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 Store^SM. 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

Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

Weather and Climate: Satellite Meteorology Web Seminar
Audience: 7-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: Jan. 23, 2012

Voting Open -- YouTube Space Lab Competition
Audience: All Educators and Students
Voting Deadline: Jan. 24, 2012

Geometry: Space Math Problems -- Solar Storms Web Seminar
Audience: Algebra Teachers and Informal Educators
Event Date: Jan. 24, 2012

Live Video Chat: Sea Level Rising
Audience: 4-9 Educators and Students
Event Date: Jan. 25, 2012, noon EST

Educator Resource Showcase Webcast -- New Microgravity Website and Activities
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Date: Jan. 25, 2012

Analyzing Solar Energy Graphs: MY NASA DATA Web Seminar
Audience: 9-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: Jan 25, 2012

RealWorld-InWorld Engineering Design Challenge
Audience: 7-12 Educators and Students
Deadline: Jan. 27, 2012

National Spaced Out Sports Design Challenge
Audience: 5-8 Educators and Students
Entry Deadline: Mar. 16, 2012

2011-2012 NASA Aeronautics High School Contest
Audience: 9-12 Students
Deadline: March 19, 2012

RockOn 2012 University Rocket Science Workshop
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Registration Deadline: May 1, 2012
Workshop Dates: June 16-21, 2012

2010-2011 Green Aviation University Engineering Contest
Audience: Higher Education Students
Deadline: May 7, 2012

What's New at NASA's Space Place Website
Audience: K-6 Educators

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Weather and Climate: Satellite Meteorology 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 professional development Web seminar for educators on Jan. 23, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Participants will learn to use the data from NASA's research satellite program in their meteorology lessons. This Web seminar features “Monitoring the Global Environment,” one of eight modules within the Satellite Meteorology course. The activities within this module incorporate the use of authentic data acquired by NASA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites and Polar Operational Environmental Satellites. Attendees will learn how to locate and download satellite data, create graphs and learn how to interpret them.

For more information and to register online, visit URL http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar5.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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Voting Open -- YouTube Space Lab Competition

Vote in the YouTube Space Lab Competition!

NASA has collaborated with Space Adventures^©, Google, and BioServe Space Technologies to conduct student-designed life sciences and physics experiments on the International Space Station later this year through the YouTube Space Lab Competition.

Until Jan. 24, 2012, you can vote for your favorites from the 60 finalists selected from 2,000 submissions representing over 80 countries. This is even better than American Idol^® because the ideas all came from middle and high school students wanting to do real science in microgravity!

Check out the finalist videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/spacelab/spacelab and vote for the best entries once a day. The winners get an experience that is truly out of this world, whether they choose to watch their experiments launch from Japan or take cosmonaut training in Russia when they turn 18.

Do your part to help inspire the next generation of space scientists!

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Geometry: Space Math Problems -- Solar Storms Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools and Learning Environments and Research Network projects are hosting a 60-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on Jan 24, 2012, at 8 p.m. EST. Solar Storms provides teachers with a unique opportunity to have students use their knowledge of geometry and trigonometry to analyze NASA images of a solar tsunami. During this seminar, participants will get an overview of the problem sets, preview a video about solar storms, get suggestions for implementing best practices and some learn about some extension activities.

For more information and to register online, visit https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-geometry-space-math/.

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: Sea Level Rising

Students have the opportunity to ask questions of a NASA oceanographer and climate scientist. Dr. Josh Willis is an oceanographer and climate scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Having served as the deputy project scientist and member of the science team on Jason 1 and 2 projects, Willis currently serves as the lead project scientist for the Jason 3 project.

One result of global climate change is the melting of ice sheets around the world. Over the past century, many mountain glaciers and large portions of the ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica have lost mass. During this video chat, Willis will answer student questions about the effects of sea-level rise and climate change caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The live video chat will take place on Jan. 25, 2012, at noon 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/chat-sea-level.html.

If you have any questions about the video chat, contact NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

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Educator Resource Showcase Webcast -- New Microgravity Website and Activities

Join host Elaine Lapka and presenters Teresa Sindelar and Dynae Fullwood from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for an hourlong, free webcast on Jan. 25, 2012, at 3 p.m. EST.

This webcast will provide a virtual tour of NASA's new Microgravity Education website. Use the resources on this new website to learn about NASA's microgravity laboratories on Earth and in space. The webcast hosts will also demonstrate an inquiry-based student activity that K-12 educators can use to investigate the microgravity environment.

For more information and to view the webcast, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/index.html.

Check out the Microgravity Education website at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/microgravity/home/index.html.

If you have any questions about the webcast, please email them to Renee Elias at RElias@lcjvs.net .

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Analyzing Solar Energy Graphs: MY NASA DATA 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 Jan 25, 2012, at 8:15 p.m. EST.

