OSGC Educational Resources Blog

Join NASA and NSTA for a series of free Web seminars focusing on a wide range of topics. All Web seminars will include information and resources for educators available from NASA Web sites. During the live Web seminars, presenters will share their expertise and answer questions live from the participants.

Mapping the Moon: Simulating LOLA in the Classroom

Join NASA and NSTA for a Web seminar focusing on the topics of lunar exploration, mapping, remote sensing, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. LRO will launch in late 2008 with these objectives: to find safe landing sites for future manned lunar missions, to locate potential resources, to characterize the radiation environment and to demonstrate new technology. Designed for educators of grades 4-12, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 13, 2008.  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/NASA-Mapping/webseminar.aspx

Robotic Exploration of the Red Planet

Join Greg Mehall, instrument manager, systems engineer and mission manager for multiple robotic missions to Mars, as he shares his expertise in systems engineering. Mehall will give participants a “behind-the-scenes” look at what it takes to build complex robots, like the twin rovers that are still driving across the surface of Mars. Designed for educators of grades 5-12, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 14, 2008.  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/JPL2/webseminar12.aspx

21st Century Explorer: Today’s Knowledge for Tomorrow’s Explorer

Join NASA and NSTA for a Web seminar focusing on the 21st Century Explorer project. Each of the 21st Century Explorer project activities promotes higher-order thinking skills and expands the space exploration knowledge base of the bilingual educator, learner and family. Designed for educators of grades 3-5, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2008.  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/NASA-Explorers/webseminar.aspx

From Astrobiology to Zoology: Igniting Students’ Interests in Science Careers

Join scientists and education specialists from Sally Ride Science for a free Web seminar focusing on the wide variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers available and the many paths to becoming a scientist. The presenters will share their science expertise, answer participant questions, and provide information regarding Web sites students can use in the classroom. Designed for educators of grades 6-9, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 20, 2008.  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/SRS/webseminar.aspx

Polar Science, Global Discoveries: IPY Research Update for Teachers

Join NASA, NSTA, the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a Web seminar celebrating the International Polar Year. The seminar will focus on global climate change and the research findings from the first year of IPY. Topics will include living systems, plants, humans, animals, adaptation, carbon cycle, air, water, migration and weather. Designed for educators of grades 5-8, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 22, 2008.  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/IPY-Boston/webseminar.aspx

Mars Exploration Rovers: Where Are They Now?

Join Dr. Steve Ruff of Arizona State University as he presents an update on the Mars Exploration Rovers, including a description of an important new discovery by the Spirit rover in the Gusev crater concerning water and habitability on Mars. Dr. Ruff will also talk about initial results from the proposed May 25th landing of the Phoenix mission and describe future Mars exploration plans. Designed for educators of grades 5-12, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on June 5, 2008.  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/JPL2/webseminar13.aspx

The U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative has opened registration for its free summer workshops. Each workshop will target specific grade levels and content areas. A number of workshops will be held across the country. Registration for the workshops is currently open and space is limited. For more information and to register online, visit the links below.

June 18-19, 2008: Denver, Colo.

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Mint are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the Colorado History Museum in Denver, Colo. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading and history strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. Tours of the U.S. Mint building will also be offered. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=76  

June 25-26, 2008: Nashua, N.H.

The U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Aviation Administration are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H. This workshop provides opportunities to learn mathematics, science and reading strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=77

July 9-10, 2008: Lower Manhattan

The U.S. Department of Education and the National Park Service are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop in Lower Manhattan in New York City at the site of the African Burial Ground Memorial. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading, history and science strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=84

July 10-11, 2008: Newport News, Va.

The U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Energy are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the Jefferson Lab in Newport News, Va. This workshop provides opportunities to learn math, science and reading strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=81

July 15-16, 2008: Fort Worth, Texas

The U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Aviation Administration are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the Tarrant County Community College Northwest Campus in Fort Worth, Texas. This workshop provides opportunities to learn math and science strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=90

July 17-18, 2008: New Orleans, La.

The Office of Charter Schools at the U.S. Department of Education is sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, La. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading, science and math strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=85  

July 22-23, 2008: Washington, D.C.

The Office of Charter Schools at the U.S. Department of Education are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the Carlos Rosario Public Charter School and Career Center in Washington, D.C. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading, science, history and math strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=86  

Aug. 4-5, 2008: Lakewood, Wash.

The U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity is sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the Lakeview Hope Academy in Lakewood, Wash. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading, math and science strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=89  

Aug. 7-8, 2008: Philadelphia, Pa.

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Mint are hosting a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading and history strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. Tours of the U.S. Mint will also be offered. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=82

Aug. 11-12, 2008: 29 Palms, Calif.

The U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop on the Marine Corps Base in Twentynine Palms, Calif. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading and math strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=88  

Aug. 13-14, 2008: Los Angeles, Calif.

