Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community.
Full descriptions are listed below.
New Space Station Page for Educators and Students
Audience: Grades K-12
NASA at the 2012 NSTA
Conference
Audience: All Educators
Conference Dates: March 29 - April 1, 2012
Visit NASA Explorer Schools at the 2012
NSTA Conference
Audience: 4-12 Educators
Event Dates: March 29 - April 1, 2012
Free Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace
Education Services Project
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Dates: Various Dates for April 2012
Pythagorean Theorem: Exploring
Space Through Math -- Lunar Rover Web Seminar
Audience: 9-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 2, 2012
Virtual Professional Development:
Exploring NASA
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Dates: Sessions on April 2 and April 5, 2012
Electromagnetic Spectrum: Remote Sensing
Ices on Mars Web Seminar
Audience: 8-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 3, 2012
Live Video Chat: One Giant Charge
for a Robot
Audience: Grades 8-12
Event Date: April 4, 2012, noon - 1 p.m. EDT
Properties of
Living Things: Searching for Life on Mars Web Seminar
Audience: 4-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 5, 2012
Airborne Research Experiences for
Educators and Students Academy
Audience: 5-12 Educators
Application Deadline: April 16, 2012
Educator Workshop: Greenhouse Gases and Their Roles on Earth
Audience: Grade 6-12 Educators
Registration Deadline: April 17, 2012
Event Date: April 21, 2012
Free Lecture -- John Glenn:
Earning the Right Stuff as a Decorated Marine Aviator and Navy Test Pilot -- Attend
in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: May 24, 2012
Free Lecture -- NASA's Legacy and
Future: Personal Reflections of a Space Flyer -- Attend in Person or View
Online
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: June 27, 2012
2012
Humans in Space Youth Art Competition
Audience: K-12 Students
Deadline: Oct. 21, 2012
New Brochure Available Online: International Space Station Benefits for
Humanity
Audience: All Educators and
Students
Updated Rockets Guide Available Online
Audience: K-12 Educators
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New Space Station Page for Educators and Students
NASA Education is launching a new Web page for students and educators about the
International Space Station.
Teach Station is the platform for space-station-focused education resources,
science and research information for students and teachers, crew updates, and
up-to-the minute education news. Visit often and watch for opportunities to
connect with the expedition crew members and other NASA education
opportunities.
Take a moment to visit the page “A Teacher in Space” and meet Joe Acaba. Read
about his experience as an astronaut and his transition from a classroom
teacher to the astronaut corps. Acaba’s next assignment is flight engineer for
Expedition 31. He will join the crew on the International Space Station in May
2012.
Visit the new Web page at www.nasa.gov/education/teachstation.
Download a Teach Station bookmark at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Teach_Station_Bookmark.html.
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NASA at the 2012 NSTA Conference
Make NASA a part of your National Science
Teachers Association, or NSTA, experience this year! The 2012 NSTA’s national
conference is being held March
29 - April 1, 2012, in Indianapolis, Ind. Dozens of NASA
presentations, workshops and short courses are scheduled during the conference.
To find NASA sessions that fit in your schedule, visit http://bit.ly/nsta2012.
Also, stop by the NASA exhibit booth (#2159) to
learn about exciting new NASA programs and products.
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Visit
NASA Explorer Schools at the 2012 NSTA Conference
If you are attending the 2012
National Science Teachers Association National Conference on Science Education
in Indianapolis on March 29 through April 1, be sure to
stop by NASA’s exhibit booth #2159 in the exhibit hall. NASA Explorer Schools,
or NES, representatives will be there to share information and answer your
questions.
If you are not yet a participant in the NES project, you can obtain detailed
information about NES by visiting the booth or attending a NES presentation.
The session, "Teach STEM? NASA Explorer Schools Can Help!", takes
place on Fri., March 30, from 11 a.m. -
noon in the Cabinet Room of the Westin Indianapolis.
Everyone is invited to attend any of the additional NES lesson-related
sessions:
-- The "Virtual Lab and NASA Explorer Schools" session takes place on
Friday, March 30, from 4 - 4:45 p.m.
in room 142 of the Convention Center.
-- The "NASA Engineering Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System"
session takes place on Sat., March 31,
from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., in room 111/112 of the Convention Center.
Attend one of these presentations and see how NES helps teachers by packaging
everything needed to deliver an exciting NASA-related lesson to students!
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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Free
Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace Education Services Project
Aerospace Education Services Project is
presenting a series of free webinars through June 2012. All webinars can be
accessed online. Join aerospace education specialists to learn about
activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your
classroom.