Become familiar with the MY NASA DATA activity, "Solar Cell Energy Availability From Around the Country." Compare monthly averages of downward radiation in locations around the U.S. and analyze areas where conditions would be conducive to having solar panels. Access data on the NASA Live Access Server as you “journey” around the U.S. to determine the amount of solar radiation and analyze overlay plots to compare data from NASA satellites.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar6.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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RealWorld-InWorld Engineering Design Challenge

There is still time to submit entries to RealWorld-InWorld, or RWIW, NASA’s engineering design challenge. The activity encourages students in grades 7-12 to explore and build skills essential for successful science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, careers through a RealWorld (face-to-face) and an InWorld (unique online virtual reality) phase of project-based learning and team competition.

RealWorld (Phase 1): Teams of middle- and high-school-aged students with support of their sponsoring adult work collaboratively as engineers and scientists to explore and design solutions related to the James Webb Space Telescope and Robonaut 2.

NOTE: The RealWorld Phase can be completed by teams in about two weeks.

RealWorld Phase ends: Jan. 27, 2012. To be considered to move to the InWorld phase, all RealWorld work must be submitted by this deadline.

Recognition: Submitted final project solutions will be featured on the RWIW website, and teams will receive recognition for their work once they complete the RealWorld challenge and InWorld registration.

InWorld (Phase 2): Participating college students select teams of two to four middle- and high-school-aged students who have completed the RealWorld phase to build their InWorld teams. Participation is limited to U.S. citizens. Teams work in a 3-D virtual environment using 21st century tools to refine designs and to create 3-D models of their design solutions.

InWorld Phase begins: Jan. 28, 2012.
InWorld Phase ends: April 20, 2012.

Recognition: InWorld teams will compete for cash awards ($1,000 per member, including team leader, for each winning team). Contest rules apply.

To learn more about the challenge and to register for online resources for this free and flexible project, visit www.nasarealworldinworld.org.

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National Spaced Out Sports Design Challenge

Students in grades 5-8 throughout the United States are invited to participate in Spaced Out Sports, a national design challenge that applies Newton’s Laws of Motion by designing a game for the International Space Station astronauts to play in space. The goal is for students to learn the science behind the game on Earth and in microgravity.

Students will submit game demonstrations via a playbook and video. Submissions will be accepted from schools, home school groups, after-school or enrichment programs. Awards include: First Place -- NASA school-wide or program-wide celebration (U.S. teams only); top three teams -- games played on the space station and recorded for a future broadcast; all contributing schools and programs -- opportunity to participate in a Digital Learning Network webcast with astronauts on the space station.

Entries are due March 16, 2012.

Spaced Out Sports student and educator resources include posters, bookmarks, curriculum guides, career videos and Digital Learning Network modules. All include NASA astronauts, engineers and celebrity sports figures engaging students in relevant space-sports connections by explaining and demonstrating the science behind their work and/or games. Featured are: former astronaut and NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin and astronaut Nicole Stott; Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin; NASCAR’s Juan Pablo Montoya; basketball’s Temeka Johnson; football/Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints; and hockey’s Ryan O’Reilly and the Colorado Avalanche.

Spaced Out Sports is managed by NASA’s Stennis Space Center Education through the Teaching From Space Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston.

For more information and to register for the challenge, visit http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/spacedoutsports.

If you have questions about Spaced Out Sports, please email inquiries to SpacedOutSports@nasa.gov.

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2011-2012 NASA Aeronautics High School Contest

The Environmentally Responsible Aviation project invites students in grades 9-12 to submit a well-documented research paper up to 12 pages to demonstrate understanding of the environmental impact of aircraft noise and emissions. Specific topics are listed on the contest website.

Participants must be enrolled in an accredited high school, secondary school or home school. International students may participate but are not eligible for cash prizes. The deadline to enter is March 19, 2012.

For more information about the contest, visit http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/competitions_high_era.htm.

Questions about the contest should be directed to Dr. Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov.

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RockOn 2012 University Rocket Science Workshop

U.S. university faculty and students are invited to a weeklong workshop to learn how to build and launch a scientific experiment into space. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is hosting the RockOn 2012 workshop June 16-21, 2012, in partnership with the Colorado and Virginia Space Grant Consortia. The registration deadline for the workshop is May 1, 2012.

The hands-on workshop teaches participants to build experiments that fly on sounding rockets. During the week, participants will work together in teams of three to construct and integrate a sounding rocket payload from a kit. On the fifth day of the workshop, the experiments will fly on a sounding rocket expected to reach an altitude of more than 70 miles.

Each experiment will provide valuable scientific data, analyzed as part of the student-led science and engineering research. The program engages faculty and students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills critical to NASA's future engineering, scientific and technical missions.

For more information about RockOn and to register online, visit http://spacegrant.colorado.edu/rockon/2012/index_2011.html.

Questions about the workshop or the registration process should be directed to Chris Koehler by email at koehler@colorado.edu or by telephone at 303-492-3141.

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2011-2012 Green Aviation University Engineering Contest

The Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project invites undergraduate and graduate students to submit a well-documented design paper for a large cargo aircraft that produces less noise, fewer emissions and is more fuel efficient than current models.

