Grants for Community Organizations and Schools Serving Middle School Students – Deadlines June 8 and June 29, 2012

Boy Scout troupes, Girl Scout troupes, YMCA programs, science centers, museums, libraries, school clubs and other community or school based organizations should apply today for the 2012 Summer of Innovation grants!

The National Space Grant Foundation is working with the NASA Summer of Innovation office to administer the awarding of approximately 200 mini-grants to community and school based organizations that inspire and engage middle school students in STEM disciplines during the summer or in after school programs. NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden has identified improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning as a national need. To that end the Summer of Innovation Project was established.

We are very pleased to invite you to participate in this opportunity. Eligible organizations include but are not limited to Boy Scout troupes, Girl Scout troupes, YMCA programs, science centers, museums, libraries, school clubs and any other community or school based organizations. The target audience is middle school students and/or teachers of middle school students especially those involved with underrepresented and underserved populations.

This project is designed to support student interest in STEM by strengthening the capacity of organizations or schools that inspire and engage middle school students particularly female, minority, or high poverty students and enable these previously overlooked organizations to present Summer of Innovation content and themes in an efficient and cost effective manner.

The mini-grants will be awarded at about $2,000 – $2,500 per grant. The awarded organizations will be expected to present 6 hours of NASA STEM content to middle school students or deliver an educator workshop (for certified teachers, pre-service teachers, or informal education community) featuring NASA Summer of Innovation content or themes. This can be done through modification of an existing event or through planning a new event. Awards will be made in as geographically diverse manner as possible. The time line for these activities is to be during the summer or early fall of 2012.

Complete details and the application for these grants are located at http://soi.spacegrant.org/ There will be two rounds of awards made within the next two months. The first deadline for applications will be June 8, 2012; the second deadline is June 29, 2012.

Celebrate the Launch of Astronaut Joe Acaba – Live Webcast May 15, 2012

Educator and astronaut Joe Acaba will launch to the International Space Station to join Expedition 31. Students and educators can join NASA’s Digital Learning Network on May 15, 2012, at 12 p.m. EDT to celebrate the launch and to meet an astronaut trainer who helps prepare astronauts for their missions. There will also be a chance to ask questions.

Before joining the webcast, be sure to take a moment and visit Teach Station, NASA Education’s newest website for students and educators about the International Space Station. Visit the website often and watch for opportunities to connect with expedition crew members and other NASA education opportunities. Be sure to check out the page A Teacher in Space and meet Joe Acaba. Read about his experience as an astronaut and his transition from being a classroom teacher to becoming an astronaut in the astronaut corps.

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

View NASA’s Distance Learning Network webcast at http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/index.html.

Free Professional Development Webinar – Is There Water on Mars? May 14, 2012

Attend a free professional development webinar on May 14, 2012 – offered by the NASA Explorer School Program.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute Web seminar on May 14, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. “Chemistry of Water: Mars Exploration — Is There Water on Mars?” is an inquiry-based lesson on how atmospheric pressure and vapor pressure affect the boiling point of water. See why water’s boiling point is pressure-dependent, rather than temperature-dependent. Then, by extension, you will deduce if there could be liquid water on Mars.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar25.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Free Webinar – Where is the Solar System in this Image? – May 10, 2012

The May 10 webinar, “Where in the Solar System is this Image?”, features an interactive presentation connecting students with a scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

NASA’s Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) Program promotes student-led research investigations in the classroom using NASA data and resources. Students will view astronaut imagery of Earth and remote sensing imagery of other planetary bodies in our Solar System as they identify features, planetary locations, and learn the significance behind imagery being shared.

For registration and information, go to http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/eeab/event_05102012.cfm

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) – Mission 3 to the International Space Station

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) — Mission 3 to the International Space Station
Communities should apply now for 2012–13 academic year

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, in partnership with NanoRacks, LLC, announces Mission 3 to the International Space Station. This opportunity gives students across a community the ability to design real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the Space Station. The program is open to students in grades 5–14.