NASA Literature and Science (Grades
K-5)
April 2, 2012, 4 - 5 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Lester Morales will share an array of NASA literature
to enrich students’ vocabulary and scientific skills. During this session Morales
will review The Air we Breathe, Echo the Bat and Amelia the Pigeon. Participants will practice the scientific method
and remote sensing in both the city and in the wild.
Physics Resources for Secondary School (Grades 5-12)
April 2, 2012, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Aerospace education specialist John Weis will demonstrate simple activities and
resources for teaching physics at middle- and high-school levels. Topics and
resources covered will include Newton's Laws of Motion, energy, light and gravity.
Lesson plans and modification strategies will be discussed.
Mass Versus Weight: A Heavy-Duty Concept (Grades 5-8)
April 3, 2012, 3 - 4:30 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will discuss mass and weight
and how these words that have a big difference in meaning often get used
incorrectly by students. This workshop will explore these terms using inquiry
activities and NASA resources, including a NASA video filmed on the
International Space Station.
Physics Resources for Secondary School (Grades 5-12)
April 5, 2012, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist John Weis will demonstrate simple
activities and resources for teaching physics at middle- and high-school levels.
Topics and resources covered will include Newton's Laws of Motion, energy, light
and gravity. Lesson plans and modification strategies will be discussed.
Color Spinners: Understanding Light and
Color (Grades 4-8)
April 6, 2012, 6 - 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Christina Comer will explain light and color
by constructing color spinners and observing the effects of rapid movement
using colors. This webinar will be a fun introduction illustrating how
different colors can be made and then changed.
NASA and Education Resource Access (Grades K-12)
April 11, 2012, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Sonya Williams will explain NASA's mission
directorates and their purposes. Learn about K-12 educational materials created
by each of the directorates and how educators can access these materials free
of charge. Learn about citizen science opportunities, student design challenges
and many other NASA resources that educators can incorporate into their
classrooms.
Messenger's Mission to Mercury (Grades
K-12)
April 16, 2012, 5 - 6 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Brandon Hargis will provide an overview of
the Messenger mission to the planet Mercury and will share lessons and
activities connected with the mission. Participants will learn where to find
online resources to bring the excitement of exploring Mercury into the
classroom. Attendees will learn about geological processes and create a labeled
illustration of lava layering.
Start a Space Garden (Grades K-5)
April 18, 2012, 4 - 5 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Tom Estill will share how to start a school
garden using seeds from NASA’s Seeds in Space project and the Canadian Space
Agency’s Tomatosphere project. Over the past 10 years, Tomatosphere has evolved
into a regular component of the curriculum for more than 13,700 classrooms in
Canada and the United States. At the end of the workshop, a NASA space seeds
surprise awaits you.
Animals in Space (Grades K-5)
April 18, 2012, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Wil Robertson will demonstrate how teachers can use stuffed animals
as props in telling the story of the animals that preceded humans in space. The
program is geared for teachers in K-5 with a special focus of aligning the
topic with the Core Literacy Standards for elementary grades. Web resources
will be provided.
NASA Literature and Science (Grades
K-5)
April 25, 2012, 4 - 5 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Lester Morales will share an array of NASA literature
to enrich students’ vocabulary and scientific skills. During this session Morales
will review The Air we Breathe, Echo the Bat and Amelia the Pigeon. Participants will practice the scientific method
and remote sensing in both the city and in the wild.
For more information about the webinars listed above, and to see a full list of
webinars taking place through May 2012, visit http://neon.psu.edu/webinars/.
Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Gwendolyn
Wheatle at Gwendolyn.H.Wheatle@nasa.gov.
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Pythagorean
Theorem: Exploring Space Through Math -- Lunar Rover Web
Seminar
NASA Explorer Schools and the Learning Environments and Research Network, or
LE&RN, projects are hosting a 60-minute live professional development Web
seminar for educators on April 2, 2012,
at 8 p.m. EDT. Learn to use the distance formula and the Pythagorean
theorem to determine the minimal path and minimal time for a lunar rover to
perform tasks on the surface of the moon. Participants should have a basic
knowledge of scale factor and application of the Pythagorean theorem. Having
access to a calculator is helpful but not necessary for session.
For more information and to
register online, visit https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-pythagorean-theorem/.
