By: Brittany (6th Grade) and Brennan (8th Grade)

Have you ever wondered what caffeine is? Caffeine is a bitter, white crystallized liquid. Caffeine can be found in the leaves and seeds of plants including the coffee plant. There is caffeine in many things, in ground coffee (90-150 mg of caffeine), instant coffee (30-70 mg) ,tea (30-70 mg), cola (30-45 mg), chocolate bars (30 mg), and stay awake pills (100 mg). Most people get there caffeine from energy drinks, coffee and soft drinks. A cup of coffee cost about $2. The average coffee drinker spends $116 per year on the beverage.

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By: Leila (7th Grade)

Black holes are often part of science fiction movies, and though these movies exaggerate black holes some of what they say is true. A black hole is a huge space that has been made into one small area. The black hole got it's name because of the way it sucks objects into itself and also because all we can see past the horizon is a hole of darkness. Black holes also have an enormous force of gravity,
so much that it does not allow anything of size to pass if the object is in a certain vicinity.  Black holes are created by something getting smashed or condensed. The way that we can track and identify black holes is by monitoring the movement of planets in a certain area, if they are being pulled towards one area there is most likely a black hole there. We can also find them by detecting amounts of radiation with our telescopes. Though eventually black holes do take in stars and some planets, they more commonly just absorb light. They take in the light completely, not reflecting any of it, light that goes into a black hole will never leave.

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By: Parker (7th Grade)

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystal-like substance that is known as a stimulate drug. Although coffee is loved all around the world, coffee is not always the best thing for you and can make you very unhealthy. The reason why coffee can be so bad for you is because of the caffeine. Caffeine can lower your antioxidants, antioxidants are the things in your body that fight and protect you from diseases. An overdose of caffeine is usually 300 milligrams, depending on the body weight and the tolerance of caffeine. The symptoms of drinking too much caffeine are restlessness, nervousness, excitement, increased urination, muscle twitching, irritability, rapid heart beat, and an extreme overdose can even be fatal. Coffee is not always the only way to get a caffeine overdose, some energy drinks, and caffeinated pills can cause an overdose of caffeine. So although coffee is loved by many Americans and most people around the world, it can result in serious health problems.  

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By: Parker (7th Grade)

Have you ever wondered about the mysterious red planet called Mars? Have you ever wondered what is on this planet or if humans may someday visit Mars? What would we find? Well right now, NASA is taking baby steps to discover Mars. NASA has not yet produced the equipment to go to Mars, so the first step is to send robotic equipment to Mars. This equipment is called a Mars Rover, right now two Mars Rovers are exploring Mars at this time, their names are “Spirit” and “Opportunity”. The reason we are sending rovers to Mars is because there are more advantages when exploring this planet. Some advantages are that Spirit and Opportunity examine more territory, they can survive the winter months on Mars that humans cannot survive, and they can even learn to adapt to Mars. Some of the disadvantages of Mars Rovers are that these machines have a higher chance of failure because of landing and other risks. Mars Rovers have been exploring mars for about 4 years and have retrieved new information and discoveries about the mysterious red planet Mars.

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By: Haley (6th Grade)

Have you ever wondered what it is like inside a space shuttle? There is very little gravity, so it feels as if you are floating! Astronauts can only take certain foods on the spacecraft. Most foods contain liquids and cannot be compressed because the pressure in space will push the air until it explodes. The space shuttle's design includes a large tank for Hydrogen, two smaller tanks of fuel, and the orbiter (where crew stays.) Astronauts communicate by NASA's satellites in space TDRSS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System). To get into space, the space shuttle has boosters. These boosters help launch the shuttle straight into space and then while in space, the boosters drop off so the astronauts can control where the shuttle goes. These amazing crafts are the way people can explore and learn about what is in space!

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By: Jetamio (6th Grade)

The Endeavour space shuttle launched on February 8, 2010 and is now in space. It's mission is to add tranquility to the international space station. Tranquility is a life support system which is used to recycle water and produce oxygen. The Endeavour flight holds six astronauts including, George Zamka, Terry Virts, Kathryn P. Hire, Stephen Robinson, Nicolas Patrick and Robert L. Behnken. It is the 24th flight of Endeavour and the first flight to take off in 2010. The Endeavour flight was planned to take off on February 7, 2010 but it was been postponed due to clouds. The Endeavour will continue to stay in space until it's mission is complete.

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By Alexis (6th Grade)

Have you ever wondered why astronauts wear those weird unfashionable suits? Astronaut suits are made out of many materials such as Spandex, Dacron, Mylar, Gortex, Kevlar, Nomex and several types of Nylon. All these materials are pieced together to form a suit. The suits are needed because they help astronauts breath in space. In order to have oxygen they bring small pressurized tanks of oxygen which they carry on their backs. When they need a refill of oxygen there is a valve in the back of the tank to let oxygen into their suits. These suits also are kept a toasty temperature of 78 degrees. Their suits need to be warm because the shadows in space are very cold. Astronaut suits help them do their job!

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By Brittany (6th Grade)

You may have heard about the Onizuka space crash 24 years ago. This tragedy happened on January 28, 1986. There were seven people on the shuttle called The Challenger. This unfortunate event happened 73 seconds after The Challenger took off. There was a small hole in the right hand booster rocket which caused the other fuel tanks to leak. All the astronauts on board perished in that horrible explosion. When you look up at the stars or see a space shuttle take off on the news think of Kona's very own Ellison Onizuka and the rest of the courageous space shuttle crew.

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Taurine is a substance that most Americans might not know about. Taurine is in your body and helps regulate the beat of your heart. It is in most energy drinks such as “Red Bull” and “Rockstar.” In energy drinks there is 1,000 milligrams of pure taurine. Taurine was originally discovered in ox bile and was named after Taurus, or bull. Taurine is high in foods such as meat and fish or other proteins. Up to 3,000 milligrams of taurine a day is considered safe. Some Americans consume two energy drinks a day, which means they have used 2/3 of their daily taurine intake. Too much taurine and caffine can lead to severe heart issues.

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By: Haley (6th Grade)

Did you know Kona Coffee isn't actually from Kona? Originally, Kona Coffee is from Brazil. The Brazilian missionary Samuel Reverend Ruggles first brought coffee to the Kona district in 1828. The plant had an amazing ability to adapt to the Hawaii environment so they decided to continue growing and made large plantations. Most of the original coffee workers were from Japan, who came to Hawaii for work. The word "kope" means Coffee in Hawaiian. Currently, there are about 800 coffee farms in Hawaii. So next time you take a sip of the wonderful Kona Coffee, think of how it got here!