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Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community.
Full descriptions are listed below.
Engineering
Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System Web Seminar
Audience: 8-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: Feb. 6, 2012
NASA's Digital Learning Network Webcast Series -- Flying Through
African-American History With the Tuskegee Airmen
Audience: K-12 Educators and Students
Event Dates: Multiple Dates Throughout February 2012
Live Video Chat: In Celebration of Black History Month
Audience: 4-12 Educators and Students
Event Date: Feb. 8, 2012, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. EST
Ultraviolet Radiation and Yeast:
Radiation Biology Web Seminar
Audience: 9-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: Feb. 8, 2012
Registration Open for the 19th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race
Audience: 9-12 & Higher Education Educators and Students
Registration Deadline for U.S. Teams: Feb. 10, 2012
2012 NASA Student
Airborne Research Program
Audience: Higher Education Educators and
Students
Application Deadline: Feb. 10, 2012
Student Climate Research Campaign
Workshop Series
Audience: K-12 Educators
Workshop Dates: Feb. 18 and March 17, 2012
NASA's Digital Learning
Network Webcast -- National African American History Month and Engineers Week
Audience: K-12 Educators and Students
Event Date: Feb. 22, 2012
2012 Army-Navy Bridge Design Challenge
Audience: Grade 6-7 Students
Deadline: March 1, 2012
Challenge to
Innovate: Gaming Challenge
Audience: All Educators and Students
Entry Deadline: March 5, 2012
Smart Skies Releases New Air Traffic
Control Game -- Sector 33
Audience: 5-12 Educators and Students
New Space Science Educational Materials Available at NASA.gov
Comet Mystery Boxes -- Grades K-8
A Dusty Dilemma -- Grades 8-10
Signals and Noise Ratio -- Grades 6-8
Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) Educational Kit --
Grades 6-8
Earth Calling… Activity From New Horizons-- Grades 6-8
Star-forming Nebula NGC 3603 Lithograph and In Search of Stellar Evolution
Education Activity -- Grades 11-12
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Engineering
Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System Web Seminar
As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for
educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers
Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar
for educators on Feb. 6, 2012, at 6:30
p.m. EST. Learn about the science of heat transfer and heat dissipation
related to NASA vehicles, and receive an introduction to the associated engineering
design challenge, Thermal Protection System. This activity challenges students
to design a thermal protection system and test it using a propane torch.
For more information and to
register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar10.aspx
.
To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.
Email any questions about this opportunity to the NASA Explorer Schools help
desk at NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.
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NASA's Digital Learning Network Webcast Series -- Flying Through
African-American History With the Tuskegee Airmen
In honor of National African American History Month, NASA's Digital
Learning Network is hosting a webcast series titled Flying Through
African-American History With the Tuskegee Airmen. The webcast series will
focus on this elite group of African-American pilots who fought war and racism
in World War II and the challenges faced by early African-American aviators.
Technology Advances the Tuskegee Airmen
Feb. 7, 2012, 1-2 p.m. EST
The onset of World War II spurred the aerospace industry, one of America’s
most notable accomplishments. Aircrafts were plentiful, but pilots were scarce.
Technology supported the Tuskegee Airman’s victory over Nazism and Fascism in
the European skies and racism on American soil.
Engineering a Proud Heritage
Feb. 14, 2012, 1-2 p.m. EST
Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama became the historic site that launched
proof that African-Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat
aircraft. Engineering schools such as the Tuskegee Institute provided the edge
needed for African-Americans to make a significant impact during World War II.
Mathematics Fuels the Tuskegee Airmen
Feb. 21, 2012, 1-2 p.m. EST
Over 900 men graduated as pilots from the Tuskegee Institute pilot training
program. The elite class of airmen was granted the opportunity to fuel flight
success with calculated risks.
Teachers interested in having their classes participate in the live audience
should visit the DLN website for details to register. Requests will be taken on
a first-come, first-served basis.
