posted 03-02-2005 07:24 PM               

NASA and the Pokemon Trading Card Game have developed an in-school program. The program incorporates science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) themes into learning activities for K-6 students nationwide.

The collaboration coincides with the recent release of the Pokemon Trading Card Game called EX Deoxys. Deoxys is a space virus with extraordinary origins. It came from space and mutated into a Pokemon when exposed to a laser beam. Deoxys' name is derived from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the genetic material of living organisms, including viruses. The STEM learning activities were developed based on the game.

The collaboration will provide NASA a unique opportunity to teach children about real world science. Students can learn and use free activities on the Web developed by NASA that explain extraterrestrials, viruses, meteorites, DNA, and the ozone layer. The learning activities are posted on NASA's Langley Research Center's Kids Science News Network (KSNN) Web site, and they are accessible to students and teachers.

As part of the program, Nintendo of America Inc. has produced awareness bracelets and postcards that have been distributed to educators nationwide. These items are some of the prize-winning incentives for students, as their teachers engage them in science activities.

The collaboration is one of many led by Langley's Center for Distance Learning to reach students from diverse communities. Langley also produces award-winning television and Web series'.

Since 1996, children worldwide have collected and traded more than 13 billion Pokemon Trading Cards. Pokemon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokemon Company in Japan, manages and oversees the property outside of Asia. It manages licensing activities; brand promotions; publication of the trading card game; TV animation; home video entertainment; and the official Pokemon Web site.

For more information about the NASA and Pokemon Trading Card Game collaboration, visit the Kids Science News Network.