Free Global Climate change Workshops in June and July – Earn Free PDU’s, CEU’s, or Graduate Credits

2011 Global Climate Change Institutes for Teachers (GccIFT)
and the Global Learning and Observations about the Environment (GLOBE)

Who: K-8 teachers; priority given to a group of teachers from the same school
When:
June 22-24 Climate Change 101 and GLOBE Atmosphere and Climate
June 28-29 Life Sciences, Climate Change and GLOBE Phenology
July 26, 27 Children’s Literature and GCC: Science and Sustainability
Where: Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR
Costs: Free!
Participation in the Institute is funded by NASA. Professional development units, graduate credits, and overnight housing available (see registration form for more details). Free!
FREE PDU’s, CEUs and/or Graduate Credit available

Climate Change 101 and GLOBE Atmosphere and Climate
Increase your understanding of key scientific principles underlying the climate system.

•Become trained in GLOBE Atmosphere and Climate Protocols.
•Participate in climate change K-8 classroom activities.
•Aligned with Oregon standards and Climate Literacy Principles
•Be introduced to the Season and Biomes Project and Elementary GLOBE
•Each school will receive GLOBE equipment and supplies for GLOBE start up.
•Each participant will receive select equipment and/or children’s books

Life Sciences, Climate Change and GLOBE Phenology
Increase your understanding of how climate change will impact plants and animals (forests, migrations…)

•Become trained in GLOBE Phenology: Budbursts, Green Up and Green Down
•Participate in climate change phenology K-8 activities
•Be introduced to the Season and Biomes Project and Elementary GLOBE
•Each school will receive GLOBE equipment and supplies for GLOBE start up.
•Each participant will receive select equipment and/or children’s books

GccIFT Children’s Literature and GCC: Science and Sustainability
•Participate in GCC inquiry-based activities supported by children’s books
•Explore ways children’s GCC based books can provide a framework for teaching and learning sustainability
•Examine and evaluate children’s climate change related books, including Elementary GLOBE
•Receive free copies of several children’s climate change books

For a complete description of the NASA grant, go to http://gcce.larc.nasa.gov/?page_id=276

Pre-registration required: request pre-registration information from
Dr. Adele Schepige (503-838-8485) or at gccift@wou.edu

NASA Announcement: Seeking Collaborators to Assist NASA in Inspiring a New Generation of Scientists, Engineers, Explorers, Educators and Innovators

The NASA Office of Education requests information from organizations interested in helping the agency achieve its strategic goals for education. NASA’s commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education spans kindergarten through graduate levels and includes informal, public education. NASA education shares the agency’s space-based mission to inspire students of all ages to participate in STEM education. NASA seeks unfunded partnerships with organizations to engage new or broader audiences across a national scale.

Potential partnership activities are varied. NASA is receptive to a wide range of possibilities. All categories of domestic entities, including U.S. federal government agencies, are eligible to respond to this announcement. NASA particularly seeks responses from creative organizations with wide-ranging areas of expertise. NASA will accept responses through Dec. 31, 2011. Review of responses will begin in June 2011.

Organizations interested in responding to this education opportunity can access the announcement at http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/NASA_Seeks_Collaborators.html
To learn more about NASA’s broad education initiatives, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education

Training Workshops for Afterschool Universe Astronomy Program

Afterschool Universe is a hands-on astronomy program targeted at middle school out-of-school-time settings. It explores basic astronomy concepts through hands-on activities and focuses on a journey through the universe beyond the solar system.

A free, 2-day training workshop for U.S. citizens is being held on July 28-29, 2011, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This training will prepare participants to lead the program or train others to do so. Most of the materials to run the program are easily available at grocery stores and craft supplies stores. Workshop attendees receive access to a password-protected website that has resources to help with the implementation of the program, including a PDF version of the manual.

Registration for this training session is due July 14, 2011. Register by visiting http://universe.nasa.gov/au/register.html
For more information about the program, visit http://universe.nasa.gov/afterschool/
Questions about this program should be directed to the project coordinator at Sarah.E.Eyermann@nasa.gov.

New Educational Materials Available at NASA.gov

The Educational Materials section of NASA’s Web site offers classroom activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level and subject. The following items are now available.