Classes not chosen to participate in the live audience may still join the
webcast via live streaming on the DLN website.
For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/special/TuskegeeAirmen.html.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Karen.Ricks@nasa.gov.
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Live Video Chat: In Celebration of Black History
Month
In celebration of National Black History Month, a panel of five outstanding
African-American engineers and scientists at NASA's Langley Research Center
will answer students' questions about their paths to NASA and their
contributions to the projects and missions they work on.
Meet Erica Alston, a research
scientist; Monica Barnes, an electronics engineer; Samuel James, a mechanical engineering technician; Luther Jenkins,
an aerospace research engineer; and Byron Meadows, a laser systems engineer.
The hourlong live video chat event takes place on Feb. 8, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. EST.
Submit questions during the chat through a chat window, or send them to NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.
To learn more about NES, visit the explorerschools.nasa.gov website.
To view the video chat or for more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/black-history-month-chat.html.
If you have any questions about the video chat, contact NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.
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Ultraviolet
Radiation and Yeast: Radiation Biology Web Seminar
As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for
educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers
Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar
for educators on Feb. 8, 2012, at 6:30
p.m. EST. The student activity featured in this seminar demonstrates the
effects of radiation on living organisms. Participants will learn how
sun-screening materials protect live yeast cells from harmful ultraviolet, or
UV, radiation and countermeasures for UV radiation and discuss phenotypic
changes in yeast as a result of radiation damage. Participants will learn how
different sun protection materials may be used to expand the range of items
tested in this lab. See how you can bring a real-world connection between
science and education to your students.
For more information and to
register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar11.aspx
.
To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.
Email any questions about this opportunity to NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.
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Registration Open for the 19th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race
Registration is open for the 19th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race. High school
and college students are challenged to design and build a vehicle that
addresses a series of engineering problems similar to those faced by the
original lunar-roving vehicle team. Each school may enter up to two teams.
International teams are limited to 10 teams per country. The race will take
place April 13-14, 2012, in Huntsville, Ala., at the U.S. Space & Rocket
Center.
U.S. teams must register by Feb. 10, 2012.
For more information about the competition and to register online, visit http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html.
U.S. teams with questions should contact Diedra Williams at Diedra.A.Williams@nasa.gov.
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2012 NASA Student Airborne Research Program
The NASA Airborne Science Program invites highly
motivated junior and senior undergraduate and early graduate students to apply
for the NASA Student Airborne Research Program, also known as SARP, 2012. The
program provides students with hands-on research experience in all aspects of a
major scientific campaign, from detailed planning on how to achieve mission
objectives to formal presentation of results and conclusions to peers and
others. Students will assist in the operation of airborne instruments onboard
the NASA P-3 aircraft.
The program takes place in summer 2012. Preparatory
information and data analysis will take place at the University of California,
Irvine. Instrument and flight preparations, and the research flights
themselves, will occur at NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in
Palmdale, Calif.
Successful applicants will be awarded a $3,000
stipend and $2,500 meals allowance for eight weeks of participation in the
program. Round-trip travel to California, housing and transportation will be
provided.
The deadline for all applications is Feb. 10, 2012.
For more information and to download the program
application, visit http://www.nserc.und.edu/learning/SARP2012.html.
Specific questions about the program should be
directed to SARP2012@nserc.und.edu.
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Student
Climate Research Campaign Workshop Series
Join NASA's Langley Research Center and the Virginia Air and Space Center for
the Student Climate Research Campaign Workshop series. These free workshops for
K-12 educators will take place at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton,
Va. Each workshop will provide approximately 5.5 hours of professional
development.
Phenology and Climate -- Feb. 18, 2012
This workshop will focus on phenology and climate, and introduce participants
to the following Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment,
or GLOBE, field campaigns: Great Global Investigation of Climate, and Climate
and Land Cover Intensive
Observing Period. Participants will
become certified in green-up and green-down, budburst and temperature protocols.
