NASA “Science WOW!” Message – March 21, 2018

**NEW** GOLD Science Communications Webinar — Hitching a Ride on a Commercial Communications Satellite
Audience: All Students and Educators
Event Date: March 21, 2018, 4 p.m. EDT

NASA’s Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission launched on Jan. 25, 2018, and is making its way into a geostationary orbit, some 22,000 miles above Earth.

Join GOLD project manager Rory Barrett to learn how the GOLD instrument — an ultraviolet imaging spectrograph — will capture unprecedented images of Earth’s interface to space. The spectrograph is flying as a hosted payload on board SES-14, a commercial communications satellite.

For more information, visit http://gold.cs.ucf.edu/multimedia/gold-webinars/.

**NEW** Webinar — Meet Parker Science Probe Project Scientist Dr. Nicky Fox
Audience: Young Science Enthusiasts
Event Date: March 22, 2018, 1 p.m. EDT

The Parker Solar Probe will be the first mission to touch the Sun! Set to launch later this year, the probe will to fly into the solar corona to study how the corona is heated and how the solar wind and solar energetic particles are accelerated.

Join Dr. Nicky Fox of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission for a youth-oriented 30-minute webinar. Fox will describe the mission and its scientific goals, and will answer questions about the Sun, the new solar probe and life as a scientist.

For details on how to join the webinar, visit http://multiverse.ssl.berkeley.edu/Solar-Week.

Please direct questions about this event to outreach@ssl.berkeley.edu.

2018 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: March 22 and 23, 2018, 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. PST (10 p.m. EST). 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:
Planning Cassini’s Grand Finale: A Retrospective
Event Date: March 22 and 23, 2018, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2018&month=3
On Sept. 15, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn for a mission-ending grand finale. Join systems engineer Erick Sturm from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a look back at the various scenarios envisioned and contingency plans made by the Cassini team as they steered the spacecraft into unexplored territory.

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** Celebrate Women’s History Month With the ‘NASA Women of STEM’ Website
Audience: All Educators and Students

Through their accomplishments and dedication, women at NASA embody the essence of Women’s History Month. They serve as role models to young women in their pursuit of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The “NASA Women of STEM” website features career profiles, videos and news articles about the women helping NASA reach for new heights.

Visit the website at http://www.nasa.gov/education/womenstem.

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.

Technology Drives Exploration: Robotics on a Budget
Audience: 4-8, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: March 22, 2018, at 6 p.m. EDT
Robots are a part of everyday life, but what exactly are they? How are robots used in our lives? How are they used at NASA? Explore answers to these questions and learn how to use robotics inexpensively in your classroom by integrating NASA STEM robotic missions, curriculum and online resources. Register online to participate.
https://www.eiseverywhere.com/310028

**NEW** Technology Drives Exploration: Integrating NASA Based Digital Content in Your Classroom
Audience: 4-9, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: March 26, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will explore a variety of NASA-based digital content and develop strategies for integrating the resources in culturally responsive ways. Register online to participate.
https://www.eiseverywhere.com/320783

**NEW** Technology Drives Exploration: Telescopes — The Exoplanet Hunters
Audience: K-12, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: March 27, 2018, at 7 p.m. EDT
Category: Online Professional Development
Telescopes are NASA’s exoplanet hunters. They have gathered critical insights into other solar-system-like star-planet formations that may have “habitable” conditions. Participants will discuss inquiry-based activities covering math and optics concepts related to telescopes from NASA’s Great Observatories and Optics educator guides. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/324209

**NEW** Technology Drives Exploration: Careers
Audience: K-12, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: March 28, 2018, at 6 p.m. EDT
Working at NASA is not just being an astronaut. Explore the many NASA STEM careers needed to successfully accomplish the exciting missions that explore and build a better understanding of Earth and the universe beyond. NASA career education lessons and resources will be integrated into this online learning session. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/321424

**NEW** Technology Drives Exploration: STEM Interactive Technology
Audience: 4-10, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: March 29, 2018, at 5 p.m. EDT
Learn to use the NASA Space Place website to investigate the sun, Earth, solar system, universe, technology and science through interactive technology. Use ebooks, games, media and activities to understand STEM content. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/317469

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.

Summer Institute — Liftoff 2018: Reach New Heights, Reveal the Unknown, Benefit All Humankind
Audience: Educators of Grades 4-12
Application Deadline: March 30, 2018
Institute Dates: June 24-29, 2018

The 2018 LiftOff Summer Institute is a weeklong training event sponsored by NASA’s Texas Space Grant Consortium and held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The theme is “Reach New Heights, Reveal the Unknown, Benefit All Humankind.” The event will celebrate all that NASA has contributed and the engineering behind its accomplishments.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens currently employed as classroom teachers of grades 4-12, with at least one year teaching experience prior to the institute.

For more information and to register to attend, visit http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/liftoff/.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Margaret Baguio at baguio@tsgc.utexas.edu.

NASA Stennis Community College and Education Faculty Fellowship Program
Audience: Full-time Faculty at Accredited Higher Education Institutions in Mississippi and Louisiana
Application Deadline: April 27, 2018, at 5 p.m. CDT
Fellowship Dates: June 4 – Aug. 10, 2018

The NASA Stennis Community College and Education Faculty Fellowship Program provides opportunities for STEM faculty to do research for 10 weeks during the summer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens working full time at a two-year or four-year accredited university or college in Mississippi or Louisiana. The program provides a weekly stipend. Qualified faculty from minority-serving institutions are particularly encouraged to apply.

Applications are due April 27, 2018, at 5 p.m. CDT. For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2018_nasa_stennis_community_college_and_education_summer_faculty_fellowship_program_announcement.pdf.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to mitch.krell@nasa.gov.

Free ‘Sun, Earth, Universe’ Exhibition Available for Eligible Institutions
Audience: Informal Science Education Institutions in the U.S. within the NISE Network (NISENet)
Application Deadline: May 1, 2018

In collaboration with NASA, NISENet is accepting applications from eligible institutions to receive a free “Sun, Earth, Universe” exhibition. This engaging and interactive museum exhibition about Earth and space science has been curated with science experts and designed for family audiences. Visit the site for eligibility details.

The exhibition is designed for NISENet partners located within the United States and U.S. territories. Applicants must be informal science education institutions such as science museums and science centers, children’s museums, natural history museums and nature centers, public planetariums and observatories, and NASA visitor centers.

To learn more, visit https://science.nasa.gov/news-articles/Free-Science-Exhibits-Available-for-Eligible-Institutions.

Please note that K-12 schools, afterschool programs, libraries, parks, summer camps and astronomy clubs are not eligible to exhibit. If your institution is not eligible, consider downloading a digital version of the “Explore Science: Earth & Space Toolkit” to engage audiences in hands-on Earth and space science activities with connections to science, technology and society. Digital toolkits are available for free download at: http://www.nisenet.org/earthspacekit.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to exhibits@nisenet.org.