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

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: July 13 and July 14, 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:

Five Years of Exploring Gale Crater With the Curiosity Mars Rover
Event Date: July 13 and July 14, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2017&month=7
Nearly five years after its celebrated arrival at Mars, the Curiosity rover continues to reveal Mars as a once-habitable planet. Early in the planet’s history, generations of streams and lakes created the landforms that Curiosity explores today. Join James Erickson and Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, mission team members from the Mars Science Laboratory, for a discussion about the latest findings from the mission, the challenges of exploration with an aging robot, and what lies ahead.

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.

NASA Seeks Creative Arts Inspired by Cassini’s Mission to Saturn
Audience: All Educators and Students Ages 13 and Older

During nearly two decades in space, Cassini has inspired people on Earth. Cassini has sent home thousands of images of icy moons and resplendent rings. It helped discover erupting water geysers on Enceladus and seas of methane on Titan. It showed us a view of Earth as a blue dot.

Now the mission is moving toward its “Grand Finale,” and in September 2017 it will finally draw to a dramatic end. NASA’s Cassini team would like to know this: How has Cassini inspired you?

Visit the Cassini Inspires website to explore images and more from the mission. Then use inspiration to get creative. Write a poem. Paint a picture. Choreograph a dance. Tell a story. The possibilities are endless!

Share your creation with the NASA Cassini team on the social media platform of your choice, such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or others. Tag it #CassiniInspires. Or send it directly to cassinimission@jpl.nasa.gov.

To learn more, visit https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/cassiniinspires/.

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.

**NEW** Lava Layering: Making and Mapping a Volcano
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: July 13, 2017, at 8 p.m. EDT
Participants will be introduced to an activity that focuses on interpreting geologic history through volcano formation and excavation. Baking soda, vinegar and play dough are used to model fluid lava flows. Various colors of play dough identify different eruption events. The activity challenges students to do the following:

1. Construct a model of a volcano.
   2. Produce lava flows.
   3. Observe, draw, record, and interpret the history and stratigraphy of a volcano produced by other students.
   4. Make the connection between the life cycle of a volcano and see these features on Earth and Mars.

Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/261971

**NEW** Solar Eclipse: Edible Experiments/The Great American Eclipse/Eclipse Book Reviews
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: July 17, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore resources for making edible models to teach about lunar and solar eclipses. Browse websites with hands-on activities on subjects such as protection from UV rays. Learn about a collection of children’s literature to use for studying the eclipse. These activities will be great for summer camps and back-to-school events before the solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/263976

**NEW** Solar Eclipse: Guest Scientist — High-Altitude Ballooning
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: July 18, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Get an overview of high-altitude ballooning during eclipses with Bernhard Beck-Winchatz from the STEM Studies Department at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Beck-Winchatz has worked on several NASA projects using weather balloon flights that provide affordable access to a spacelike environment for student research. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/263980

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 Education Workshop at Glenn Research Center — Modeling the Solar Eclipse
Audience: K-12 Educators
Workshop Date: July 25, 2017, 8:30 a.m. EDT

On Aug. 21, 2017, the United States will experience a solar eclipse. This event will provide an excellent opportunity to engage and educate diverse audiences, and NASA has the resources to help.

Join the Office of Education at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, for a STEM educator workshop on July 25, 2017. Participants will be introduced to problem-based-inquiry learning activities related to the solar eclipse. Learn how to bring STEM challenges and the adventure of space exploration to students in the classroom.

For full event details and registration information, visit https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=237940&.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Stephanie Brown-Houston at sdbrown-houston@nasa.gov.

Get Ready for the 2017 Solar Eclipse With NASA Resources
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Date: Aug. 21, 2017

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.

Along a path 60 to 70 miles wide stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, observers will be able to see a total solar eclipse. Others across North America will see a partial eclipse. The event will happen around lunch time across the country. For an interactive map with timing information along the path of the eclipse, visit http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2017Aug21Tgoogle.html.

Visit the following websites to find additional information and resources, including:
— Tips for safely viewing the solar eclipse.
— Recorded interviews with NASA scientists, mission specialists and eclipse path communities.
— Topical online eclipse videos, featuring a variety of STEM and cultural topics.
— Social media community development and networking.
— Mobile educational eclipse applications.
— Public challenges and engagement activities.
— 2-D and 3-D printing exercises for K-16 students.
— Citizen science campaigns in partnership with NASA mission observations.
— Adjunct activities and educational resources.
— Live streaming of observations and programming.

Total Eclipse 2017 — Through the Eyes of NASA
http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov

Eclipses and Transits
http://www.nasa.gov/eclipse

Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

**NEW** Now Accepting Applications for NASA Spring Internships
Audience: High School, Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Application Deadline: Oct. 17, 2017

Now is your chance to apply for exciting hands-on spring internship opportunities available at all NASA centers. High school, undergraduate and graduate students are needed to help NASA scientists and engineers with ongoing scientific and engineering research, technology development and spaceflight operations activities. Internship opportunities also exist in nontechnical areas such as communications, budget, procurement, education and human resources. NASA internships are stipend-paid and offer students mentor-directed, degree-related, NASA-relevant tasks. If you think you have what it takes to be a NASA intern, please visit https://intern.nasa.gov today to apply or to learn more about the numerous opportunities available.

The deadline for spring applications is Oct. 17, 2017!

Please submit inquiries about the NASA Internships, Fellowships, and Scholarships One Stop Shopping Initiative, or NIFS OSSI, via https://intern.nasa.gov/oic/.