Filed under: Aeronautics, Astronomy, Competitions, Contest, K-12, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
The Conrad Foundation has opened registration for the 2010 Spirit of Innovation Awards. The Spirit of Innovation Awards challenge teams of high school students to create innovative products for use in one of four categories: aerospace exploration, space nutrition, renewable energy and green schools. Teams and their coaches will compete for more than $100,000 in cash prizes; be designated as Pete Conrad Scholars; have the opportunity to commercialize their products for general market use; and receive annual memberships to the Conrad Foundation, Sigma Xi, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and the National Science Teachers Association.
For more information about the program, visit http://www.conradawards.com
Applications must be submitted no later than December 15, 2009, to be considered.
Filed under: Aeronautics, Astronomy, Contest, Cool Science, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities
Blast Off with ScienceWorks!!! NASA Weekend
September 18, 19, 20, 2009
NASA’s Exploration Experience Weekend Events:
Friday, 18th – Student Day (tours are full)
Saturday, 19th – Family Day 11am-5pm
Saturday, 19th – Astronauts Ball 7-11pm
Sunday, 20th – Family Day 11am-5pm
You can read more about the events and register online at http://www.scienceworksmuseum.org/Page.asp?NavID=192
Additional Events
Monday, 21st & Tuesday, 22nd – Teacher Training Workshops 4-8pm
Registration starts Monday, August 31st.
Contest!!!!
What were you doing on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon?
* Submit your stories up to 200 words On-line or send in to 1500 E. Main St. Ashland, OR 97520.
* Winners will be announced and their stories read during the Astronauts Ball. Prizes!
* Click here to read the stories
Learn more about NASA trailer: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/2009/07-29-31-09.html
Robots on the Road: http://www.aesp.psu.edu/robots.cfm
Teacher Training Workshops: http://www.aesp.psu.edu/
Tuesday, September 1 at 8pm ET/PT on PBS After four decades of fly-by probes, orbiters, landers, and rovers, the quest for life on Mars is as tantalizing as ever. With unique access to the NASA Phoenix and Mars Exploration Rover missions, NOVA shows scientists and engineers in action, directing the operations of spacecraft millions of miles away, as the robotic explorers drill into rock, claw into soil, analyze samples, and trundle across the rock-strewn landscape in search for signs that Mars once or maybe even still harbors some form of life. NOVA goes behind the scenes of the latest NASA missions to the Red Planet to reveal new clues and challenges on the road to answering this ultimate question: Is there life on Mars? See some of the finest images ever taken of the martian surface–including Phoenix’s most famous–on the program’s companion website.
Read more here; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mars
Remember, most NOVA episodes stream on their website the day after the premiere, so if you missed any broadcast, you can catch it at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/programs
Filed under: Best Practice, Educational Materials, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Teacher Development, Teacher Opportunities, Workshop
NASA Education Workshop: Push the Envelope!
September 21-22, 2009
4:00-8:00pm PST
Ashland, Oregon
Register now! Space is limited.
Online Registration: http://www.scienceworksmuseum.org/Page.asp?NavID=207
Teachers are invited to participate in an education workshop facilitated by NASA education specialist Tony Leavitt. The eight hour / two evening worshop will cover a slice of NASA education with topics and inquiry/problem-based activities ranging from earth science, the solar system, lunar and Mars explorations and challenges. You will go away with more questions than answers, but isn’t that what education is all about? Come join us! please direct questions to Angela at 552-6332
Workshop Cost: $10
1 Graduate Credit is available for $55 (complete a registration form for ED 399 or ED 500)
Location: Southern Oregon University, Education/Psychology building, rm 150
Class size: Min 20 / Max 45
Course objectives:
1. Educators will explain how two new things they learned in the Exploration Experience trailer visit relate to their curriculum.
2. Participants will analyze and report on 3 online NASA education resources.
3. Educators will critique the inquiry lessons presented and discuss classroom challenges they foresee in each.
4. Each educator will create an outline of one NASA lesson to be facilitated in his/her classroom.
5. Participants will assess the SOU/NASA workshop in a one page reflection piece.
Filed under: Aeronautics, Cool Science, Engineering, Higher Education, NASA, Research, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
The opportunity is part of NASA’s Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, which gives aspiring explorers a chance to propose, design and fabricate a reduced-gravity experiment. Selected teams will test and evaluate their experiment aboard NASA’s reduced-gravity airplane. The aircraft flies about 30 roller-coaster-like climbs and dips during experiment flights to produce periods of weightlessness and hypergravity ranging from 0 g to 2 g.