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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Virtual
Professional Development: Exploring NASA
Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, are the foundation for
studying clouds and seasons. Explore clouds and alleviate the misconception of
seasons. Learn how NASA researchers study the sun’s
energy and how it effects Earth. Check out these virtual professional
development sessions to help you tilt students toward STEM.
If you’re interested in receiving professional
development activity units applicable toward license renewal, register and
complete the two workshops in the series and the post activity to accumulate five
workshop hours.
The session dates of this workshop series are April 2, 2012 and April 5,
2012.
Get registered to learn more https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/virginia-virtual-professional-development-form/.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Karen Ricks at Karen.Ricks@nasa.gov.
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Electromagnetic
Spectrum: Remote Sensing Ices on Mars Web Seminar
As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the
NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are
hosting a 90-minute web seminar on April
3, 2012, at 8:15 p.m. EDT. Learn how to use authentic NASA mission data to
investigate the composition and distribution of ices in the high latitude
regions of Mars through analysis of visible light, infrared light and gamma
rays. The seminar includes information about a unique student extension
activity, where students access a free computer simulation illustrating how
gamma rays are used to determine the chemical composition of Mars.
For more information and to register
online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar1.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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Live Video Chat: One Giant Charge for a Robot
The NASA Explorer Schools, or NES, project presents a live video chat with NASA
robotics engineer Sandeep Yayathi. Sandeep Yayathi works on Robonaut, a
dexterous humanoid robot built and designed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston. On April 4, 2012, Yayathi
will answer student questions about his work with Robonaut, his career path and
what the future holds for robotics. Robonaut 2, or R2, launched to the
International Space Station on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133
mission. It is the first dexterous humanoid robot in space and the first U.S.-built
robot at the space station.
Yayathi is developing a new power system including a battery backpack to allow
Robonaut 2 to move about freely without having to be plugged into the space
station’s power grid. Eventually, the new power system will allow an upgraded
version of the robot to work outside the station.
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.
For more information and to view the video chat, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/robonaut-chat.html.
If you have any questions about the video chat, contact NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.
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Properties of Living Things: Searching for Life on Mars Web Seminar
As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the
NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are
hosting a 90-minute Web seminar for educators on April 5, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Review criteria for determining if
something is alive and learn how students can apply the criteria in a hands-on
activity. A video will be shown that connects the activity to a NASA mission. Collaborate
with other participants about ways of using and adapting the activity.
Extension activities for students interested in the topic will be provided.
For more information
and to register online, visit URL http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar7.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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Airborne
Research Experiences for Educators and Students Academy
The NASA Airborne Research Experiences for
Educators and Students, or AREES, program is recruiting science, technology,
engineering and mathematics, or STEM, educators of students in grades 5-12 to
participate in a two-week residential Academy in Palmdale, Calif. The Academy
will be offered June 18-29, 2012. The dynamic training
program provides research-based experiences for educators using NASA’s unique
flight platforms. Participants will engage as science practitioners by becoming
involved in a NASA earth science mission.
The workshop is designed to combine research-based opportunities for educators
with NASA content-based curriculum and student-focused design challenges in a
program that focuses on three education goals:
1. Engage participants in NASA's unique,
airborne research-based missions.
2. Increase educators’ core scientific
and research knowledge bases.
3. Develop NASA's airborne
research-based curriculum and student activities.
Experiences will include technical content instruction by scientists and
engineers, hands-on learning of airborne data collection methods and
operations, and a field site investigation to collect ground truth data from
the Elkhorn Slough in Monterey Bay, Calif., for comparison to data collected
from NASA’s ER-2 high-altitude airborne science aircraft. Further, participants
may attend pedagogic workshops in problem-based learning, engineering design,
inquiry-based instruction and integration of technology and data-focused
curricula into the classroom. Experiences will be translated into classroom
practice through the development of STEM action plans utilizing NASA thematic,
curriculum modules based on the foundation that AREES provides and in context
with on-going research.
Applications are due April 16, 2012.
For more information, visit http://www.aeroi.org. Questions about this
opportunity should be directed to Shaun Smith at shaun.smith@nasa.gov.
The AREES program is sponsored by NASA's Teaching from Space project, NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center and NASA’s Airborne Science Program, and
administered through a partnership with the Aerospace, Education, Research and
Operations Institute in Palmdale, Calif., the U.S. Geological Survey's National
Wetlands Research and CNL World in Nebraska.
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Educator Workshop: Greenhouse Gases and Their
Roles on Earth
Greenhouse gases are both naturally occurring and man-made gases that trap heat
in Earth's atmosphere and play a vital role in maintaining a habitable climate.