The Office of Charter Schools at the U.S. Department of Education and the California Charter Schools Association are sponsoring a free Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative workshop at the Pacific Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades, Calif. This workshop provides opportunities to learn reading, science, history and math strategies from prominent teachers and district officials who will share research-based practices they have successfully applied in their schools and classrooms. https://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/EventInfo.asp?EventID=87

NASA has just opened an exciting new artifact loan program!

What innovative and inspiring things would your organization or school do with space shuttle tires? NASA has released a call for proposals from museums, planetariums, schools, civic groups, etc for exciting and unusual plans to use and display shuttle tires. This is your organization’s chance to get a real NASA artifact for use in hands-on exhibits, artwork, furniture, or whatever your group can dream up!

NASA is waiving some preservation requirements for these tires due to the nature and number of the tires to allow a wide range of possible uses. The tires may be displayed outdoors, may be cut, drilled, painted or otherwise modified, but all pieces will remain the property of the federal government. Any and all other uses for these artifacts will be considered, but must be approved by NASA and the item will remain the property of the federal government.

The deadline to submit a proposal is June 11, 2008. Please review the official press release below or visit the official website for details: http://artifacts.nasa.gov/space_shuttle_lgt.htm

(NASA PRESS RELEASE: 08-113)
NASA ROLLS OUT NEW ARTIFACT LOAN PROGRAM WITH SPACE SHUTTLE TIRES

WASHINGTON — With the help of the space shuttle program, NASA kicks off a new artifact loan program for museums, planetariums, and other organizations. NASA’s new Artifact Loan Opportunities Program will help organizations borrow NASA artifacts for education and outreach purposes.

The first artifacts available are main landing gear tires from space shuttles. The space shuttle tires, including some flown on missions, are available to proposing organizations that NASA determines best meet the agency’s education and public outreach goals.

This new program gives organizations that are not traditionally associated with the agency the chance to have access to NASA artifacts. The shuttle tires and future available artifacts represent NASA’s many decades of exploration and discovery.

Organizations interested in proposing uses for loaned shuttle tires should be external to NASA. Organizations may include, but are not limited to, museums, schools, and civic groups. The long-term loan of these tires may be used to educate, inspire or inform the public about NASA’s scientific and technological achievements through art, sculpture, furniture, building structures, exhibits or other innovative uses of the artifacts.

The deadline for proposals on this initial opportunity is June 11, 2008.
For information about artifact loan opportunity, visit: http://artifacts.nasa.gov

Are you interested in Microgravity?
Join us at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum IMAX® Theater

Friday May 16, 2008
10:00 – 11:00 am

In preparation for the grand opening of a new space wing at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, students and teachers are invited to attend a special presentation at the Evergreen IMAX® Theater on May 16. Limited space is available so please call (503) 434-4005 if you plan to bring a group or if you require further details. The cost is $9.00 per student for the Microgravity Program and IMAX show or $11.00 per student for the Microgravity event, IMAX, and Museum Self-Guided Tour.

Hear a presentation on microgravity research from the Portland State University Microgravity Team
What is surface tension and why does it matter? What is phase separation? What does our experiment do? We are a group of undergraduate students at Portland State University who designed, built, tested, and flew our experiment on NASA’s C-9 aircraft in Houston in April. Come see what it’s like to experience low-gravity like astronauts do, learn how cool the science is, and bring questions!

Participate in hands-on microgravity experiments
Learn more about the experiments performed in microgravity and the science behind gravity.

Watch a film about microgravity experiments performed by an Oregon State University student
Marci Whittaker, a senior in nuclear engineering at Oregon State University, has set her sights on Mars. First, she has to design a nuclear reactor that will work in space so that we can reach the red planet. It has been five years of hard work, but finally, her prototype is ready to be tested aboard NASA’s C-9 microgravity plane.

Stay to view the IMAX movies!
11:00 am “Fighter Pilot”
12:00 pm “Space Station 3D”

For more information about Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, please visit the official website at http://www.sprucegoose.org/

The Oregon State University Robotics Club will host an open demonstration of their “University Rover Challenge” entry on Saturday, May 10 – part of a national competition among university students to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers. The event will be at the Arts and Crafts Building at the Benton County Fairground in Corvallis, OR.   From 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m. the rover will work to perform tasks in geology, soil analysis, emergency navigation and construction.  The team, funded through a NASA ESMD Design Project award, has also received equipment donations from a corporate sponsor, Parallax Inc.  The demonstration is free and open to the public.

For more information about the University Rover Challenge and the tests planned for Saturday, please visit the Mars Society’s University Rover Challenege website at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/urc

Read more about the OSU Robotics Team at their journal, hosted through the Parallax company, at http://www.parallax.com/tabid/638/Default.aspx

Call for Applications: AEA/DU Graduate Education Diversity Internship Program
Deadline: August 1, 2008

The AEA/DU Graduate Education Diversity Internship Program is a partnership between The American Evaluation Association and Duquesne University School of Education in Pittsburgh, PA. We invite graduate students from groups traditionally under-represented in the field who are interested in evaluation to submit applications for the fourth cohort, beginning in September, 2008, and continuing through June, 2009.

