September 2011

A monthly broadcast including upcoming educational programs, events, opportunities, and the latest resources from NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

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Year of the Solar System – Resources for Gravity: It’s What Keeps Us Together

The September topic for YSS is Gravity: It’s What Keeps Us Together. Gravity helped form our solar system, the planets and the stars. It holds the planets in orbit around the Sun, and moons in orbit around the planets. And far beyond our solar system, the irresistible force of gravity is collapsing stellar cores into amazing – and bizarre – objects in our universe: neutron stars and black holes. For resources on this month’s topic, visit http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm?Year=2011&Month=9&Tab=Educational%20Resources

Rice NASAversary (Sept. 9-16)

In celebration of 50 years of productive Rice/NASA collaboration, and the anticipation of many more to come, Rice University is proud to partner with NASA to present a week-long series of events. These events will include lectures, astronaut appearances, a talk by Norm Augustine, and a special preview planetarium show, “We Choose Space.” For more information, visit http://centennial.rice.edu/RiceNASAversary/.

GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaing (Program Launch Sept. 12)

GLOBE has now started the count down to the launch of the Student Climate Research Campaign (SCRC) on Monday, Sept. 12. The GLOBE SCRC will engage students in measuring, investigating and understanding the climate system in their local communities and around the world. Drawing on GLOBE protocols and data, as well as other datasets, students will take climate-related measurements and investigate research questions about climate. Students will learn about climate through foundational learning activities and intensive observing periods that will be implemented in GLOBE classrooms around the world from 2011-2013. Updated materials and instructions will be available on the GLOBE website at http://globe.gov/scrc.

Astronomy Camp “Train the Trainer” Workshop for Girl Scout Leaders (Sept. 30-Oct. 2)

(Sept. 30-Oct. 2; Hacienda Center, Tuscon, Ariz.)

Girl Scout leaders are welcome to apply for the next GSUSA Astronomy Camp training. Held at the Hacienda Center of the Sahuaro Council and atop Mt. Lemmon Observatory, this weekend workshop is a science education program sponsored by the near-infrared camera team (NIRCam) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Participants will become part of a world-wide network of 180 trainers teaching young women essential concepts in astronomy, the night sky environment, applied mate, engineering and critical thinking. The workshop engages leaders in the process of scientific inquiry and equips them to host astronomy-related activities at the troop level. Training includes topics in basic astronomy, as well as JWST-specific research areas in extra-solar planetary systems and cosmology. For more information, visit http://zeus.as.arizona.edu/%7Edmccarthy/GSUSA/index.htm.

NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) Great Lakes Regional Teaching Exchange – Postsecondary Educators (Oct. 8)

(Oct. 8; University of Michigan, Dearborn, Mich.)

CAE Regional Teaching Exchanges are designed to foster a sense of community amongst geographically linked current and future Astro 101 college instructors. The program features regional experts from the broader CAE community who will provide the opportunity for participants to meet other instructors in their area, expand their instructional repertoire, and share their expertise. Instructors, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students are all welcome to join the Exchange! For more information, visit http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshopdetails/index.cfm?workshopID=93.

International Observe the Moon Night (Oct. 8)

(Oct. 8)

Get ready for International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN)! This night will be dedicated to encouraging as many people as possible, worldwide, to spend an evening observing and learning about the Moon. Information about InOMN and the Moon, a listing of all registered events, step-by-step instructions on hosting your own event, activities, and more are available at http://observethemoonnight.org/.

Earth Science Week 2011 Contests (Due Oct. 14)

(Deadline Oct. 14)

The American Geological Institute (AGI) is sponsoring three national contests as part of Earth Science Week 2011, celebrating the theme of “Our Ever-Changing Earth, ” Oct. 9-15.

• Photography Contest: This year’s theme is “A World of Change in My Community,” and participants should use their cameras to capture evidence of long- or short-term changes taking place on our planet or in their own neighborhood. Students, geologists and the general public are all invited to participate.
• Visual Arts Contest: This contest is open to students grades K-5. The theme is “Picturing our Ever-Changing Earth.” Participants should create a two-dimensional piece of artwork to illustrate the various ways air, water, land and living things change over time.
• Essay Contest: This contest is open to students grades 6-9. The theme is, “How Change Shapes our Planet.” In a brief essay, participants should explain how interaction between Earth’s systems can change our world over time. The essay should discuss the processes used to study these changes and how human life can be affected by geologic transformation.

