NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — April 26, 2017

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”


Science Always Starts With a Question …


This Week’s Question: What Are Some of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Greatest Scientific Achievements?

Happy Birthday, Hubble! This amazing telescope launched 27 years ago on the space shuttle Discovery, and Hubble has been sending back iconic images ever since. Check out highlights of Hubble’s exploration of the universe.

https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/2017/highlights-of-hubble-s-exploration-of-the-universe


Have You Seen This?


Hubble is more than a science spacecraft; it’s a cultural phenomenon! NASA invites you to #SpotHubble.

Take a moment to think about where you’ve seen the Hubble Space Telescope or Hubble images in your daily life. Maybe you own a textbook with a picture of the telescope on the cover, or you walk by a mural inspired by Hubble images on your way to work. Perhaps you’ve even created art based on Hubble images. NASA wants to see the impact Hubble has had in your life! Share your photos with NASA on Instagram, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.

To learn more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/2016/spothubble.


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages



Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12



Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


 


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages


**NEW** NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge
Audience: Problem Solvers of All Ages
Event Dates: April 28, 2017 (Boot Camp); April 29-30, 2017 (Hackathon)

NASA is preparing for the sixth annual International Space Apps Challenge, which will be held April 29-30, 2017. The program invites participants to solve challenges using NASA data to develop mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualizations and platform solutions that can contribute to space exploration missions and help improve life on Earth.

The theme of this year’s challenge is “Earth!” Our planet is a complex and dynamic system that still holds many mysteries. Year-round, NASA helps shed light on Earth’s many components, including oceans, landscapes and living things. With unique vantage points in air and in space, NASA collects high-quality data covering all parts of the planet to tell us more about the world we live in and to predict future processes on Earth.

This year’s two-day Space Apps “hackathon” will bring tech-savvy citizens, scientists, entrepreneurs, designers, artists, educators and students together to be a part of this scientific exploration, as we challenge problem solvers across the globe to create innovative uses of NASA’s Earth science data.

Additionally, many locations are hosting a pre-hackathon boot camp event on April 28, 2017, to introduce participants to the latest trends in data and technology and to provide tutorials to first-time hackers and coders. The boot camps at our two Mainstage locations, New York City and Silicon Valley (Palo Alto), will be livestreamed on our website!

Registration for participation is now open at over 180 locations worldwide!

To learn more about the International Space Apps Challenge, get the latest updates, and register to attend an event, visit https://2017.spaceappschallenge.org/.

If you have questions about the challenge, please visit https://2017.spaceappschallenge.org/contact-us.


DEADLINE EXTENDED: Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 12 to the International Space Station
Audience: School Districts Serving Grades 5-12, Informal Education Institutions, Colleges and Universities
Inquiry Deadline: May 31, 2017
Start Date: September 5, 2017

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education announce a science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 12 to the International Space Station, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the space station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment and all launch services to fly the minilab to the space station in spring/summer 2018 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community′s reserved mini-lab.

Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming uses the experiment design competition to engage the community in embracing a learning-community model for STEM education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations also are encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than May 31, 2017. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

To learn more about this opportunity, visit the “SSEP Mission 12 to International Space Station” National Announcement of Opportunity at http://ssep.ncesse.org/2017/03/new-flight-opportunity-for-school-districts-announcing-student-spaceflight-experiments-program-ssep-mission-12-to-the-international-space-station-starting-september-2017/.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with DreamUp PBC and NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the use of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner of SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

 


Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12


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.

So You Want to Be an Astronaut and Other NASA Careers
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: April 27, 2017, at 6 p.m. EDT
Not just astronauts work at NASA. Explore the many NASA STEM careers needed to successfully accomplish the unique, exciting missions that explore and build a better understanding of our Earth and the universe beyond. NASA career education curriculum and resources will be integrated into this online learning session. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/243842

**NEW** International Space Station: Off the Earth, For the Earth — The Brain in Space
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School, and Informal Educators of Grades 9-12
Event Date: May 1, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will get an overview of resources related to the study of the effects of microgravity on the human brain. We will discuss classroom application and modification of resources as an integral part of this webinar. The activities presented in this webinar address the Next Generation Science Standard LS1. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/227783

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

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.


