Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development
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.
Seeing Your Students at NASA: Engineering for Mars — Part 1
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-10
Event Date: Sept. 15, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT
In Part 1 of this series, educators will review two classroom activities in which students work in engineering design teams to test various components of a Mars exploration vehicle. This ready-to-go facilitation guide, Gaining Traction, is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards and includes a pre-assessment, handouts, rubrics and a post-assessment. In the first two activities of the project, students build batteries and test wheel friction while focusing on the subject areas of engineering, motion and interaction. Register online to participate.
https://www.etouches.com/198527
Seeing Your Students at NASA: STEM Careers Exploration Webquest
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Sept. 19, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT
Consider using a webquest in your classroom to engage students in guided inquiry. Students will begin to identify STEM career opportunities that they are interested in while clicking on video links about scientists and engineers who work with environmental issues and problems. The webquest and resources may be used by students working independently or for the whole class to stimulate discussion and collaboration.
https://pmm.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov/education/interactive/stem-careers-exploration
Register online to participate:
https://www.etouches.com/199703
Seeing Your Students at NASA: Rocks From Space and Other Worlds
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-8
Event Date: Sept. 20, 2016, at 5 p.m. EDT
Astromaterials scientists at NASA study rocks and “soil” samples from other planetary bodies. Learn how students can use GLOBE materials to study Earth rocks and soils; find out about the Lunar and Meteorite Certification program for educators; and take a tour of the various missions and research NASA has conducted and continues to conduct in our solar system and beyond. Register online to participate.
https://www.etouches.com/198916
Virtual Missions and Exoplanets (vMAX): Part 1 — Curriculum Overview
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Sept. 21, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT
Learn how to help students study exoplanetary systems through hands-on activities, scenario-based problem solving, and 3-D multiuser virtual world simulations. The vMAX Curriculum (Part 1) webinar gives an overview of exoplanetary system resources that build upon the use of NASA data. These resources are organized for a one-week experience for middle school students but are flexible enough for any formal or informal audience and time period. Register online to participate.
https://www.etouches.com/196414
Virtual Missions and Exoplanets (vMAX): Part 2 — Technical Overview
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Sept. 22, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT
Learn how to help students study exoplanetary systems through hands-on activities, scenario-based problem solving, and 3-D multiuser virtual world simulations. To prepare teachers to use the vMAX virtual world with students, the vMAX Technical (Part 2) webinar addresses technical requirements to download, install and navigate the virtual world as an avatar. It is suggested that educators participate in BOTH webinars for a complete understanding of how to implement these resources. Register online to participate.
https://www.etouches.com/196416
For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit
http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.
Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at
st***************@**sa.gov.
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Seeks Educators and Students for Climate Change Research Initiative
The NASA GISS Climate Change Research Initiative is an opportunity for high school educators and graduate students to work directly with NASA scientists in a NASA research project associated with the science related to climate change.
High school STEM educators participating in this yearlong opportunity will become associate researchers at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and STEM education experts. They will integrate NASA education resources and content into their classrooms while improving STEM education within their communities.
For graduate students, this yearlong opportunity will not conflict with the student’s course work and class schedule during the fall and spring. The internship is considered to be a part-time position that supports the graduate student’s major area of study.
All applicants must be U.S. citizens who reside within a 50-mile radius of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, located in New York City.
Applications are due Sept. 16, 2016.
For more information, visithttp://www.giss.nasa.gov/edu/ccri/.
Please direct inquiries about the NASA GISS Climate Change Research Initiative to Matthew Pearce at ma**************@**sa.gov.
Educator Workshop — Comets Close Up
The Rosetta spacecraft is on a 10-year mission to study the comet “67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko” (C-G) and answer questions about comets. Join lead scientists for the Rosetta mission in an educational workshop that explores hands-on activities and resources for engaging students in the science of comets and small bodies.
In this workshop, Rosetta project scientist Bonnie Buratti and project manager Art Chmielewski will share some of the basic physics of comets and discuss how the Rosetta mission was able to land on one for the first time. Hear about the mission’s latest discoveries, see incredible up-close images of the comet, and get the inside scoop on a second landing on the comet scheduled for Sept. 30, 2016.
The target audience for the workshop is formal and informal educators of grades 6-12, but it is open to all educators.
