Tag Archives: ISS

Russia invades Ukraine, retreats from ISS Minnehaha’s annual space-station project may take new directions in future years Testing shark skin on bacteria growth, growing calcium carbonate crystals and trying to revive dried algae have all been experiments worked on and sent into space by the Minnehaha ISS (International Space Station) team. But with recent news …

Tell Me About It Season 1, Episode 4: Joy Reist Host Ann Oakman interviews Chemistry teacher and International Space Station (ISS) Team Leader Joy Reist about the ISS Team’s 2022 experiment.

Space Station class explores algae growth in microgravity The International Space Station (ISS) class, taught by Joy Reist and Tim Swanson, is currently growing spirulina algae in the science classroom. The algae is being tested on growth in microgravity.  “The International Space Station has high levels of carbon dioxide, and …

Project returns to Earth after 3 months On April 6, the Minnehaha Academy International Space Station experiment returned to Earth aboard the Space X CRS- 20, splashing down into the Pacific Ocean. The project, which researched the effect of a microgravity environment on the growth of calcium carbonate crystals, will …

Minnehaha ISS team growing crystals to combat kidney stones The 2019-2020 Minnehaha Academy International Space Station experiment will explore the condition of kidney stones by growing calcium carbonate crystals in space. Developing kidney stones is a common painful condition that is found in over 200,000 Americans per year. This years’ …

Minnehaha ISS team prepares experiment for space The Minnehaha Academy ISS team is preparing an experiment to grow calcium carbonate crystals in space, with a launch date to the International Space Station scheduled for Feb. 7, 2020.  The team  of two teachers and 13 students is designing an experiment to …

The Plant Team of Minnehaha’s ARE class is studying the effect of microgravity on phototropism; i.e. how microgravity affects orientation of plants toward or away from a light source. A plant will first orient itself by its sense of gravity; this is why plants grown in the dark grow similarly …

New technology brings new creations, big and small Twenty-month-old Kaiba Gionfriddo was born with tracheobronchomalacia, a rare disease which led to the weakening and deterioration of the his windpipe. Only one in 2,200 children have this disease. Gionfriddo’s tracheostomy and ventilator proved ineffective, and his health began to decline. Doctors …

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the Page Family Stem Lab was held on Tues., Nov. 3. Faculty and students gathered to watch Greg and Cindy Page officially open the lab in which students can further their learning in the sciences for many years to come. “It was great to see …

  The I.S.S. team reflects on their journey after the destruction of their experiment in the launch explosion “I was in Switzerland. It was the afternoon of the launch,” said science teacher and one of last year’s International Space Station (I.S.S.) mentors Nancy Cripe. “We got back to the hotel …