However, human activity is quickly increasing the concentration of these gases
on Earth and causing concern about the future of our planet.
On April 21, 2012, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, in Pasadena,
Calif., will host an educator workshop that will examine the role of
greenhouse gases in our complex global system, and explore the ways that media
deliver science content and discusses climate change. The workshop is open to
formal and informal educators teaching grades 6 through 12. Attendees will take
part in a group discussion, science presentations and a hands-on
activity/discussion on the media's portrayal of science and climate change.
Teachers will receive a certificate for continuing education hours.
Registration for this workshop closes on April
17, 2012. A $30 registration fee includes continental breakfast, beverages,
snacks, a box lunch and incidentals.
For more information, directions to the workshop location and to register
online, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=318.
Please direct questions about this workshop to Mary K. Kuehn at Mary.K.Kuehn@jpl.nasa.gov.
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Free
Lecture -- John Glenn: Earning the Right Stuff as a Decorated Marine Aviator
and Navy Test Pilot -- Attend in Person or View Online
How did John Glenn get “the right stuff?” Before
he was an astronaut, John Glenn earned six Distinguished Flying Crosses as a United
States Marine Corps aviator in World War II and the Korean conflict, and also
flew as a naval test pilot.
On May 24, 2012, National Air and
Space Museum Director Jack Dailey will join Glenn for a discussion of his
career-defining moments. The lecture begins at 8 p.m. at the National Air and
Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Admission is free, but tickets are required
and will be distributed via a drawing. For those unable to attend in person, the
lecture will be webcast live.
For more information, visit http://www.airandspace.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=3734.
Questions about this lecture should be directed to nasmpubliclectures@si.edu.
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Free
Lecture -- NASA's Legacy and Future: Personal Reflections of a Space Flyer -- Attend
in Person or View Online
On June
27, 2012, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. will be the speaker for the
2012 John H. Glenn Lecture. Administrator Bolden will reflect on his career as
a Marine aviator, a space shuttle pilot and commander and his leadership of
America's space agency. His insights will provide a timely window into his own
experiences and the future of space exploration.
The lecture begins at 8 p.m. at the National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, D.C. Admission is free, but tickets are required. For those unable
to attend in person, the lecture will be webcast live.
For more information, visit http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=3735.
Questions about this lecture should be directed to nasmpubliclectures@si.edu.
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2012 Humans in Space Youth Art Competition
The international 2012 Humans in Space Youth Art
Competition invites students ages 10-18 to express their ideas about the future
of human space exploration through visual, literary, musical or digital art.
Artwork submissions will be judged on creativity, skill and demonstration of
meaning relevant to expressing “How will humans use science and technology to
explore space, and what mysteries will we uncover?”
Winning art will be showcased at displays and multimedia performances worldwide
from 2013 to 2014, as well as in an online gallery. Submissions must be
received by Oct. 21, 2012.
For additional information and a complete list of guidelines, visit www.humansinspaceart.org.
Inquiries about this opportunity should be directed to Jancy McPhee at jancy.c.mcphee@nasa.gov.
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New Brochure Available Online: International
Space Station Benefits for Humanity
The International Space Station enables researchers from all over the world to
perform innovative experiments that could not be done anywhere else. This
unique laboratory environment produces advancements in science and technology
that benefit everyday life on Earth. Download this brochure to learn more about
these innovations and share them with your students
The International Space Station Benefits for Humanity brochure is a collection
of in-depth descriptions about benefits from research on the space station. The
benefits outlined serve as examples of the space station’s potential as a
groundbreaking scientific research facility.
This collection was developed collaboratively by the members of the Canadian
Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA
and the Russian Federal Space Agency.
To view the brochure, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/ISS_Benefit_for_Humanity.html.
The Educational Materials section of NASA's website 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. For more NASA-related education resources, visit http://search.nasa.gov/search/edFilterSearch.jsp?empty=true.
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Updated Rockets Guide Available Online
Few classroom topics generate as much excitement
as rockets. The scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical
foundations of rocketry provide exciting classroom opportunities for authentic
hands-on, minds-on experimentation. The activities and lesson plans contained
in this educator guide emphasize hands-on science, prediction, data collection
and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. The guide also contains
background information about the history of rockets and basic rocket science.
The rocket activities in this guide support national curriculum standards for
science, mathematics and technology.
The guide contains new and updated lessons and activities from the original
Rockets Educator Guide.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Rockets.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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