**NEW** Take Your Students on a Series of Virtual Field Trips!
Audience: Grades 6-12 — Students and Educators, Formal and Informal
Next Event Date: May 5, 2017, 2 p.m. CDT

Bring your students along on a series of virtual field trips to NASA centers where students will go behind-the-scenes to see cool NASA places and visit with NASA professionals. Each session is 15-30 minutes long and includes an interactive question-and-answer session. Pre-registration is not required.

Upcoming virtual field trips include:

Deep Space Patrol — May 5, 2017, 2 p.m. CDT
Go behind-the-scenes in NASA’s meteorite lab with Kevin Righter, planetary scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Mission to Mars — May 8, 2017, 10 a.m. CDT
Learn about driving on another planet with an inside look at NASA’s space exploration vehicles with Lucien Junkin, robotics engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Adventures in Aeronautics — May 18, 2017, 9 a.m. CDT
Learn about high-flying careers with NASA Aircraft Operations. Join Mallory Yates, aerospace engineer, and Angela Bauer, deputy engineering branch chief of the Aircraft Operations Division, for a behind-the-scenes look at aviation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Fun With Technology — May 22, 2017, 10 a.m. CDT
Take a virtual field trip to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Go behind-the-scenes with NASA intern Kaitlin Lostroscio to learn about NASA robotics.

These virtual field trips are a series of events offered to students and teachers as a component of “The Search for STEMnauts” — a virtual scavenger hunt where student teams in grades 6-12 solve puzzles, unravel riddles, break codes and make weekly virtual field trips to exclusive NASA locations. Student teams can even check out where they stand among the competition by following real-time updates on “The Search for STEMnauts” website!

This interactive, technical twist on a traditional scavenger hunt is offered through a partnership between NASA’s STEM on Station and Texas Instruments to provide students with a fun way to learn important STEM skills including coding and problem solving.

All students and educators (grades 6-12) are invited to participate in any virtual field trip offered. Participation in “The Search for STEMnauts” competition is not required. To learn more about these virtual field trips, including links to join in, go to https://education.ti.com/NASAliveevents.

For more information about “The Search for STEMnauts,” including how to register, visit www.STEMnauts.com.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Kelly McCormick at Kelly.mccormick-1@nasa.gov.


**NEW** NASA Mars Science: MAVEN Outreach Webinar — Mars and Venus: Terrestrial Analogues for Exoplanets
Audience: K-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: May 24, 2017, 7 p.m. EDT

MAVEN Outreach Webinars are virtual gatherings of team members from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission to offer professional development for formal and informal educators, troop leaders, museum docents, and others interested in MAVEN and Mars science.

Join the MAVEN team on May 24, 2017, at 7 p.m. EDT, for the Mars and Venus: Terrestrial Analogues for Exoplanets webinar. Learn about ways the MAVEN mission may help scientists understand how the atmospheres of other rocky worlds are also being eroded. Dr. Shannon Curry from the University of California Berkeley will discuss how planetary bodies such as Mars and Venus can be used to provide insight into how atmospheres evolve, as scientists model (and begin to observe directly) the atmospheres of exoplanets.

For more information, visit http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/education-outreach/maven-outreach-webinars/.

Questions about this webinar should be directed to epomail@lasp.colorado.edu.

 


Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


NASA’s Centennial Challenges: Vascular Tissue Challenge
Audience: All Interested U.S. Citizens, Including Higher Education Educators and Students
Deadline: No Later Than Sept. 30, 2019

NASA, in partnership with the nonprofit Methuselah Foundation’s New Organ Alliance, is seeking ways to advance the field of bioengineering through a new prize competition. The Vascular Tissue Challenge offers a $500,000 prize to be divided among the first three teams that successfully create thick, metabolically functional, human vascularized organ tissue in a controlled laboratory environment.

