Nutrition and the White House Garden

Elementary students help First Lady harvest White House garden, while learning to eat healthy.

On Tuesday I visited the White House for a harvesting party that First Lady Michelle Obama hosted for students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C. The garden was planted by these same students in March on the South Lawn of the White House.

As I walked out to the garden for the event, I saw the playground that was installed for the Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia earlier this year. I also caught a glimpse of the tennis and basketball courts used by the First Family. The courts are hidden behind greenery. The grounds are much bigger than they appear when you are looking at them through the White House fence.

The First Lady seemed very excited about how much progress the garden had made over the last four months. She was obviously glad that the kids had helped to plant it. Now they were back to help harvest and eat some of the bounty.

Mrs. Obama showed students how to cut  lettuce off at its base, while other kids washed produce in big plastic bins on nearby tables. While they worked, the kids chatted with Mrs. Obama. She  seemed to really enjoy spending time with them.

After harvesting, the kids carried produced-filled bins across the lawn to the kitchen or to a deck outside where they prepared a salad.

Outside, a group of kids got busy washing and cutting vegetables. Others decorated cupcakes with berries, while others made salad dressing.  Another group went into the White House kitchen to help prepare the baked chicken.

The food looked and smelled delicious, but reporters didn’t get to eat any. Many of the kids seemed very curious about all the reporters watching and photographing them from behind a rope line.

The kids were very casual around the First Lady. One of the boys encouraged Mrs. Obama to try the salad dressing he had helped make.

When the food was ready, the kids and Mrs. Obama set picnic tables with plates and forks. While they worked, they joked with each other. All the kids seemed eager to get a seat as close to Mrs. Obama as possible.

Before sitting down at the table, Mrs. Obama spoke to the press about the importance of good eating habits. White House chefs brought out the delicious-looking food from the kitchen—baked chicken with peas and brown rice—on silver platters.

Everyone began eating as reporters started to leave, many trying to fit in some last minute notes as they were escorted to the exit. I enjoyed this event because I got to see the First Lady up close. It was also very fun to see the beautiful White House grounds.

—Madison Hartke-Weber

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Madison Hartke-Weber on the White House grounds Tuesday, June 16. Photo by Dara Sharif.

The iPhone Road Trip

Who needs a computer when you've got hand-held technology!

iPhone Road Trip Day 1:

Today, my family and I embarked on a road trip from Detroit, Michigan, where I live, to Chicago, Illinois. I decided I would blog about my trip from my iPhone since it's too hard to carry a computer around with me on a 300 mile road trip. It's my summer experiment!

Once we reached Chicago, the first event of the day was Major League Baseball at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago White Sox hosted the Detroit Tigers and was due to begin at 1 p.m. Rain delayed the game until 4!

Once the game started, however, the Tigers didn't do so well. My hometown team lost 4-3 playing in the miserable rain and cold. On the bright side, I managed to get an autograph from Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello!

iPhone Road Trip: Day 2

Today was the second day of my family's trip to Chicago. We to see the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibit displayed more than 200 props and costumes from the Harry Potter moviesj, including Harry's wand, Hermione's robes, Ron's bed, and much more.

Listening to the audio tour, I learned about how much work went into making everything for the movies. Not only did the props have to look realistic, but they also had to be durable to last through all the movies. I would highly recommend the exhibit to any Harry Potter fan.

Later that night, we had a delicious dinner of Chicago style pizza at Gino's East. The pizza is one of the best parts of Chicago.

iPhone Road Trip: Final Day

I had a great time and learned a lot during my family's brief visit to Chicago. I leanred a lot everywhere we went.

I learned at the baseball game that the White Sox won the World Series in 2005.

We also toured the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Based on what is seen in the films, the developers make creating all of the props and costumes look easy. This exhibit really shows how much work went into creating everything for the movies. I never realized how hard creating props could be. If any other Kid Reporters are in the area, they should go. I hope to return to Chicago soon.

—Nicholas Wu

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Nicholas Wu at the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Photo courtesy Nicholas Wu

Launch is Off Again!

On again off again space shuttle launch now set for July 11.

Launch managers call it a scrub when they cancel a launch. The space shuttle Endeavour has been scrubbed twice now.

It's 2 a.m. and my brother Mason and I are at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hoping to see the 5:40 a.m. shuttle launch. It was originally scheduled for Saturday, but delayed because of a gas leak.