The Internship program is a non-residential opportunity for pre-doctoral students to learn about evaluation through working with professional colleagues in their own region while coming together in person three to four times over the course of the year with a small cohort of students in the program to learn from each other and leaders in the field. The program builds upon a student’s existing graduate study program and provides a stipend of $8,000 plus travel support.

The purposes of the Internship Program are:

• to expand the pipeline of graduate evaluation students from under-represented groups
• to extend to evaluation student’s existing basic research capacities and substantive knowledge about their area of concentration
• to stimulate evaluation thinking concerning communities and persons of color and persons from other under-represented groups by providing professional development training opportunities for social and natural science graduate students
• to deepen the evaluation profession’s capacity to work in racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse settings

We seek graduate students of color, or from other under-represented groups in the field of evaluation, who are not already enrolled in an evaluation program, and who:

• Will be enrolled this fall in either year 2 of a Master’s or year 2 or 3 of a doctoral or a combined masters/doctoral program
• Have already been exposed to research methods and substantive issues in their field of expertise
• Can demonstrate the relevance of evaluation training in their current work through a short essay
• Have support from his/her academic advisor

Refer to the program’s website:
http://www.education.duq.edu/mastersCertification/diversity_inter_program.htm  for more information about activities, information, and application materials.

Applications are due August 1, 2008.

Astronomy Day is an annual worldwide event designed to promote public awareness and interest in astronomy and space science. Join us on the evening of Saturday, May 10 as we gaze at the spring night sky at Rooster Rock State Park, starting at 8:30 pm. Visitors to the star party will be star-struck as they view the stars and other objects through a variety of telescopes. In addition to seeing the planets Mercury, Mars and Saturn, star clusters, waxing crescent moon, and other celestial bodies will be visible.

Located 22 miles east of Portland on I-84 (east of Sandy River) at exit 25, Rooster Rock State Park is a wonderful place to view the spring night sky. Parking is $3 per vehicle. Members of Rose City Astronomers and Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers will make their telescopes available to anyone who attends, and OMSI Planetarium Manager Jim Todd will present informal talks on the occurrence.

For possible weather cancellation, call (503) 797-4610 on May 10 after 3:00 PM to get the latest information.

Join NASA and the Girl Scouts for an exciting summer residential program June 22-28, 2008, at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

Registration is open to girls entering grades 9-12. Participants choose to attend the Aeronautics Institute, Robotics Institute or Astrobiology Institute. They then explore their chosen topic with other high school girls and get a taste of how things are done the NASA way. Applications are due May 23, 2008. Space is limited. Early registration is encouraged.

Adults are needed to share the excitement of technology, engineering and science with girls. Volunteer and paid staff positions are available. Opportunities include advisor, health supervisor, chaperones and drivers. Training dates are June 19-21, 2008.

For more information about the week-long program, visit http://www.girlscoutsbayarea.org/pages/initiatives/ggt/events.html

LIGO Hanford Observatory in Richland, WA will offer another in a series of technical seminars at 4:00 PM on Thursday, May 8 in the LIGO auditorium. Vanessa Lauberg of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Maryland will speak on “Induced Mergers of Stellar-Mass Black Hole Binaries in Galactic Nuclei.” Stellar-mass black hole binaries represent a promising source of gravitational waves for the LIGO detectors. This talk will focus on the physics of black hole systems in galactic centers. LIGO Seminars are open to all scientists, engineers, educators and students who may wish to attend.

Abstract: http://www.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/seminars.html
Driving directions to LIGO: http://www.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/traveler.html
May 10 Astronomy Day event: http://www.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/astro_day_08.html

NASA astronauts Dan Tani of Illinois and Suni Williams of Massachusetts, both past residents of the International Space Station, will be available to discuss what it takes to become an astronaut during satellite interviews on Wednesday, May 7.

Tani will be available from 5 to 8 a.m. CDT and Williams will be available from 4 to 6 p.m. NASA now is accepting applications for its 2009 astronaut class. The agency is looking for a diverse group of candidates who want to be part of the next generation of explorers. The deadline for applications is July 1.

Tani, who considers Lombard, Ill., his hometown, was selected as an astronaut in April 1996. He first flew on space shuttle mission STS-108 in 2001. He more recently served as the Expedition 16 flight engineer aboard the space station from October 2007 to February 2008. Tani has logged more than 131 days flying in space, including 32 hours and 38 minutes spacewalking.

Williams, who considers Needham, Mass., her hometown, was selected as an astronaut in June 1998. She served as a flight engineer aboard the space station for 195 days, launching on space shuttle mission STS-116 in December 2006, and returning to Earth aboard STS-117 in June 2007. She has accumulated 29 hours and 17 minutes walking in space.

For more information on astronaut recruitment, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/recruit.html

For complete biographical information for Tani and Williams, visit:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv