NASA paid tribute to women’s contributions to a century of powered flight with two events on April 24 – 25, portions of which were broadcasted via the Internet on April 25.

Women pilots and other experts participated in NASA Internet ‘Webcasts’ and ‘chats’ intended for young people across the world on April 25 for ‘Take Our Daughters to Work Day,’ and for ‘Aero Expo II.’ Many of the activities were also seen live by about 1,100 San Francisco Bay area students at NASA Ames Research Center in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley from April 24 through April 25 as part of ‘Aero Expo II.’

“Both events celebrate women’s contributions to aviation over the last hundred years,” said NASA ‘Quest’ Web site developer Susan Lee. “Women have made some significant contributions to aerospace, and there are many careers in that field that young girls might eventually pursue.”

“Our goal is to accommodate as many students as possible from underrepresented and/or underserved schools,” said Antoinette Battiste, who organized much of the Aero Expo II effort at Ames. Students from 24 different California community schools — King City to San Pablo, Oakland to San Jose, Salinas to Atherton — are participating, she said.

Three women — an aerobatic champion pilot, a Civil Air Patrol pilot and a Boeing 737 pilot — discussed women’s contributions to the first century of flight.

Webcasts enable students to watch live video, listen to audio and interact in real-time on the Internet with experts. For more information on the Internet NASA Quest visit:
http://quest.nasa.gov/calendar/.