The fuel tanks were drained and the leak worked on, but to no avail. As the space shuttle crew prepared for launch, NASA had to scrub it again. The leak was back and STS-127 has been delayed once again.

We arrived early this morning and went through two different security and bag checks. Hundreds of people are here with us and they are all disappointed. Of course, there are not nearly as many people here now as there were Saturday. Not everyone could stay for the rescheduled launch.

Here are some of the comments we heard as soon as the second delay was announced:

"You've got to be kidding!" "Now we'll never see a launch!"

According to one of the security guards we talk to, seeing a launch up close is a very special experience.

NASA TV will provide more information in about an hour we have been told. You can log on to NASA TV and watch (if you're up this late!)

A lunar orbiter scheduled for launch on Thursday should go ahead as scheduled. A new date is now set for Jully 11 at 7:39 p.m.  ET.

—Bailey Pownall

Photo: At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour is bathed in light as it awaits its early-morning liftoff at Launch Pad 39A. The launch was scrubbed around 2 a.m. Image credit: NASA TV

A Silver Space Shuttle Lining

Follow the space shuttle launch on Twitter at 5 a.m. Wednesday!

A few days ago, the space shuttle Endeavour was scheduled to launch on a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Unfortunately, the mission was delayed from Saturday until Wednesday, June 17, at 5:40 a.m. because of a gas leak.

The delay illustrates how important each component of the space shuttle is in a launch. If just one little part malfunctions, it affects the entire mission. Sure, it’s pretty disappointing for everyone who went to so much preparation to see the launch. But it’s all for the astronauts’ safety, and NASA does not want to take any chances.

There's always a bright side! Because of an unexpected free day, my brother Bailey and I spent the morning shopping and looking around the town of Cocoa and Cocoa Beach. Interesting fact: Cocoa Beach is where the 1970’s TV sitcom, “I Dream of Jeannie,” was set. Major Anthony Nelson, who finds a genie in a bottle, was an astronaut.

We visited the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop, where we talked to a shop owner who mentioned that a delayed launch means more business. That's because a delayed launch means people like us with free time on their hands. Many of them find their way into his shop. That is a definitely silver lining for local shop owners!

Maybe my friend, Astronaut Tim Kopra, could find some comfort in that. Every day of delay for him is a day more in quarantine with his fellow astronauts, and one more day away from his family. But his dream to go into space is about to be realized.

Join me and Bailey early tomorrow morning as we Twitter the launch live from Kennedy Space Center in Florida!

—Mason Pownall

PHOTO: Mason and Bailey (hat) Pownall relaxing while waiting for the space shuttle Endeavour launch to be rescheduled. Photo Courtesy Mason and Bailey Pownall.

Space Shuttle Launch a Go!

Endeavor relaunch scheduled for 5:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The refueling of the space shuttle Endeavour will begin at 10 p.m. tonight (Tuesday). Then, if all goes well, it will blast off for the International Space Station (ISS) at 5:40 a.m. Wednesday morning.

My brother Mason and I have been watching the NASA Channel online while we are still in Florida. We traveled here from Texas to see the launch. We interviewed Astronaut Tim Kopra, who is traveling by shuttle to live on the ISS for three months. He will be part of the first six-person crew to live there!

When the launch was scrubbed due to a gas leak, we had a decision to make: how long to wait for the launch to be rescheduled before we had to go back home. So we started watching the NASA channel for news.

I learned that the main problem with rescheduling the launch is that NASA has a very full launch schedule this week and doesn't want to fall behind. Another launch was scheduled for Wednesday, the best day for rescheduling the space shuttle. (For us, too, since we really want to see the space shuttle launch!)

NASA planned to launch its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on Wednesday. After much discussion over several days, NASA officials decided to launch the Endeavour on Wednesday and the LRO on Thursday.

The LRO is another exciting NASA project. The orbiter is going to the moon to help plan another astronaut mission there. NASA is even looking to build a base there where astronauts can live and work.

Now that the LRO is rescheduled, it is all systems go for the Endeavour. Weather is the only other major problem that could keep the astronauts on earth.  As of now, meteorologists predict an 80 percent  chance that the weather will NOT affect the launch. If the weather keeps the shuttle from going on Wednesday,  the next opportunity will be on July 11. We won't be able to stay for THAT.

I really hope that the shuttle can go on Wednesday, because everyone has gone through so much preparation and anticipation (including me and my family!). It would be disappointing to have to wait another month to go. But better to be safe!