Land Cover and
Climate -- March 17, 2012
This workshop will focus on land cover and climate,
and will prepare participants for the next GLOBE Climate and Land Cover Intensive Observing
Period field campaign. Participants will become
certified in the following GLOBE protocols: biometry, land cover site and the
Modified UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) Classification scheme.
To register for the workshops and to learn more about the GLOBE program, visit http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/GLOBE/training-1.php.
Questions about the Student Climate Research Campaign Workshop Series should be
directed Jessica Taylor at larc-globe-partner@lists.nasa.gov.
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NASA's Digital Learning Network Webcast --
National African American History Month and Engineers Week
In observance of National African American
History Month and Engineers Week in February, the Office of Education at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland will host a live webcast for teachers
and students in grades K-12.
On Feb.
22, 2012, from 1-2 p.m. EST, students will interact live with
African-American engineers and scientists who will share how they use science,
technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, in their careers. Presenters
will discuss what sparked their career choices and how students can prepare for
future careers in STEM fields. The event will be streamed on the Digital
Learning Network "DLiNfo" webcast channel, and during the event
students can submit questions for the scientists to answer via an email address
that will be provided by the on-air host.
Also during the month of February, GSFC will
release two videos featuring Dr. Aprille Ericsson and James Fraction. These
videos will give an inside look at what engineers do during the day. This is a
great opportunity for educators and students to learn more about engineering
careers at NASA.
For more information on these events and how to
participate, please visit the DLiNfo webcast section at the Digital Learning
Network site, http://dln.nasa.gov.
Questions about these opportunities should be
directed to Trena Ferrell at Trena.M.Ferrell@nasa.gov.
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2012
Army-Navy Bridge Design Challenge
The U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy are proud to announce the
first-ever Army-Navy Bridge Design Contest. This competition is a special
edition of the national West Point Bridge Design Contest, created specifically
for 6th- and 7th-grade students. The contest provides students with a realistic
introduction to engineering through an engaging, hands-on design experience.
Students may work as individuals or in teams of two. There's no cost to enter
the competition. Contestants may compete on behalf of either the Army or the
Navy. Students must enter this contest through a teacher sponsor. No individual
submissions will be accepted.
Design submissions are due March 1, 2012.
Top designs will advance to semifinal competitions. The top Army semifinalist
and the top Navy semifinalist will compete in a final round competition at West
Point in May 2012.
For more information about this competition, visit http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/armynavy.htm.
Questions about this competition should be directed to wpbedc1@gmail.com.
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Challenge to Innovate: Gaming Challenge
Do you have an idea for how interactive technology and game-based learning can
improve teaching and learning? Enter your idea in the Challenge to Innovate, or
C2i: Gaming Challenge.
Proposed ideas must effectively incorporate game-based learning. Registered
participants can review, comment and vote on submitted ideas. At the end of the
review period, up to 10 ideas will receive $1,000 cash awards from the National
Education Association's NEA Foundation.
Submissions must be received by March 5,
2012.
The C2i: Gaming Challenge can be found on the U.S. Department of Education's
Open Innovation Portal. Co-sponsored by the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy, this Portal has been developed as an online forum where key
stakeholders in education can share their innovative ideas and collaborate to
turn those ideas into a new reality. The Department of Education will play a
role as convener of these diverse ideas and facilitator of partnerships.
For more information
and to submit your ideas online, visit https://innovation.ed.gov/challenges/gaming/show
.
Email any questions about this opportunity to Jeff Howard at C2i@nea.org.
C2i: Gaming Challenge is sponsored by the NEA
Foundation and Microsoft -- US Partners in Learning.
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Smart
Skies Releases New Air Traffic Control Game -- Sector 33
NASA's Smart Skies team announces a new
application available for iPad®, iPhone®, and iPod touch®. Sector 33 is an air
traffic control mobile game designed to interest students in
aeronautics-related careers and to connect mathematics and problem solving to
the real world.