Each participating community will be provided a real microgravity research mini-laboratory and all launch services to get it to the International Space Station and safely returned to Earth. An experiment design competition in Fall 2012 in each community (September 17 through November 9) allows student teams to design and write proposals for real experiments vying for their community’s reserved experiment slot on the Space Station. Flight experiments are selected by December 7, 2012. Additional programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a Learning Community Model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The flight of the payload to Space Station is expected in early April 2013, and a return to Earth in mid-May 2013, so that the entire Mission 3 program is contained in the 2012–13 academic year.

For more information, visit the SSEP website at http://ssep.ncesse.org/2012/04/announcing-new-ssep-flight-opportunity-mission-3-to-the-international-space-station-for-the-2012-2013-academic-year/

2012 NASA Summer of Innovation Program

The 2012 NASA Summer of Innovation Program for middle school students and educators has begun!

NASA’s third annual Summer of Innovation (SOI) project is underway. The project is providing hands-on learning opportunities for middle school students and educators through NASA-unique science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational activities during the summer school break. SOI is a key component of the agency’s broader education program to increase student interest in STEM courses, particularly among those in underserved sectors of the academic community.

SOI uses NASA’s out-of-this-world missions and technology programs to boost interest in STEM among middle school students by offering interactive learning experiences. This year, a major portion of the SOI content focus will be on Curiosity, a NASA flagship science mission currently en route to Mars and scheduled to land Aug. 6.

“NASA always has been fortunate when it comes to offering interesting STEM education content; our missions are compelling and inspiring,” said Leland Melvin, associate administrator for NASA Office of Education. “Because Curiosity will reach the Red Planet during SOI 2012, it provides a timely and relevant context for teaching students about planetary science, engineering and technology. Students will get to see much of what they learned unfold as the rover makes its final rendezvous with Mars.”

SOI 2012 is multi-faceted and features a variety of engagement activities offered by NASA’s 10 centers located across the country. SOI 2012 also will continue several STEM summer programs developed by NASA’s national SOI partners during 2010 and 2011.

SOI includes a competitive “mini-grant” component to assist small education and outreach organizations in providing NASA-themed STEM content to middle school students or teachers through existing summer or afterschool programs. NASA plans to announce the mini-grants proposal process and due dates within the coming weeks.

A revamped SOI website will include new products and tools for students and educators to access virtually NASA’s educational offerings and resources. It will feature tools to download learning and activity plans and access to current SOI NASA center opportunities, highlights of the 2012 program and SOI contact information.

Another exciting new web feature is a collection of SOI virtual activity plans called “mini-camps.” These eight self-contained STEM learning modules offer one-day, two-day and weeklong programs in fields such as rocketry, aeronautics and robotics that easily can be tailored to a variety of audiences.

SOI debuted in 2010 as a three-year pilot program to respond to President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign. Since its inception, NASA has reached more than 45,000 students; had a presence in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and provided professional development opportunities for approximately 5,500 educators.

For more information about the SOI project, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/soi

For more information about NASA’s broader education program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education

Humans in Space Art Contest – Deadline October 21, 2012

Enter the Humans in Space Youth Art Competition by October 21, 2012

How will humans use science and technology to explore space, and what mysteries will we uncover?

Students age 10-18 are challenged to answer this question through art. Create your musical, literary, visual or video artwork and submit it by midnight U.S. Central Standard Time, October 21, 2012.

Learn more at the Humans in Space Youth Art Competition website:
Humans in Space Art Contest

Host a Real-Time Conversation With Crewmembers Aboard the International Space Station – Apply by July 2, 2012

Apply by July 2, 2012 to participate in HAM radio conversations with the ISS crew as part of the NASA ARISS program.

NASA is now accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact between Nov. 1, 2012, and May 1, 2013. 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. Proposals are due July 2, 2012.

Using amateur radio, students can ask astronauts questions about life in space and other space-related topics. Students fully engage in the ARISS contact by helping set up an amateur radio ground station at the school and then using that station to talk directly with a crew member on the International Space Station for approximately 10 minutes. The technology is easier to acquire than ever before. ARISS has a network of mentors to help organizations obtain the technology required to host this once in a lifetime opportunity for students.

Interested parties should contact Teaching From Space, a NASA Education office, to obtain complete information including how the technology works, what is expected of the host organization and how to obtain the proposal/application form by sending an email to JSC-TFS-ARISS@mail.nasa.gov or by calling 281-244-1919.

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