—Bailey Pownall

Photo: The STS-127 Mission Patch with each astronaut's name on it. Photo Courtesy NASA Image.

Shuttle Launch Scrubbed

Space Shuttle Endeavour encounters problem; launch delayed

It's 2:12 a.m., I'm sitting here wide awake next to my Mom eating a chocolate Pop-tart.  What's going on here?

We were scheduled to attend the launch of STS-127 at 7:17 this morning. To catch the shuttle to the viewing causeway we had to be at Kennedy Space Center at 3:30 a.m. So we woke up at 1:30 a.m. and discovered that NASA had postponed the launch of STS-127 because of a reported hydrogen leak.

Bummer! I immediately have mixed feelings about this. We've waited for months for this launch and were just down the road from the Kennedy Space Center getting ready to go and see it live. I was so excited! But the delay is also a blessing because a potentially tragic problem was discovered before it was too late.

NASA's Mike Moses reports that engineers have  "started draining the fuel from the shuttle Endeavour." Once the fuel is completely drained on Sunday afternoon, engineers will be able to access the problem in more detail and predict a new launch date.

At this point the earlier possible date is Wednesday, June 17. 

Assigning a new launch date is tricky, especially because of the scheduled launch of the LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - more about that later) for Friday, June 19.

If by any chance NASA cannot launch Endeavour by June 20, they will move the launch date to July 11.

"[Delays] are part of r business," said STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky. "[The] most important thing is to not launch until every thing is ready" 

Okay, I'm finally getting sleepy again, Goodnight . Or is it good morning?

—Bailey Pownall

PHOTO: STS-127 crew members (front row) Commander Mark Polansky (right) and Pilot Doug Hurley. Back row (left to right), astronauts Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Canadian Space Agency's Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra, all mission specialists. Image credit: NASA

Space Shuttle Launch Postponed

Launch now expected sometime between June 17-20.

The Space Shuttle launch was postponed around 1 a.m. Eastern Time. NASA announced it will be rescheduled for sometime between June 17-20. It was postponed because of gaseous hydrogen leak.

It's 2 a.m. as I am writing this. My brother Mason and I were just watching a NASA press conference explaining why they postponed the shuttle launch.

We feel disappointed but also relieved that engineers found the problem before something tragic happened.

NASA is trying to reschedule the launch date around the  the LRO mission, which is a lunar orbitor that is supported to launch on Wednesday, June 19. We will have more news for you on Saturday as NASA finalizes its plans.

—Bailey Pownall

PHOTO: Space shuttle Endeavour  on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida just prior to a gas leak that lead to rescheduling the launch. Image credit: NASA TV

At the Space Shuttle Launch!

Kid Reporters Twitter live from Endeavour launch on Saturday.

Kid Reporters Bailey and Mason Pownall of Austin, Texas, are at the Kennedy Center in Florida for the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on tomorrow (Saturday, June 13). Mason and Bailey interviewed astronaut Tim Kopra, who is also from Austin, before he left on his first space shuttle mission.

On the night before the launch, the brothers attended an event for Kopra's friends and family.
Kopra will be living on the International Space Station (ISS) for three months as the ISS's first crew of 6 astronauts. The ISS has in the past hosted only two or three astronauts at a time.

Mason and Bailey will be posting live reports on Twitter from the launch. The following blog post is a compilation of their tweets from the pre-launch party on Friday night. Each Twitter can only be 140 characters (not words!) long.

Twitter reports (Log onto twitter.com and search for #space shuttle.)

We are in the Atlas Room at the Kennedy Space Center for the astronauts' pre-launch friends and family event. We are watching a slide show about astronaut Tim Kopra's life.

Hundreds of people are here in Florida for tomorrow's launch. Astronaut Kopra has so many friends here, even his high school band director is here. Tim was a drum major in high school.

Tim isn't here though. The astronauts are all together getting ready for tomorrow's launch. He sent a video message to us though. Astronaut Tim Kopra is making his first flight on the space shuttle at 7 a.m. Saturday morning (tomorrow). We are here to report it!

We just spoke to Tim Kopra's daughter. She said she would miss him but is really happy he is going to space. (The Kopra children have asked that Scholastic not publish their names.) Kopra's school aged daughter does not want to be an astronaut though. She says it takes too much work and traveling!