For more information on how to enter, rules, and about Earth Science Week 2011, visit: http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests/.

Discovery Dome Featured at Upcoming Events (Oct. 15-Dec. 4)

Join Discovery Dome at a number of upcoming events this fall! With support from NASA REASoN and partnerships with museums and universities, Discovery Dome can visit a town near you! The domes are fully portable digital theaters, with fulldome movies and zoom-n digital starfields. They will be featured at the following events:

• Oct. 15-16: ASTC Exhibit Hall, Booth 351
• Oct. 28-29: SACNAS
• Nov. 5-6: Texas Science and Engineering Festival
• Nov. 17-19: CAST (Texas Science Teachers Meeting)
• Dec. 4: AGU Annual Meeting, GIFT Workshop for Teachers / Exploration Station

For more information on the Discovery Dome, visit http://www.discoverydome.com/.

Fall 2011 Cassini Scientist for a Day Essay Contest – Grades 5-12 (Entries Due Oct. 26)

(Deadline Oct. 26, Noon PT)

The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenges students to become NASA scientists studying Saturn. Participants examine three possible observations taken by Cassini and choose the one they think will yield the best scientific results. This choice must be supported in a 500-word essay. Winners and their classmates will participate in a teleconference with Cassini scientists.

The contest is open to all U.S. students grades 5-12, working alone or in groups of up to four students. The essays will be divided into three groups: grades 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12. All submissions must be the students’ original work. Each student may submit only one entry, and all entrants will receive a certificate of participation. For more information, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/scientistforaday/.

Nuestra Tierra Dinámica: Club Eco-Lógico and Green Labs Launched – Grades K-12

The Nuestra Tierra Dinámica program’s Clubs Eco-Lógicos and Green Labs will raise global climate change and Earth systems literacy through inquiry-based, hands-on science investigations and activities designed to improve the nation’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) understanding. Nuestra Tierra’s bilingual, culturally aware program will engage K-12 students in Green Labs. Together with stakeholders, students will explore weather and climate change science through activities and environmental stewardship supported by more than 100 NASA resources translated into Spanish. Through this movement-based initiative, students K-12 will acquire the scientific and technological literacy needed to benefit themselves and their communities. For more information, visit http://www.clace.us/.

Research Study Opportunity for High-School Educators with PBS

You are invited to participate in an opportunity to help evaluate the effectiveness of a new online graduate course, STEM417: Global Climate Change Education for High School, by serving as a Control Teacher. As an incentive, participants will receive a $50 stipend for completing the evaluation instruments and for completing a PBS TeacherLine online course in science, math, or technology for high school this fall. The course enrollment fee will be covered by the study. Control teachers may NOT enroll in the STEM417: Global Climate Change Education for High School course. A NASA grant awarded to PBS TeacherLine funds the research study and the development of the GCC Course. If you are interested in participating as a control teacher, please visit http://www.pbs.org/pd/crepstudy.

2012 NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program – Middle and High School Teachers (Apply by Sept. 23)

(Applications due by September 23)

NITARP, the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Progrma, gets teachers involved in astronomical research. The program partners small groups of educators with a mentor professional astronomer for a research project using real astronomical data. Each team then presents both the research and the educational results of their experience in the program at an American Astronomical Society meeting. The program runs from January to January. Most of the participating educators teach grades 8-13, and informal educators have also participated. Participants should have a basic understanding of astronomy. To apply for the program, visit http://nitarp.ipac.caltech.edu/.

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (Sept. 24-Oct. 28)

Join us at this event which brings astronomy to the public, with free star-gazing at music concerts and festivals. Dr. Donald Lubowich, Coordinator of the Astronomy Outreach Program at Hofstra University, will give concert goers a glimpse of the heavens. This NASA-sponsored program will include optical and radio telescope observations of the Sun prior to the concerts, and the Moon, planets, multi-colored double stars, star clusters, and nebulae at intermission and after the concerts – combined with videos, posters, hands-on activities, and the sounds of the Sun. For a full schedule, visit http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/HCLAS/PHYSIC/physic_underthestars.html.