Space Lunch — Grades K-4
Learn about nutrition and space food at the same time. In this “collapse-type” game, match foods and food groups to beat the clock and reveal a picture of astronauts and their space food.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Space_Lunch.html

Comparing Comets — Grades 7-12
In this activity, students
– Compare surface features on the nucleus of two comets.
– Explain some possible causes for differences between the two nuclei.
– List questions that you have about the surface of comet nuclei.
The student pages include images of comet Wild 2 (pronounced “Vilt-2″) and comet Tempel 1 for students to compare the nucleus of each. The student pages also include a digital image analysis procedure for high school students.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Comparing_Comets.html

Core of Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) Lithograph — Grades 9-12
A globular cluster is a tight-knit collection of many thousands, sometimes even millions, of stars born at almost the same time and place. The image of NGC 5139, a globular cluster, is on the first page of the lithograph. Background information about Omega Centauri is on the second page. The lithograph includes a Level One Inquiry activity entitled “In Search of … Stellar Evolution,” in which students research the variety of colors of stars.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Core_Omega_Centauri.html

Carina Nebula Pillar Lithograph — Grades 11-12
Carina Nebula Pillar is an active, three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust in the southern constellation Carina. The image of the pillar is on the first page of the lithograph. Background information about the “Mystic Mountain” is on the second page. The lithograph includes a Level One Inquiry activity entitled “In Search of … Star Formation,” in which students research how stars form.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Carina_Nebula_Pillar.html

Earth’s Energy Budget Poster — Grades 6-12
Earth’s heat engine does more than simply move heat from one part of the surface to another; it also moves heat from Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere back to space. This flow of incoming and outgoing energy is Earth’s energy budget. The front of the Earth’s Energy Budget Poster depicts incoming, reflected, absorbed and emitted solar radiation. The back of the poster is divided into eight parts with background information, a lesson plan, a vocabulary matching activity and career information.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Earths_Energy_Budget.html

NASA and You Flier — Grades K-12
This flier describes how teachers can access the NASA and You (NASA y Tú) website. The bilingual site is designed to inspire Latino students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. NASA y Tú consists of 30-second educational video segments, interview clips with Hispanic researchers and educational resources for parents and teachers.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/NASA_and_You_Flier.html

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity – Deadline July 15, 2011

NASA is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact between the dates of Jan. 15 and July 15, 2012. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, NASA is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is July 15, 2011.

During the first six months of 2012, crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in amateur radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students and educators to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via amateur radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space. Due to the nature of human spaceflight, organizations must demonstrate the flexibility to accommodate changes in contact dates and times.

Interested parties should contact Teaching From Space to obtain information related to expectations, content, format, audience, proposal guidelines and forms by sending an e-mail to JSC-TFS-ARISS@mail.nasa.gov or by calling 281-244-2320.

Additional information can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/students/ariss.html

NASA’s Multi-Wavelength Universe Online Professional Development Course

In-service and pre-service teachers of middle- and high-school students are invited to register for an online professional development course sponsored by several NASA missions that are exploring the universe across the electromagnetic spectrum.

The course is offered for academic or continuing education credit through Sonoma State University. At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to use astronomical examples (images, phenomena, telescopes) to describe the nature of light and color in terms of the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Participants will also be able to explain why NASA uses a variety of telescopes and space-based instruments to make observations of the universe. NASA resources for the classroom will be shared and participants will learn how NASA resources can be used to address common student misconceptions about the nature of light and color.

Formal presentations for the course will take place July 11-22, 2011. Homework for academic credit is due Aug. 23, 2011. For more information and to register, visit http://epo.sonoma.edu/multiu.php

Questions about this course should be directed to Lynn Cominsky at lynnc@universe.sonoma.edu.

Space Shuttle Tire Loan Program

NASA is seeking outside organizations interested in a unique outreach opportunity using main landing gear tires from space shuttle missions. The three-year renewable loan of these tires may be used to educate, inspire or inform the public about NASA’s scientific and technological achievements. These items may not be used for the promotion of any organization or entity, or for commercial purposes.

Tires flown on specific missions or on a certain orbiter may be requested although NASA cannot guarantee that all requests will be fulfilled. Unflown tires are also available. This opportunity is open to a wide variety of organizations including, but not limited to, museums, schools and civic organizations. For more information and supplemental educational materials, visit http://artifacts.nasa.gov/space_shuttle_lgt.htm.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Tony Springer at Tony.Springer@nasa.gov.

NASA Webinars for June 2011

Rockets Educator Guide — June 7, 2011, 1 p.m. EST
During this webinar, receive an overview of the Rocketry activity, explore the NASA connections, share tips and tricks for implementing this lesson in the classroom, watch videos of students engaged in the lesson and discuss possible modifications or extensions.
https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-nasa-rockets-guide/

Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber — June 16, 2011, 1 p.m. EST
Plant growth will be an important part of space exploration in the future. This webinar will highlight the science of the lunar environment, basic plant needs, the current focus of NASA’s plant research and the systems that are being developed for future missions.
https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-plant-growth/