The event will take place Sept. 24, 2016, from8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT at the von Kármán Auditorium at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
For more information, directions to the workshop location, and instructions for reserving a spot, visithttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/9/24/educator-workshop-comets-close-up.
To learn more about the Rosetta mission, visithttp://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/.
Please direct questions about this workshop to Andrea Angrum at 818-354-6775.
Join STEM@NASA Goddard in Celebrating International Observe the Moon Night!
Are you ready to look at the moon in an entirely new way? Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Sept. 28, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT for STEM@NASA Goddard: International Observe the Moon Night. During this 30-minute event, Andrea Jones, education specialist for Planetary Science Institute at NASA Goddard, will share how International Observe the Moon Night encourages appreciation and understanding of our moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration.
The program will stream live on NASA Goddard’s Ustream channel, and participants will be able to submit questions by email and Twitter.
For more information, please contact Erin McKinley at er*************@**sa.gov.
REGISTRATION OPEN: Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2016
The Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2016 will take place this fall.
The tournament will offer U.S. high school students the opportunity to design experiments that will be tested in space. Zero Robotics challenges high school student teams to write their own algorithms to fly the Synchronized, Position, Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES. The competition starts online where, guided by mentors, teams compete to solve an annual challenge. Students can create, edit, share, save, simulate and submit code from a web browser. After several phases of virtual competition, finalists will be selected to compete virtually in a live championship aboard the International Space Station.
Registration closes on Sept. 28, 2016.
For more information about the tournament and to register your team to participate, visithttp://zerorobotics.mit.edu/.
The competition began with a live webcast kickoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sept. 10, 2016. Visit the Zero Robotics website to watch an archived video of the kickoff event.
Please email any questions about this opportunity to ze**********@*it.edu.
Celebrate Solar Week — Fall 2016
Solar Week, October 17-21, provides a weeklong series of web-based activities with a focus on the sun-Earth connection. Young people ages 10-14 can learn about solar careers, sunspots, solar eclipses, solar energy and solar storms through a series of cool facts, activities and games.
Solar Week is ideal for young teens or groups wanting to know more about the solar system, the stars or astronomy in general. Many activities are suitable for fun in the computer lab as well. After doing the activities, participants can interact on the bulletin board with leading scientists at the forefront of sun-Earth research. Solar Week is great for learning about our nearest star, the sun.
To learn more and to register to participate, visithttp://www.solarweek.org.
Questions about Solar Week may be emailed toso*******@*******ek.org.
Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Presents ‘STEM in 30’ Webcast Series
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is presenting a series of free education webcast events called “STEM in 30.” This program consists of live, fast-paced 30-minute webcasts designed to increase interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students. To enhance the learning experience, students can get involved with the content through the interactive “Cover It Live” feature, which includes poll questions and classroom activities. The webcasts are available live on the National Air and Space Museum website and NASA TV, and they will be archived for on-demand viewing.
Seven Minutes of Terror: The Engineering Behind Landing on Other Planets
Oct. 26, 2016, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT
Rocket thrusters, giant airbags and a sky crane: These are just a few ways we have landed on other planets. Join the webcast to explore the engineering behind these different techniques and what is in store for future missions.
Scientist or Guinea Pig: Science on the Station
Nov. 16, 2016, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST
Do you like being poked, prodded and analyzed? If you said yes, then you may have a future as an astronaut. Astronauts on the International Space Station don’t just conduct scientific experiments — they are part of an experiment themselves. Learning about the human factors of spaceflight is an important element to a future trip to Mars. Join the webcast to explore the effects of space on the humans who travel there.
The Wright Stuff: Flying the Wright Flyer
Dec. 14, 2016, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST
The birth of aeronautical engineering began in the Wright brothers’ bike shop in Dayton, Ohio. The family tree of airplanes can be traced back to the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer. The principles of flight that got the Wrights into the air are the same today. Join the webcast to investigate the principles of flight and how the Wright Flyer made it into the air and then into the history books.
“STEM in 30” webcasts are online learning experiences but are filmed in front of a live audience. If you are interested in bringing your school group to a live filming of “STEM in 30,” please email ST******@**.edu for details.
For more information about the Smithsonian’s “STEM in 30” Webcast Series, including a full list of upcoming webcasts, visithttps://airandspace.si.edu/connect/stem-30.
Questions about this series should be directed toST******@**.edu.