2011 Associations of Science-Technology Centers Annual Conference (Oct. 15-18)

(Oct. 15-18; Maryland Science Center and Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Md.)

Visit the NASA Science Education and Public Outreach Forums exhibit hall booth #649 at the 2011 annual ASTC conference, where you can obtain education materials, learn about NASA Science Mission Directorate-funded education programs, and participate in in-booth activities and demonstrations. NASA HQ is also hosting a booth, along with an Astronomy and Aerospace Showcase. For more information, visit http://conference.astc.org/.

The Center for Astronomy Education Teaching Excellence Workshop – Postsecondary Educators (Oct. 22-23)

(Oct. 22-23; Mesa Community College, Mesa, Ariz.)

Since 2004, the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) has lead professional development workshops funded by JPL’s NASA Exoplanet Exploration Public Engagement Program (ExEP). Workshops have been attended by over 2,000 current and future instructors of college-level astronomy and space science. CAE invites you to participate in one of their many workshops offered throughout the year, and to learn how to kick off teaching your class with Exoplanet curriculum! You can learn more about the next workshop here: http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshopdetails/index.cfm?workshopID=91.

NESTA Workshops at Fall 2011 NSTA Area Conferences (Oct. 28, Nov. 11, and Dec. 9)

NESTA will be offering workshops at all three NSTA Area Conferences this fall. In addition to their traditional Share-a-Thon and Rock and Mineral Raffle, they will also be offering workshops on Earth Systems science, climate change, and geology leveraging the new program, Windows to the Universe (http://www.windows2universe.org/). This popular educational resource contains over 9,000 pages of content spanning Earth and space science at elementary – high school levels, as well as over a hundred tested classroom activities ready for immediate use.

All of the events provide a full day of Earth science professional development, and are free with registration at the NSTA conference. Workshops will be held at the following:

• October 28; Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford, Conn.
• November 11; Ernest M. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, La.
• December 9; Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Wa.

For more information, and to submit to present in the Share-a-Thons, visit https://www.nestanet.org/cms/sites/default/files/documents/NESTA_Workshops_Fall_2011_NSTA.pdf.

Summer Solar Science Middle School Teachers Institute – Summer 2012 Participants

(Summer 2012; New Haven, Conn.)

Open to all middle school teachers, this institute is particularly targeted to the 5th grade curriculum standards and is focused on light, the positions of the Earth and moon relative to the Sun, and how advances in technology allow us to acquire new information about the world. Teachers will learn how to use NASA data in their classrooms, gain practical experience with telescopes, and preview cool planetarium shows about the Sun and sunlight. The Institute is jointly organized by the Yale Peabody Museum and Yale Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium. Teachers will be eligible for free field trips to both venues with their classes, as well as ongoing academic support from Museums and Planetarium staff. Requests to participate in the 2012 program are now being accepted; please email heid.herrick@yale.com to be put on the list. For more information, visit http://archive.peabody.yale.edu/education/fellows_nasa.html.

IceHunters Invites the World to Find New Horizons Future KBO Destinations

The world is invited to help discover a potential new, icy follow-on destination for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft through the IceHunters website. New Horizons is currently en route to make the first flyby of the Pluto system, and is then capable of making additional exploration of bodies still farther out in the Sun’s Kuiper Belt. Through this citizen science project, the public can help scientists search through specially-obtained deep telescopic images for currently unknown objects in the Kuiper Belt. Along the way, they will also discover variable stars and asteroids. For more information, visit http://www.icehunters.org/ or visit the project blog at http://blogs.zooniverse.org/icehunters/2011/06/15/hello-world/.

Lifelines for High School Climate Change Education

Lifelines for High School Climate Change Education is a project to establish professional learning communities (PLCs) of high school teachers aimed at implementing effective teaching of climate change in existing courses. PLCs are identifying the best resources to use, comparing course outlines, and are hearing/seeing webinars by climate scientists, both live and as archived presentations. PLCs are having real-time telemeetings, as well as asynchronous communication through shared websites, wikis, and other techniques to achieve the most effective ways to communicate without petroleum-fueled travel. If you are interested in joining a Lifeline PLC, or forming a PLC (becoming a PLC Leader) please visit: http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/gss/lifelines/.