In Sector 33, the player role-plays as an air traffic controller and guides two
to five airplanes through a sector of airspace by changing the planes’ routes
and speeds. The challenge is to get the planes through the sector in the
fastest time possible, with the player’s performance scored according to the
planes’ final spacing. The game consists of four levels and is played in live
mode without a pause feature.
The app is free and available for download from the App StoreSM. An
Android™ version of the app is currently under development and will be made
available in the Android Marketplace once it's ready for release.
Sector 33 was developed as a companion piece to NASA’s Smart Skies LineUp With
Math, an educational product used in formal middle school classrooms. LineUp
With Math teaches students to solve distance-rate-time problems in the context
of air traffic control. Problem solving, decision-making, and proportional
reasoning are skills that students apply in LineUp With Math as they learn to
solve distance-rate-time problems using both paper-and-pencil activities and a Web-based
air traffic control simulator. The Sector 33 app serves as an extension to the LineUp
With Math air traffic control simulator by taking on a game-like quality and
giving players both a stronger role-playing experience and a greater
problem-solving challenge.
To learn more about Sector 33, visit http://www.nasa.gov/Sector33.
iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the
U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
Android is a registered trademark of Google Inc.
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New Space Science Educational Materials
Available at NASA.gov
The Educational Materials section of NASA's Web site offers classroom
activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are
available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level
and subject. The following space science-related items are now available for
downloading.
Comet Mystery Boxes -- Grades K-8
Introduce students to the physical characteristics of comets by using a tactile
learning experience. Using only their hands, students reach into a series of
boxes and feel the variety of materials and structures within. Each box
contains an object that represents a quality of comets.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Comet_Mystery_Boxes.html
A Dusty Dilemma -- Grades 8-10
In this lesson, students learn the concepts of averages, standard deviation
from the mean, and error analysis. Students explore the concept of standard
deviation from the mean before using data from the Student Dust Counter, an
instrument aboard the NASA New Horizons mission to Pluto. This data is used to
determine the issues associated with taking data, including error and noise.
Questions are deliberately open-ended to encourage exploration.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Dusty_Dilemma.html
Signals and Noise Ratio -- Grades 6-8
Students are introduced to the terms “signal” and “noise” in the context of spacecraft
communication. This hands-on activity includes an online interactive to explore
the Signal-to-Noise Ratio, a fundamental concept in spacecraft communication.
The lesson’s pencil-and-paper component addresses relevant topics such as
proportions and ratios.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Signals_and_Noise_Ratio.html
Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) Educational Kit
-- Grades 6-8
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is a spacecraft orbiting the moon. The primary
instrument on LRO for analyzing the moon’s radiation environment is the Cosmic
Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation, or CRaTER. This educator guide
includes lessons to introduce to students to cosmic rays and their effects on
humans.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/CRaTER.html
Earth Calling… Activity from New Horizons -- Grades 6-8
Some spacecraft return to Earth with valuable data as part of their cargo, but
all require some periodic remote communications as they travel. And for those
spacecraft that do not return to Earth, the communication system is the only
link to the valuable data collected during its journey. In this activity,
students simulate spacecraft radio communication concepts, including the speed
of light and the time-delay for signals sent to and from spacecraft.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Earth_Calling.html
Star-forming Nebula NGC 3603 Lithograph and In Search of Stellar Evolution
Education Activity -- Grades 11-12
Some of the heftiest known stars in the universe reside in the nebula NGC 3603,
a large gas cloud in the Milky Way galaxy. The image of the nebula is on the
first page of the lithograph and background information is on the second page.
The lithograph includes a Level One Inquiry activity entitled “In Search of ... Stellar Evolution” in which students
research how stars form.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Star-forming_Nebula.html
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Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full
list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html.
Visit NASA Education on the Web:
For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
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