Participants, either teams or individuals, must be enrolled full time in an accredited college or university. International students may participate but are not eligible for cash prizes or student internships. Entries are due May 7, 2012.

For more information about the contest, visit http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/era_univ/competitions_univ_era.htm.

Questions about the contest should be directed to Dr. Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov.

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What's New at NASA's Space Place Website

Science and technology permeate all our activities from driving a car to cooking to writing poetry. So when we study science and technology, why not incorporate some of those other activities? Why not use interests like art and music to think about and express our understanding of nature? The Space Place has lots of cross-disciplinary opportunities to help make nature unforgettable.

New at spaceplace.nasa.gov
Get the key to the treasure chest! The new “Go with the Flow” game at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ocean-currents/en/ has you playing with salinity and heat, which have opposing effects on vertical water movement. Using heat and salt as tools, as well as horizontal currents and walls, you set up flow patterns that your little submarine can follow in order to reach the key that will open the treasure chest and get the gold.

After playing “Flow,” students are not likely to forget the roles that heat and salinity play on ocean currents. These are important principles to learn in order to understand the potential effects of climate change.

Space Place en español
¡Haz un mapa topográfico! But first, make a clay sculpture of a mountain. This hands-on arts and crafts activity shows how 3-D topography can be represented very accurately on a 2-D map. Using clay (or our recipe for modeling dough), dental floss, paper, pencil, ruler and toothpicks, students make a mountain of any shape, slice it horizontally using dental floss and outline the slices on a piece of paper. It could be an art project or a geography project. Either way, it’s lots of fun, and clearly explains the mystery of topo maps, which many people never understand. Go to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sp/topomap-clay.

Spotlight on Music
Music is science and technology in the service of art. At least that’s one way to look at it. See (and hear) an example at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/violins. Musical instruments are technologies. The most exquisite-sounding instruments represent technological excellence. But what makes the best instrument sound better than the second best instrument? In the case of Stradivarius violins, it’s believed to be the unique density of the wood, which grew only during a certain period of history. Why? Because of a lack of sunspots!

Another example of technology as a delivery mechanism for art is the Golden Records on each of the two Voyager spacecraft, now nearing interstellar space. These records are meant as messages from Earth in the event that intelligent alien beings someday encounter the probes. Students can see some of the photos of Earth and try to guess the identity of some of the sounds on the records at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/voyager-to-stars.

For the classroom
Drumming is a form of music, but it can also be a form of precise verbal communication.

When people figured out how to add meaning to an electromagnetic wave, which is essentially a rhythm, a universe of possibilities opened up. Speaking in Phases is a classroom activity that demonstrates the difference between amplitude modulated (AM), frequency modulated (FM) and phase modulated signals. It’s not as hard as you might think. In this case, all that’s required is something to beat on -- like drums or desks -- and maybe a metronome or electronic keyboard that can make a steady beat.

Students learn the basics of how information is added to a carrier signal. Then they add their own meaning to the signal and communicate with each other using only the timing of beats. It truly teaches the most basic concept underlying all electronic communication, including radio, TV, phones, satellites and spacecraft far away in deep space. See http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/classroom-activities/#phases.

For out-of-school time
Almost everyone loves to eat. Why not make it even more fun by combining snack preparation with space exploration? The Space Place has several projects you can make, and then eat.

One project is Asteroid Potatoes, spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-potatoes. To cut down on mess, you can make the mashed potatoes ahead of time, and let the kids do the sculpting, baking (with supervision) and eating.

Another creative activity is making edible spacecraft or rockets. Tortillas make a wonderful base. You can even paint them (or paint small, cut-out pieces) with food coloring. Also provide colorful vegetables and fruits of many kinds, olives, cream cheese (for glue), chips and anything else you can think of that’s good to eat. Take pictures before they’re gobbled up. See some examples and recipes at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/tortilla-spacecraft.

Special Days

January is National Whale Watching Month
Some species are endangered. See how satellites can help, and play "Migration Concentration" at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/migration.

Jan. 6: Take a Poet to Lunch Day
Try writing some cosmic poetry such as the poems at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/art.

Jan. 17, 1706: Benjamin Franklin’s Birthday
He learned a lot about electricity flying a kite during a lightning storm. You can learn about electricity using a balloon (and without risking your life) at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ion-balloons.

Feb. 12, 1809: Charles Darwin’s Birthday
Darwin is known for his theory of the evolution of species. Play with the “Emoticonstructor” and see one way evolution works at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/emoticonstructor.

Feb. 22: Thinking Day
Exercise your brain by going “VecàTouring” at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/vec-touring.

Feb. 25: Quiet Day
Even the most violent events in space make no sound. Make a Sound Cone to hear even very quiet sounds. See how at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sound-cone.

Last words . . .
Have a wonderful and productive 2012. We hope you continue to find The Space Place helpful in your important work.

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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