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Ambassador in the Classroom

Let NASA take over your classroom for the day! Teachers in the DC Metro area and southern Pennsylvania are eligible for a visit from an SDO educator or scientist. Your students will learn about solar clocks, Earth’s place in the solar system, electricity and magnetism, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the Doppler effect. Visits are free, include all supplies for the activity, and can be customized for each teacher. Register at http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/epo/educators/ambassador.php.

A Day At Goddard: Opportunity for DC Metro Teachers – Grades 8-12

Teachers in the DC Metro area are invited to bring their students to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for a day spent learning what it is like to work for NASA. Field trips include a meet-and-greet at the visitors center featuring a scientist and engineer, a demonstration of the Science on a Sphere program, a tour of the satellite testing facility, and an inquiry-based science lab activity. Programs are highly customizable, teacher-friendly and designed for grades 8-12. Contact Aleya Van Doren (aleya.vandoren@nasa.gov) with your desired date and class information to reserve your spot. Slots fill up quickly, so register today!

Communications & Web Content Internship Opportunity at USGCRP

An opening is available for a communications and web content internship opportunity at the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) office in Washington, D.C. Duties include: Analyzing the program’s website and implementing changes to improve web-based communications; producing communications templates and materials; managing additional web-based communications through social media tools and resources; and assisting with additional projects as needed. The position is casual (as needed/no benefits), with a flexible schedule offered over 20 hours/week during school, and 40 hours/week during breaks, not to exceed 1,000 hours in a 12-month period.

A successful candidate will have college-level coursework in a relevant discipline, such as communications, graphic or web design, environmental sciences, political science, or social science. A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience is preferred. Desired qualifications include: demonstrated knowledge of web content development and design; ability to summarize and present technical information to non-technical audiences; excellent oral and written communications skills; computer literate, with knowledge of web content management systems, graphic design software, Microsoft Office, and basic social media software; and the ability to handle confidential/sensitive information in a manner consistent with UCAR policy.

For more information and to apply, visit http://bit.ly/qFVQqn.

New Horizons Student Dust Counter – Grades 8-11

These three lessons, designed for a lower high school audience, are intended to familiarize students with the Student Dust Counter, data collection and analysis. In A Dusty Dilemma, students are introduced to the concept of error analysis, including standard deviation. In Speaking Volumes About Dust, students will investigate density as an introduction to the SDC on the New Horizons mission. And in The White Glove Test, students explore the SDC Data Viewer to establish any trends in the distribution of dust in the Solar System.
http://lasp.colorado.edu/sdc/lessons.php

MY NASA DATA #72: Hurricane Frequency and Intensity – Grades 9-12

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the Earth’s climate and how it is evolving. When studying hurricanes, it is important to understand that, for a hurricane to grow, warm water is an absolute necessity. So if the Earth continues to warm, what does that mean for hurricanes and their intensity? The students will be asked to look at past hurricane data by researching the intensity and frequency of hurricanes using the Live Access Server and several Internet sites.
http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/preview_lesson.php?&passid=105

Blue Marble Matches: Using Earth for Planetary Comparisons – Grades 5-12

This activity is designed to introduce students to geologic processes on Earth and model how scientists use Earth to gain a better understanding of other planetary bodies in the solar system.
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/eeab/BMM.cfm

Space Math @ NASA: Algebra 2

This text, available for free download, features over 200 math problems that follow very closely the standard curriculum for high school Algebra 2 courses, but with a strong emphasis on space science and astronomy topic areas. Fourteen chapters featuring concepts and skill areas including statistics, probability, conics, trigonometry, complex numbers and matrix algebra. Science topics are drawn from all areas of planetary, heliophysics, and astrophysics, as well as space exploration and rocketry.
http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/algebra2.html

Acknowledgements

NASA Science Mission Directorate: Jim Lochner, Stephanie Stockman and Ming-Ying Wei

Editor: Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).

Writer: Morgan Woroner, IGES.

Contributions From: Gina Brissenden, University of Arizona; Heather Dalton, LPI; Jenn Paul Glacier, CLACE; Jan Heiderer, GLOBE; Don McCarthy, University of Arizona; Patricia Reiff, Rice University; Alanna Shevak, PBS; and Rachel Zimmerman Brachman, NASA JPL

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