NASA has selected four high school teams of students to test their science experiments in a competition that simulates the microgravity in space. The experiments will be dropped next week into a 79-foot tower at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, so that they experience weightlessness for 2.2 seconds.

The experiments are part of NASA's national science competition, "Dropping In a Microgravity Environment," or DIME. NASA provides the funding for up to four students and one adult advisor from each team to travel to Glenn to conduct its experiment and review the results with Glenn engineers and scientists. While at the center, they will tour Glenn facilities and participate in workshops.

Student teams from Ransom Everglades School, Coconut Grove, Fla., and Troy High School, Troy, Mich., will conduct their experiments Monday, March 21 from 1 to 3 p.m., and Tuesday, March 22 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The teams' proposal titles are "How Hot is Hot Enough? - Temperature and Capillary Action" and "Effect of Microgravity on the Motion of Air Bubbles in Water."

Student teams from Ozaukee High School, Fredonia, Wis., and St. Ursula Academy, Toledo, Ohio, will conduct their experiments Thursday, March 24 from 1 to 3 p.m., and Friday, March 25 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The teams' proposal titles are "Influence of Microgravity of the Weissenberg Effect" and "Convection Evaluation in Microgravity."

Reporters interested in viewing the drop tests may contact Sandra Nagy at 216-433-9079 or [email protected] to arrange for security clearance.

DIME and other NASA educational programs help the agency attract and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics - disciplines critical to space exploration. The DIME competition is part of the agency's Teaching From Space Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, which provides unique education experiences using the unique environment of microgravity and NASA's human space exploration program.