Just spoke to Astronaut Stephanie Wilson, who worked with Kopra in the past. "He is a strong leader and great guy," she says. Astronaut Wilson flew on a space shuttle mission in 2006-2007. She is scheduled to return to space in 2010.

The party is over and everyone is now leaving. The launch time tomorrow morning is 7:17 a.m. We have to be there by 3 a.m.! We know it's early, but be sure to join us at 7 a.m. Saturday (June 13) for live reports from Endeavour's launch.

—Mason and Bailey Pownall

Photo: A cardboard cutout of Astronaut Tim Kopra featured at his friends and family party on Friday. Kopra will blast off on Saturday morning for a three-month stay on the Internal Space Station. Photo Courtesy Mason and Bailey Pownall.

Up Front at the Tony's

Kid Reporter attends Broadway's annual awards show.

For some families it was a struggle to decide what the watch on TV Sunday night: an NBA championship game or the Tony Awards, the Academy Awards for Broadway. In my family, it’s a no-brainer.

My mom is a Broadway producer, so my family is always 1000 percent focused on all things theater this time of year (though we also love basketball).  Usually, I’m glued to the TV on Tony night with my ballot by my side. This year, however, was special. I was invited to join my parents at the Tony Awards.

One thing you probably don’t know, is that during those long commercial breaks you see on TV, the people in the audience are watching something totally different. We were shown some hysterical videos that showed Broadway inside out. For example, during one particularly memorable break, a video was shown where the cast of “Shrek,” was pretending to audition for various Broadway shows. In the video, the three pigs hopelessly tried to sing “Electricity” from the show “Billy Elliot.”

During another break, the host, Neil Patrick Harris, performed a card trick. And during another, two $30,000 watches were raffled off to random people in the
audience!

The awards were great, too. “Billy Elliot,” took home the gold this year, winning 10 awards, including “Best Musical.” The award for Best Actor, was given to the three boys who share the role of Billy—a Broadway first. They are the youngest ever to have won the award, at 14 and 15 years old.

Every Broadway musical presented elaborate production numbers, wowing the crowd, in addition to the outstanding opening number, which was an compilation of performances from the nominated musicals and revivals.

All in all, it really was an incredible experience. There’s no place like Broadway! 

—Sammi Cannold

Photo: Kid Reporter Sammi Cannold at the annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, Sunday, June 7, 2009. Photo courtesy Sammi Cannold.

History in the Hallway

In the hallway of a building at North Carolina Central University, sits a section of a lunch counter complete with pie rack, coffee cups, and saucers. Two red vinyl covered stools are anchored to the floor. Next to it is a red vinyl booth. You can sit there, chat, take pictures, touch the items. They are just out there in the hallway where hundreds of students pass every day.

The only way you would know the significance of this display is to read the framed photo copy of a 10-year-old news story perched on the counter. The display, including menus, came out of the Woolworth's department store at 124 W. Main Street in Durham, North Carolina. (That address is now an empty lot. The building was pulled down years ago.) That Woolworth's was one of several in Georgia where civil rights activists staged peaceful sit-ins in 1960  to protest segregation.

A sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina, just a few days before the Durham protest on February 8, got most of the national media attention. A photograph taken there became the iconic image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent protests. But Durham had a place in that history, too. Eight days after the Durham sit-in, Dr. King visited the city and made one of his famous speeches.

"Let us not fear going to jail if the officials threaten to arrest us for standing up for our rights," King said. "Maybe it will take this willingness to stay in jail to arouse the dozing conscience of our nation."

He also made a stop at the Woolworth's counter. Woolworth's closed it's counters for business, reopening them in the summer--desegregated.

The store closed for business in 1994. The counter was saved by the director at North Carolina Central University at the time. NCCU is the first public liberal arts college founded for African-Americans.

When I read about it being at the school, I decided to go see it. I expected it to be behind glass, but it just sits there out in the hallway. It's been there 10 years and looks completely undisturbed. The coffee cups, salt and pepper shakers, pie rack, and napkin holder can be picked up and moved around. Students walk by as you sit there and rearrange things, but no one asks you to leave. No one pays any attention to you as you snap pictures and take notes.

So does this mean that no one cares anymore about the struggle of the 1960s? I don't think so. After 10 years in a university hallway, the display remains pristine. Someone, somewhere in that building takes good care of this little slice of history in the hallway.

—Editor Suzanne Freeman

Photo by Suzanne Freeman