NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Sept. 21, 2016

2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: Sept. 22, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)

The Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, named after the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and presented by JPL’s Office of Communication and Education, shares the excitement of the space program’s missions, instruments and other technologies.

Lectures take place twice per month, on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays. The Thursday lectures take place in JPL’s Theodore von Kármán Auditorium, and Friday lectures take place at Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum. Both start at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT). Admission and parking are free for all lectures. No reservations are required, but seating is limited. The Thursday evening lectures are streamed live for viewing online. Archives of past lectures are also available online.

Next Lecture in the Series:

Revealing Saturn: Cassini Science Highlights and the Grand Finale
Event Date: Sept. 22 and Sept. 23, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2016&month=9
The Cassini mission’s findings have revolutionized our understanding of Saturn. With its mission winding down, what new puzzles will Cassini solve before it plunges into Saturn’s atmosphere? Cassini Project Scientist Dr. Linda Spilker will present highlights of Cassini’s ambitious inquiry at Saturn and an overview of science observations in the final orbits. Dr. Earl Maize, Cassini program manager, will discuss Cassini’s exciting challenges and the final year of the mission, ultimately flying through a region where no spacecraft has ever flown before.

Questions about this series should be directed to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/contact_JPL.php.

Join STEM@NASA Goddard in Celebrating International Observe the Moon Night!
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Sept. 28, 2016, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT

Are you ready to look at the moon in an entirely new way? Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Sept. 28, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT for STEM@NASA Goddard: International Observe the Moon Night. During this 30-minute event, Andrea Jones, education specialist for Planetary Science Institute at NASA Goddard, will share how International Observe the Moon Night encourages appreciation and understanding of our moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration.

The program will stream live on NASA Goddard’s Ustream channel, and participants will be able to submit questions by email and Twitter.

For more information, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Educator Workshop — Comets Close Up
Audience: Formal and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Sept. 24, 2016, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. PDT

The Rosetta spacecraft is on a 10-year mission to study the comet “67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko” (C-G) and answer questions about comets. Join lead scientists for the Rosetta mission in an educational workshop that explores hands-on activities and resources for engaging students in the science of comets and small bodies.

In this workshop, Rosetta project scientist Bonnie Buratti and project manager Art Chmielewski will share some of the basic physics of comets and discuss how the Rosetta mission was able to land on one for the first time. Hear about the mission’s latest discoveries, see incredible up-close images of the comet, and get the inside scoop on a second landing on the comet scheduled for Sept. 30, 2016.

The target audience for the workshop is formal and informal educators of grades 6-12, but it is open to all educators.

The event will take place Sept. 24, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT at the von Kármán Auditorium at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

For more information, directions to the workshop location, and instructions for reserving a spot, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/9/24/educator-workshop-comets-close-up.

To learn more about the Rosetta mission, visit http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Andrea Angrum at 818-354-6775.

**NEW** Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development
Audience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators

The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the webinar description.

Solar System and Beyond: JUNO to Jupiter
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Sept. 26, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will learn about the “Solar System and Beyond” with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter. Join us to learn about the JUNO mission, which started in August of 2011, and hands-on activities related to the solar system. This educational activity aligns to NASA Education API 2.4.2. Continue to support STEM educators through the delivery of NASA education content and engagement in educator professional development opportunities. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196775

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Free Educator Professional Development Workshops From NASA’s Stennis Space Center Office of Education
Audience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators
Workshop Location: Infinity Science Center in Pearlington, Mississippi

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Office of Education is presenting a series of free science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, educator professional development workshops open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Workshops will be five hours in length and presented at the Infinity Science Center in Pearlington, Mississippi. (Map) Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the workshop description.

Exploring the Solar System
Audience: Grades 4-8, In-service, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Registration Deadline: Sept. 25, 2016 (maximum of 30 participants)
Event Date: Sept. 29, 2016, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. CDT
Come explore the solar system from a unique mathematical perspective. Using NASA STEM activities, participants will investigate worlds beyond our planet Earth and probe the origins of our universe. Everywhere imaginable, NASA is out there! Activities presented will be aligned to Next Generation Science Standards domain of Earth and Space Sciences; Space Systems.
Register Online: https://www.etouches.com/201521

For more information and a complete list of upcoming NASA Educator Professional Development workshops, visit http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.asp.

Solar System Ambassadors Program Accepting Applications
Audience: All Educators
Application Period: Sept. 1-30, 2016

The NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassadors Program, a nationwide network of space enthusiast volunteers, will be accepting applications from Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, 2016.

Highly motivated individuals will be given the opportunity to represent NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as volunteer SSAs to the public for a one-year, renewable term beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

While applications are being sought nationwide, interested parties from the following areas are especially encouraged to apply: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. SSA hopes to add 100 new volunteers to the program in 2017.

To learn more about the SSA Program and to apply online, visit https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssa/home.cfm. The Announcement of Opportunity and application form will be available on Sept. 1.

If you have questions about this opportunity, contact Kay Ferrari, SSA coordinator, by email at ambassad@jpl.nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Center for Astronomy Education Regional Teaching Exchanges and Workshops — Fall/Winter 2016-2017
Audience: Current and Future College Instructors of Astronomy
Next Event Date: Sept. 24, 2016

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of regional teaching exchanges and workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

Teaching exchanges foster a sense of community among geographically linked current and future college instructors of astronomy. Regional experts from the broader CAE community are ready to provide the opportunity for you to meet your neighbors, expand your instructional repertoire and share your own expertise.

Workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies.

Sept. 24, 2016 — Seattle University in Seattle, Washington
CAE Northwest Regional Teaching Exchange

Sept. 24, 2016 — Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina
CAE Southeast Regional Teaching Exchange

For more information and to register for the teaching exchanges, visit http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshops/index.cfm.

Inquiries about this series of events should be directed to Gina Brissenden at gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu.

CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

Free ‘NASA’s Journey to Mars’ Planetarium/Dome Show
Audience: Formal and Informal Educators

Are you looking for ways to prepare your students for STEM-related career opportunities? Do you want to spark their interest in pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation? Right now, NASA’s fleet of Mars robotic explorers is paving the way for human exploration of the solar system in the coming decades. Have your students join NASA in preparing for a monumental journey of a lifetime — to Mars!

“NASA’s Journey to Mars” is a short planetarium presentation that can be used in the educational domes of your school district, as well as local planetariums, to inspire interest in STEM. To learn more, including how you can acquire the show for use in your area, visit https://www.nasa.gov/feature/journey-of-a-lifetime-mars-education-resources/.

Please direct questions about the “NASA’s Journey to Mars” planetarium/dome show to Elsie Weigel at elsie.weigel@nasa.gov.