Proposals are due Oct. 28, 2009.
Interested students also should submit a letter of intent by Sept. 16, 2009. This step is optional but serves as an introductory notice that a team plans to submit a proposal for the upcoming competition.
NASA will announce selected teams Dec. 9, 2009. Selected teams will fly in the summer of 2010. Once selected, teams also may invite a full-time, accredited journalist to fly with them and document the team’s experiment and experiences. All applicants must be full-time students, U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old.
To learn more about this opportunity, visit http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov
Filed under: Aeronautics, Funding, Higher Education, NASA, STEM, Scholarship, Scholarships, Seminar, Student Opportunities
NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate will begin accepting scholarship applications on Sept. 1, 2009, for the 2010 academic year. The application deadline is Jan. 11, 2010.
“These scholarships are a fantastic way to support our brightest students and encourage them to finish their education, expose them to NASA’s research programs and inspire them to pursue a career in aeronautics,” said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
NASA expects to award 20 undergraduate and five graduate scholarships to students in aeronautics or related fields. Undergraduate students entering their second year of study will receive up to $15,000 per year for two years and the opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend by interning at a NASA research center during the summer. Graduate students will receive up to $35,000 per annually for up to three years, with an opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend interning at a NASA research center up to two consecutive summers.
Students who have not committed to a specific academic institution or program still may apply. However, if accepted, they must be admitted by fall 2010 into a suitable aeronautical engineering program or related field of study at an accredited U.S. university. All applicants must be U.S. citizens. Scholarship money may be used for tuition and other school-related expenses.
NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate conducts cutting-edge, fundamental research in traditional and emerging disciplines. The intent is to help transform the nation’s air transportation system and to support development of future air and space vehicles. Goals include improving airspace capacity and flexibility; aviation safety and aircraft performance; reducing overall noise, engine emissions and fuel usage.
For details about this scholarship program, including how to apply, visit: http://asee.org/nasaasp
Filed under: Aeronautics, Competitions, Contest, Engineering, Higher Education, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is again sponsoring a national FAA Design Competition for Universities that engages undergraduate and graduate students at U.S. colleges in addressing issues relating to airports for the 2009 – 2010 academic year. This competition opens on August 28, 2009 and closes on April 16, 2010.
Students can address technical challenges regarding the safety, capacity and efficiency of the nation’s airports, offer innovative solutions, and win cash for outstanding proposals. The FAA hopes that the Competition challenges will provide a meaningful educational experience for individual students or students working in teams either as part of a class assignment, independent study or a project undertaken by a student professional society. Challenges are interdisciplinary in nature, encouraging participation from many engineering, technology and science disciplines. The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is managing the program for the FAA.
For more information about the competition and the application process, please visit the contest website at
http://platinum.ts.odu.edu/Apps/FAAUDCA.nsf/fhome?openform
Filed under: Cool Science, NASA, Science, Webcasts | Tags: Space Shuttle, Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle Launch, STS-128
The next attempt to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery will be at 11:59 pm EST tonight, Friday August 28, 2009. The previous attempt was aborted due to valve problems discovered during shuttle prep on Tuesday. The current mission, STS-128, will resupply the International Space Station, deliver the COLBERT treadmill, and drop off new crew member Nicole Stott.
For more information about STS-128, visit the NASA shuttle website at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
To watch the shuttle launch lice online, visit the NASA TV website at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
NASA’s Solar System Educators Program, a nationwide network of highly motivated teachers, is accepting applications from interested teachers.
Applicants need to have at least five years of in-class teaching experience. Teachers should also have experience leading workshops and be familiar with their state standards. Selected teachers will be trained on the use of NASA educational products. Accepted applicants will conduct and report three space and/or Earth sciences workshops per year for other teachers in their home states.
Teachers from the following states are especially encouraged to apply: Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee.
To receive an application form, contact Kay Ferrari, SSEP Coordinator, by e-mail at: ssep@jpl.nasa.gov .
All application packages should be completed and returned by Sept. 15, 2009. However, the deadline may be extended for candidates in the states listed above.
For more information about the program, visit http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssep/index.cfm
Filed under: NASA, Science | Tags: shuttle launch, Space Shuttle, Space Shuttle Discovery
From the NASA website:
A problem with a fill-and-drain valve inside space shuttle Discovery’s aft compartment has scrubbed the Wednesday morning launch attempt for STS-128. The launch team is evaluating the issue and has not set a new launch date and time at this point.
Read more here http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