Competitors must produce vascularized tissue that is more than .39 inches (1 centimeter) in thickness and maintains more than 85 percent survival of the required cells throughout a 30-day trial period. To win an award, teams must demonstrate three successful trials with at least a 75 percent success rate. In addition to the laboratory trials, teams must submit a proposal that details how they would further advance some aspect of their research through a microgravity experiment that could be conducted in the U.S. National Laboratory on the International Space Station.

The first registered team(s) to meet the required guidelines and complete their trials by Sept. 30, 2019, will win the awards.

The Vascular Tissue Challenge prize purse is provided by NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program, part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Centennial Challenges, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is NASA’s citizen-inventor prize program. It invites the nation to help advance the technologies that will enable us to go to Mars and beyond, as well as improve life on Earth. The New Organ Alliance is administering the competition on behalf of NASA. The alliance is a nonprofit organization focused on regenerative medicine research and development to benefit human disease research and tissue engineering.

For information about the Methuselah Foundation’s New Organ Alliance, official challenge documents, rules and schedule of events, visit https://neworgan.org/vtc-prize.php.

For more information about the Vascular Tissue Challenge, visit http://www.nasa.gov/vtchallenge.


Free “NASA’s Journey to Mars” Planetarium/Dome Show
Audience: All 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.

 


Check out the ‘Explore NASA Science’ website!
Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Explore the redesigned NASA Science site and send us feedback. Visit https://science.nasa.gov. To view the site in Spanish, visit http://ciencia.nasa.gov.

Don’t miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities
.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educators and Students Current Opportunity pages on NASA’s website:
— Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html

Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum?
Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at http://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.

Find NASA science resources for your classroom.
NASA Wavelength is a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels — from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. http://nasawavelength.org/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: http://www.nasa.gov/education
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

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — April 19, 2017

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”


Science Always Starts With a Question …


This Week’s Question: When Is Earth Day?

Earth Day is coming up on April 22, 2017! NASA invites people around the world to celebrate Earth Day 2017 by “adopting” one of 64,000 individual pieces of Earth as seen from space.

To adopt your piece of Earth, visit go.nasa.gov/adopt. And be sure to share your adopted piece on social media with the hashtag #AdoptThePlanet.


Have You Seen This?


Looking for a classroom activity to bring #AdoptThePlanet into your classroom? Check out the Earth Science Data Visualization: How to Read a Heat Map classroom activity from NASA JPL Education. This activity shows students how to read and interpret a heat map like those presented on each of the #AdoptThePlanet adoption certificates. Find the lesson plan at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/earth-science-data-visualizations-how-to-read-a-heat-map.


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages



Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12



Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


 


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages


STEM@NASA Goddard Webcast Event: Earth Day 2017
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: April 19, 2017, Noon-12:30 p.m. EDT

Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Wednesday, April 19, at Noon EDT for the “STEM@NASA Goddard: Earth Day 2017” event. Every day is Earth Day at NASA, and in this 30-minute program viewers will learn how and why NASA studies Earth from space. In addition, participants will learn how they can become citizen scientists through the GLOBE Program.

The 30-minute event will be streamed live on UStream, and participants will be able to interact with the guest speaker by submitting questions through email and Twitter.

To view the programs on Ustream, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc.

For more information or to express interest in participating, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.


Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 12 to the International Space Station
Audience: School Districts Serving Grades 5-12, Informal Education Institutions, Colleges and Universities
Inquiry Deadline: April 28, 2017
Start Date: September 5, 2017

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education announce a science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 12 to the International Space Station, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the space station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment and all launch services to fly the minilab to the space station in spring/summer 2018 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community′s reserved mini-lab.

Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming uses the experiment design competition to engage the community in embracing a learning-community model for STEM education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations also are encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than April 28, 2017. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

To learn more about this opportunity, visit the “SSEP Mission 12 to International Space Station” National Announcement of Opportunity at http://ssep.ncesse.org/2017/03/new-flight-opportunity-for-school-districts-announcing-student-spaceflight-experiments-program-ssep-mission-12-to-the-international-space-station-starting-september-2017/.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with DreamUp PBC and NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the use of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner of SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.


**NEW** New ‘Ocean Worlds’ Student Slideshow and Infographic
Audience: All Educators and Students

Oceans help make life on Earth possible. So, if there are oceans beyond Earth, do living things exist on those worlds too? NASA scientists are trying to answer this question. Right now, we know oceans do exist on moons and dwarf planets in our solar system. And there are more places where they could exist.

Check out the new “Ocean Worlds” slideshow and downloadable poster. Flip through the slideshow to learn about the best-known candidates in our search for life in the solar system. Which of these places do you think is most likely to have living things?

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/slideshow/ocean-worlds/

 


Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12


**NEW** New ‘Teachable Moment’ Educational Resources Available From JPL Education — Celebrate Earth Day With NASA Science Data
Audience: K-12 Educators

Are you looking for ways to bring the latest NASA science and mission news into your classroom? Education specialists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have the resources to help you do just that! The “Teachable Moments” blog brings together news, activities and education tips on the latest happenings at NASA.

Check out the latest offering from JPL Education.

Teachable Moment: Celebrate Earth Day With NASA Science Resources — Grades K-12
Earth Day, the day set aside each year to celebrate our planet and bring attention to the natural world, is April 22, 2017. More than one billion people are expected to participate in Earth Day events around the globe! Learn what NASA is doing to celebrate Earth Day and to help us learn more about our home planet. And discover ways to bring the latest findings into your classroom. Check it out at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2017/4/12/celebrate-earth-day-with-nasa-science-data.

Looking for more? Check out the “Teachable Moments” archives for more resources. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/column/teachable-moments/


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.

**NEW** Teachers Connect: NASA’s Langley Research Center Centennial Badge
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School, and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8
Event Date: April 25, 2017, at 4 p.m. EDT
The first half of this webinar will focus on clouds and their role in Earth’s “energy budget” and on implementation ideas using GLOBE for different classroom settings as part of the “Earth Right Now: LaRC 100th” digital badge. Participants will talk about student badge implementations, extension ideas and extra resources. The second half-hour will center on the engineering design process using the “Drag Race to Mars Engineering Design Challenge” as part of the “Journey to Mars: LaRC 100th” digital badge. This portion of the webinar will focus on forces and motion and math calculations using paper airplanes and testing different materials as part of the “Aeronautics: LaRC 100th” digital badge.

This webinar meets requirements of teacher discussions within the NASA Langley 100th Educator Professional Development Collaborative digital badges. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/229367

To learn more about the Langley 100th digital badges, log in to https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/ and search for LaRC 100th.

**NEW** So You Want to Be an Astronaut and Other NASA Careers
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: April 27, 2017, at 6 p.m. EDT
Not just astronauts work at NASA. Explore the many NASA STEM careers needed to successfully accomplish the unique, exciting missions that explore and build a better understanding of our Earth and the universe beyond. NASA career education curriculum and resources will be integrated into this online learning session. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/243842

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

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.


**NEW** Earth Day Extravaganza Webinar for Educators
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Date: April 25, 2017, 8 p.m. EDT

Every day can and should be Earth Day! This webinar will focus on the various ways all citizens can participate in NASA science and help make our home planet a better place. Participants will learn how this is possible through the K-12 GLOBE Program and the GLOBE Observer app for citizen scientists of all ages, as well as through other NASA resources.

Participants will learn about SciStarter from its founder, Darlene Cavalier. The webinar will provide information on a new collaboration by NASA@ My Library and GLOBE Observer to include libraries across the U.S. in taking cloud observations. And the session will discuss an upcoming effort by museums around the world to do citizen science programs with the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper for the U.N.-sponsored “Global Experiment.”

The webinar is open to all educators; participation in the GLOBE Program is not required.

For more information and to register to attend, visit https://www.globe.gov/web/el-nino/el-nino-campaign/webinars. For those unable to attend during the set webinar time, a recording of the event will be posted online.

Please submit questions about this webinar opportunity to help@globe.gov.


Earn STEM Digital Badges to Celebrate the Centennial of NASA’s Langley Research Center
Audience: Educators and Students in Grades 5-9, Informal Educators
Deadline: April 30, 2017

To celebrate NASA’s Langley Research Center’s Centennial, three STEM digital badges are now available for educators and students in grades 5-9. Discover the role of cloud types in the Earth’s Energy Budget; how drag is used to land the Mars2020 Rover on Mars; and the importance of composite materials for airplanes.

Educators may earn up to 15 hours of professional development. Student badges include up to six hours of content aligned to the educator badge.

The first 1,000 educators to complete all three badges by April 30, 2017, will receive a NASA insignia iron-on patch.

For more information and to begin earning badges, visit https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/. After logging in to the site, click on the Explore icon and type “NASA Langley” in the search area to find and select the NASA Langley Centennial Mission.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Marilé Colón Robles at marile.colonrobles@nasa.gov.

 


Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


NASA Fundamental Physics Workshop 2017
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Registration Deadline: May 17, 2017
Workshop Dates: May 31-June 2, 2017

The NASA Fundamental Physics Workshop 2017 will be held May 31-June 2, 2017, in Santa Barbara, California.

The workshop will provide a forum for NASA fundamental physics investigators to present results and discuss research ideas for future space experimentation with interested international and U.S. colleagues. Topic areas include atomic and molecular physics; fundamental forces and symmetries; dusty plasma physics; and condensed matter physics.

All interested scientists and researchers are invited to participate. The participation of the current NASA-funded investigators is strongly encouraged and kindly requested.

The deadline to register to attend the workshop is May 17, 2017. For more information and to register to attend, visit http://icpi.nasaprs.com/fpw2017.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Renee Atkins at ratkins@nasaprs.com.


2017 Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Abstract Submission Deadline: May 19, 2017
Workshop Dates: Aug. 21-25, 2017

The annual Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop will be held Aug. 21-25, 2017, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop encourages knowledge sharing, professional development, and networking throughout the thermal and fluids engineering community within NASA, academia and the aerospace community at large. STEM faculty and university students are encouraged to attend, submit a poster or paper on their thermal/fluids work, take free training, or do a combination thereof.

Registration to attend the workshop is free. Participants interested in presenting at the conference, via manuscript or technical poster, must submit an abstract by May 19, 2017.

For more information about the workshop and how to submit an abstract for consideration, visit https://tfaws.nasa.gov/.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Ramona Cummings at ramona.o.cummings@nasa.gov.


Check out the ‘Explore NASA Science’ website!
Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Explore the redesigned NASA Science site and send us feedback. Visit https://science.nasa.gov. To view the site in Spanish, visit http://ciencia.nasa.gov.

Don’t miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities
.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educators and Students Current Opportunity pages on NASA’s website:
— Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html

Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum?
Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at http://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.

Find NASA science resources for your classroom.
NASA Wavelength is a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels — from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. http://nasawavelength.org/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: http://www.nasa.gov/education
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

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — April 12, 2017

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”


Science Always Starts With a Question …


This Week’s Question: What Is Jupiter?

Did you know that Jupiter is so large that all of the other planets in the solar system could fit inside it? Check out these articles written for students to learn more about the largest planet in our solar system!

K-4: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-jupiter-k4.html
5-8: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-jupiter-58.html


Have You Seen This?


The planet Jupiter is easy to spot in the night sky this month. And a meteor shower will peak during the morning hours of Saturday, April 22. Watch the new “What’s Up for April?” video to get the details!

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1463


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages



Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12



Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions



Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages


**NEW** STEM @ NASA Goddard Webcast Event: Earth Day 2017
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: April 19, 2017, Noon-12:30 p.m. EDT

Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Wednesday, April 19, at Noon EDT for the “STEM@NASA Goddard: Earth Day 2017” event. Every day is Earth Day at NASA, and in this 30-minute program viewers will learn how and why NASA studies Earth from space. In addition, participants will learn how they can become citizen scientists through the GLOBE Program.

The 30-minute event will be streamed live on UStream, and participants will be able to interact with the guest speaker by submitting questions through email and Twitter.

To view the programs on Ustream, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc.

For more information or to express interest in participating, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.


Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 12 to the International Space Station
Audience: School Districts Serving Grades 5-12, Informal Education Institutions, Colleges and Universities
Inquiry Deadline: April 28, 2017
Start Date: September 5, 2017

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education announce a science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 12 to the International Space Station, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the space station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment and all launch services to fly the minilab to the space station in spring/summer 2018 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community′s reserved mini-lab.

Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming uses the experiment design competition to engage the community in embracing a learning-community model for STEM education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations also are encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than April 28, 2017. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

To learn more about this opportunity, visit the “SSEP Mission 12 to International Space Station” National Announcement of Opportunity at http://ssep.ncesse.org/2017/03/new-flight-opportunity-for-school-districts-announcing-student-spaceflight-experiments-program-ssep-mission-12-to-the-international-space-station-starting-september-2017/.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with DreamUp PBC and NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the use of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner of SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.


Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12


NASA Solar Eclipse Workshops at Marshall Space Flight Center
Audience: K-12 Educators
Next Workshop Date: April 13, 2017, 4-6 p.m. CDT

On Aug. 21, 2017, the United States will experience a solar eclipse. This celestial event will provide a golden opportunity to engage and educate diverse audiences, and NASA has the resources to help. Join the Educator Resource Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for a series of grade-level specific educator workshops to learn about safety tips, hands-on activities, resources and more!

April 13, 2017, 4-6 p.m. CDT: Educators of Grades 3-5
April 18, 2017, 4-6 p.m. CDT: Educators of Grades 6-8
May 6, 2017, 9-11 a.m. CDT: Educators of Grades K-12
June 1, 2017, 9-11 a.m. CDT: Educators of Grades K-12

For full event details and registration information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/solar_eclipse_workshop2017.pdf.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Maria Chambers at maria.a.chambers@nasa.gov.


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.

**NEW** Solar System Exploration: Exploring New Worlds
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: April 13, 2017, at 6 p.m. EDT
Is there another Earth beyond our solar system? Is anybody else out there? This webinar will try to answer these questions using real NASA data to explore how space-based telescopes, especially the Kepler Space Telescope, search for planets orbiting stars beyond our sun. The NASA STEM activities presented will investigate how to use Kepler Space Telescope data and Kepler’s Third Law to construct graphs and interpret data that determines if a planet beyond our solar system is Earth-like and a candidate to support “life.” Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/232492

**NEW** Solar System Exploration: Cassini — Reading, Writing and Rings
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-4
Event Date: April 18, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. EDT
Explore the mysteries of Saturn and Cassini with a blend of science and language arts. The webinar will present an activity for students to learn about Saturn just as the first observers of Saturn did — by observing and wondering. Students look at pictures of Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft, and the Huygens probe, and write what they know, notice and wonder. This activity invites students to observe carefully and learn from each other, while giving educators an idea of students may have already known about this topic. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/223585

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

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.


Earn STEM Digital Badges to Celebrate the Centennial of NASA’s Langley Research Center
Audience: Educators and Students in Grades 5-9, Informal Educators
Deadline: April 30, 2017

To celebrate NASA’s Langley Research Center’s Centennial, three STEM digital badges are now available for educators and students in grades 5-9. Discover the role of cloud types in the Earth’s Energy Budget; how drag is used to land the Mars2020 Rover on Mars; and the importance of composite materials for airplanes.

Educators may earn up to 15 hours of professional development. Student badges include up to six hours of content aligned to the educator badge.

The first 1,000 educators to complete all three badges by April 30, 2017, will receive a NASA insignia iron-on patch.

For more information and to begin earning badges, visit https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/. After logging in to the site, click on the Explore icon and type “NASA Langley” in the search area to find and select the NASA Langley Centennial Mission.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Marilé Colón Robles at marile.colonrobles@nasa.gov.


Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


Help NASA Find New Planetary Systems — Become a Disk Detective!
Audience: All Educators and Students
Project Timeframe: Now Through 2018

Help NASA find new disks, homes of extrasolar planets, by classifying images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope and other observatories. In this citizen science project, you’ll view animated images of disk candidates and classify them, distinguishing good candidates from galaxies, asteroids and image artifacts. This project, suitable for elementary students through expert adults, will yield targets for the James Webb Space Telescope and publications in professional scientific literature.

This project is ongoing and expected to run through 2018. For more information and to start hunting for planets, visit http://www.diskdetective.org/.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Marc Kuchner at marc.j.kuchner@nasa.gov.


Check out the ‘Explore NASA Science’ website!
Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Explore the redesigned NASA Science site and send us feedback. Visit https://science.nasa.gov. To view the site in Spanish, visit http://ciencia.nasa.gov.

Don’t miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities
.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educators and Students Current Opportunity pages on NASA’s website:
— Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html

Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum?
Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at http://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.

Find NASA science resources for your classroom.
NASA Wavelength is a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels — from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. http://nasawavelength.org/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: http://www.nasa.gov/education
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

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — April 5, 2017

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”


Science Always Starts With a Question …


This Week’s Question: Are Planets Like Those in ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ Really Out There?

In the “Star Wars” universe, ice, ocean, and desert planets burst from the darkness as your ship drops out of light speed. But NASA scientists who are exploring the distant reaches of our own galaxy are finding that these worlds might be more than just science fiction.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/are-planets-like-those-in-star-wars-rogue-one-really-out-there-nasa-plans-to-find-out


Have You Seen This?


Is there a large planet at the fringes of our solar system awaiting discovery, a world astronomers call Planet Nine? NASA scientists are looking for this planet and for new brown dwarfs in the backyard of the solar system. But they need your help!

Visit the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 website to learn more!
http://backyardworlds.org.

 


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages



Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12



Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


 


Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages


**NEW** 2017 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: April 6, 2017, 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:

Harnessing the Sun’s Light to Explore Our Planet and Universe
Event Date:
April 6 and April 7, 2017, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2017&month=4
Spectral mapping, a type of remote sensing that uses reflected sunlight to produce imagery of the chemical composition of planetary surfaces, is useful when studying Earth and other planetary bodies. Join research systems engineer Mark Helminger for a discussion about the science behind measuring spectra of reflected sunlight and the phenomena that make spectral remote sensing possible.

For more information about the Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, including a complete list of upcoming lectures, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.php.

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


**NEW** NASA Unveils New Searchable Video, Audio and Imagery Library
Audience: All Educators and Students

NASA has launched a new resource to help the public search and download out-of-this-world images, videos and audio files. The NASA Image and Video Library website consolidates imagery spread across more than 60 collections into one searchable location.

The NASA Image and Video Library allows users to search, discover and download a treasure trove of more than 140,000 NASA images, videos and audio files from across the agency’s many missions. Users can browse the most recently uploaded files, as well as discover historic and the most popularly searched images, audio files and videos. Topic areas include aeronautics, astrophysics, Earth science, human spaceflight and more.

Users can embed content in their own sites and choose from multiple resolutions to download. The website also displays the metadata associated with images.

To learn more, visit https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-unveils-new-searchable-video-audio-and-imagery-library-for-the-public.

To browse or start your multimedia search, visit the NASA Image and Video Library at https://images.nasa.gov/#/.


Help NASA Study Mars — Planet Four: Terrains
Audience: All Educators and Students

Help NASA study exotic landscape features near the south pole of Mars! In this citizen science project, you will view images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera. Your input will help scientists identify possible areas for even more detailed examination with the orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. HiRISE can reveal more detail than any other camera ever put into orbit around Mars.

Some of Mars resembles deserts on Earth, but seasonal freezing and thawing of carbon-dioxide ice (known on Earth as “dry ice”) at the Martian poles create some unusual landscape features. There’s a lot of territory to cover, so scientists need your help identifying what and where these features are.

For more information and to learn how to participate, visit the “Planet Four: Terrains” website at https://www.zooniverse.org/#/projects/mschwamb/planet-four-terrains.

To learn more about NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its mission at the Red Planet, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/mro/.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Michelle Viotti at michelle.a.viotti@jpl.nasa.gov.

