STS-54 Pilot McMonagle with DSO 802 & Physics of Toys top on OV-105's middeck

STS054-S-020 (15 Jan 1993) --- McMonagle watches as a top spins above his head on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Endeavour. The demonstration was part of a lengthy "physics of toys" program conducted by all five crewmembers on their third day aboard the Shuttle. Through telephone and TV downlinks, students in four schools around the country participated in a special lesson to discover how specific toys function differently in the classroom compared to those on the Shuttle. Students at Westwood Elementary School in Flint, Michigan -- McMonagle's hometown -- asked him questions about the several toys he demonstrated. The top demonstrates gyroscopic motion, the center of mass and angular momentum. The entire collection of toys will be videotaped for an educational program to be distributed to schools in the autumn. The scene was downlinked at 18:01:59:11 GMT, Jan. 15, 1993.