Beth Schmid
Headquarters, Washington, DC                       April 30, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1760)

RELEASE:  98-72

STUDENT WINNERS TO BE HONORED IN WASHINGTON, DC

     Twenty-nine students from public and private schools across 
the United States have won national recognition in NASA's 18th 
annual Space Science Student Involvement Program (SSIP) 
competition.  The students will be honored along with their 
teachers at the National Space Science Symposium, May 2-5, at the 
Hotel Washington, 515 15th St., NW, Washington, DC.

     On Monday, May 4, all symposium events will be open to the 
press.  Beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT, the national winners of four 
of the competitions will present their winning proposals in the 
Hotel Washington's Ballroom.  At 1 p.m., eight national semi-
finalist high school student winners will present proposals for a 
Mars science experiment project to a panel of NASA scientists.  On 
Tuesday, May 5, students will tour the Capitol and meet their 
members of Congress.

     The competition, sponsored by NASA and administered by the 
National Science Teachers Association, is an interdisciplinary 
program designed to address the need for greater literacy in the 
areas of science, critical and creative thinking, mathematics and 
technology.  Nearly 10,000 students in elementary, junior high, 
and high school competed in five competition categories using 
their skills in mathematics, science, technology, art and creative 
writing.

     The National Space Science Symposium brings together the 29 
national winners and their teachers to recognize their academic 
achievement in an environment designed to further challenge their 
talents.  The trip to the symposium includes formal presentations 
of their entries by the students.

     In addition to their recognition in Washington, other awards 
include opportunities to intern at a NASA field center for a week 
during the summer, Space Camp scholarships, medals, ribbons and 
certificates.  Winners of the Intergalactic Art competition will 
have their artwork displayed at the Hotel Washington during the 
symposium.  Interested persons can view the display in the Hotel 
Washington's Ballroom through Tuesday, May 5.  After the 
symposium, artwork will be on display in museums, schools and 
other public sites throughout this year.

     At 6:00 p.m. on May 5, the students and their teachers will 
be honored at a banquet at the Hotel Washington.  The banquet 
speaker will be Steven S. Oswald, an astronaut who currently 
serves as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Operations 
in the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters, Washington, 
DC.

     A complete list of SSIP winners can be found at the following 
URL:

      ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-072a.txt

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