Media Advisory: Maryland Students to Celebrate Earth Day by Exploring Sun–Earth Connections at The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

More than 100 Maryland middle school students will explore "Sun–Earth Connections" on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, during the latest "Space Academy" at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md.

The Space Academy series, sponsored by APL, Comcast and Science Channel, takes students behind the scenes of space missions and introduces them to the people who conduct some of NASA's most exciting projects. Sun–Earth Connections will focus on two missions that are currently exploring the relationship between Earth and the Sun—TIMED and STEREO—and a third that is being designed for a 2011 launch, the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP).

Space Academy is open to the media and offers several photo, video and interview opportunities, including a student press conference with space scientists and engineers and a demonstration in the Applied Physics Laboratory's spacecraft design and testing facilities. APL, a division of The Johns Hopkins University, manages several NASA missions and has built 64 spacecraft over the past 5 decades.

What: Space Academy: Sun–Earth Connections

When: Tuesday, April 22, from 9:20 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT

Who: Space scientists and engineers from The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and approximately 100 students from Fallston Middle School (Harford County), Northwest Middle School (Carroll County) and William Wirt Middle School (Prince George's County).

Where: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, located at 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, 1/2 mile west of U.S. Route 29 in Laurel, Md. Call 240-228-7536 for directions, or visit the APL website at http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/visitor/default.asp.

For more information or to attend, please contact: 
Jennifer Huergo, APL Public Affairs 
240-228-5618 or 443-228-5618

Media may also register on the Space Academy website at: http://www.spaceacademy.jhuapl.edu/PressRoom/PressRegistration.php.