! Send us your drawings, stories, jokes, interesting facts, mind
bogglers, experiments, and anything else you can think of to: 2 Mockingbird Cres., London, ON, N6J 4T7
If any of your stuff came from a book or tv show, try to remember which one so we can give them credit too.
Newsletter editor: Ranita Manocha
Experiment: Make Your CAGIS Website Contest
In celebration of the CAGIS website re-launch, we are holdPaper Helicopter!
ing a CAGIS WEBSITE CONTEST!!! Answer as many of the
By Ranita Manocha
•
•
•
questions as you can, and submit your answers on the website
for a chance to win. The submission with the MOST answers
correct will win a fantastic science kit! If more than one entry answers all of the questions correctly, the winner will be
chosen from those entries by selecting a name from a hat.
2.5
Materials
• paper clip
piece of paper
Ruler
Scissors
Procedure
15 cm
1. Use the ruler to draw out a 25
cm x 5 cm rectangle. Cut this out.
14 cm
2. Use the ruler to draw the
dashed and solid lines onto your rectangle as shown in the diagram below.
Cut along the SOLID lines (you will
fold along the dotted lines).
3. Fold flap A forward and flap B to
the back.
4. Fold flaps C and D both forward 2 cm
along the dotted lines.
5. Fold along the line E upward. Place
the paper clip over the fold at E.
6. Your helicopter should look
like the one shown below.
7. Hold your helicopter just
beneath the blades and drop it,
with the paper clip facing downwards.
8. Try dropping your helicopter from higher places, without
the paper clip, or with three paper clips – what are the effects? Does your helicopter remind you of anything in nature? Think of what falls from maple trees in the spring…
http://www.faa.gov/education/kidcornr/helicopt.cfm
http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/heliplan.php
Math Puzzle
By Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko
Here’s a fun math puzzle you can try. The numbers 1, 2, 3,
and 4 must appear in each row (across), and column (up and
down), and each box of four squares in the table. No number
can appear twice in a row, column, or box.
Answer
Use your math skills
2
to fill in it in!
2
3
1
4
1
2
3
1
3
4
2
1
2
3
4
3
4
1
Q1: What is the wingspan of the bald eagle? (hint: do you
think a professor might know?)
Q2: What are the basic parts of a robot? (hint: read the letters on the table in the clubhouse)
Q3: What is the coolest piece of scientific equipment fish
biologist Beth Wright has ever used? (hint: try reading the
newspaper)
Q4: How many moons does Jupiter have? (hint: look on the
bookshelf)
Q5: What happens to grapes when you leave them in sunlight
for about four days? (hint: try experimenting)
Bonus question: If Sue wants to order a pizza with 5 toppings,
and she has 10 options of toppings, how many different pizzas
could she possibly order? (hint: the professor can help you
with this)
You can enter this contest online at www.cagis.ca. Enter the
clubhouse and open the treasure chest.
The Wright Brothers
By Helen H. Moore,
Contributed by Yusra Soliman
Sources
4
You can find ALL of the answers somewhere in the membersonly clubhouse of the CAGIS website (www.cagis.ca), so you’ll
have to explore. Search for some in the NEW sections, and
revisit the old sections as well. You can find answers in both
new and old articles.
There once were two brothers
Named Orville and Will,
And they launched the first airplane,
From Kill Devil Hill.
The flight was a short one
No more than a hop,
In a plane they had made
In their bicycle shop.
But when it was over,
Those brothers named Wright ,
Had perfected the airplane,
And man-powered flight!