 


Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12


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 Exploration: Life on Mars?
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: April 6, 2017, at 6 p.m. EDT
Is there life beyond our Earth? Using NASA STEM lessons, participants will explore the possibility of life on Mars using the definition of “life” to determine whether anything is alive in three different simulated Mars soil samples. The lessons have students experiment, record observations, and draw pictures as they collect data from the samples to determine if life may exist in any of them. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/232490

**NEW** Solar System Exploration: Hubble Space Telescope
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School, and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: April 10, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
How did it all start? Who is Edwin Hubble? Why do we need a space telescope? Relive the realization of a dream as the Hubble Space Telescope was launched on board Space Shuttle Discovery. Learn how fuzzy photos required a spectacular repair mission. See examples from deep space such as stars, planets, galaxies and beyond. Make real-world connections with everyday technologies as you learn about NASA STEM resources to build and launch satellites using the engineering design process. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/233994

**NEW** Viewing Your Content Through a NASA Context
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-16
Event Date: April 11, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will work through two simple NASA activities: “Exploring Ultraviolet (UV) Light From the Sun” and “Engineer a Satellite.” As a group, we will introduce different content using the highlighted activities while emphasizing various engaging contexts and different real-world circumstances that can be easily implemented or recreated in the classroom. Examples of applications include production of scatter plots, weather and clouds, atmospheres and solar system exploration, material composition, radiation safety, and the upcoming solar eclipse. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/233547

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

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.


NASA’s Digital Learning Network Event — Online Solar Eclipse Workshop
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Date: April 11, 2017, 5-6 p.m. EDT

Join NASA’s Digital Learning Network for an online Solar Eclipse Workshop on April 11, 2017, at 5 p.m. EDT. This hourlong live-streamed educator workshop will showcase solar eclipse education resources for K-12 educators. Learn how NASA education resources can help you bring the excitement and science of the total eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, to your classroom. Several hands-on activities will be demonstrated during the workshop, and subject matter experts will explain why the eclipse is a unique event for scientists and the public.

This is the first total eclipse to cross the United States since the 1970s, and the next one will not occur until 2024. Make plans to attend and learn how to engage your students in “Total Eclipse 2017.”

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/185598385279098/.

Please direct questions about this event to DLiNfochannel@gmail.com.

For information about other DLN events, visit https://www.nasa.gov/dln/special-events.


Mars Survival Kit: Lessons and Activities to Guide Your Exploration of Mars!
Audience: K-12 Educators

NASA is embarking on a journey to Mars! Are your students ready to join in the adventure? Spark excitement in your classroom with the Mars Survival Kit.

The Mars Survival Kit is a collection of educational activities for students in grades K-12. Each educational activity includes a brief description, as well as information about how the activities and lessons align to the Next Generation Science Standards.

Start your classroom’s journey to Mars at http://go.nasa.gov/1NnZ0Rg.

To learn more about NASA’s Journey to Mars, visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html.

 


Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions


NASA Public Web Portal for Research Results
Audience: All Educators and Students

With the launch of a new agency public access portal, public access to NASA-funded research data now is just a click away. PubSpace is a repository of original science journal articles produced by NASA-funded research and available online without a fee.

While the agency always has made access to its research a high priority, the focus now is to make NASA science data more easily obtainable via “one-stop shopping.” This increased public access is intended to accelerate the dissemination of fundamental research results to advance scientific knowledge and help ensure the nation’s future prosperity.

The NASA-Funded Research Results portal was created in response to a 2013 request from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which directed science-funding agencies to develop plans to increase access to the results of federally funded research. NASA’s public access plan was developed in coordination with the science and technology research community across the agency. NASA will continue to consult with the scientific community, academic institutions, publishers and other federal agencies to implement this plan and increase access to research results.

For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/open/researchaccess.


Check out the ‘Explore NASA Science’ website!
Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Explore the redesigned NASA Science site and send us feedback. Visit https://science.nasa.gov. To view the site in Spanish, visit http://ciencia.nasa.gov.

Don’t miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities
.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educators and Students Current Opportunity pages on NASA’s website:
— Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html

Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum?
Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at http://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.

Find NASA science resources for your classroom.
NASA Wavelength is a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels — from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. http://nasawavelength.org/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: http://www.nasa.gov/education
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

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/