JPL Seeks Educators for Space Teaching Fellowships
05.16.00
MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Gia Scafidi
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 16, 2000
Educators in the United States with an interest in teaching about space are invited to apply for approximately 20 new Solar
System Educator fellowships.
Selected educators will attend the Solar System Educator Program Institute held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena, Calif., from August 2 to 5, 2000. All Solar System Educators will agree to lead educator workshops in their home states,
reaching a minimum of 100 teachers per year. The designated educators will have the opportunity to partner with the Space Grant
Consortia in their state to help them meet the training workshop requirements. Implemented by NASA in 1989, the Space Grant
Consortia is a network of universities that contributes to the nation's science enterprise by funding research, education and public
service projects.
The goal of the Solar System Educator program is to inspire America's students, create learning opportunities and enlighten
inquisitive minds by engaging them in the planetary exploration efforts conducted by JPL. The program is managed for JPL by Space
Explorers Inc. and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. However, the heart of the program is a nationwide network of highly
motivated educators who lead teaching workshops for their fellow educators throughout the country.
Solar System Educators are comprised of current K-12 educators and others from the informal education community (museums,
science centers, planetariums, etc.) with a strong background in teaching science or math and experience in teacher training. Solar
System Educators receive training at a four-day, all-expenses paid institute at JPL, and throughout the year via the Internet.
More information and an online application form are available at www.ssep.org/apply. For more information, contact Eric
Brunsell, Space Explorers, Inc. at (920) 339-4600 or via email
eric@space-explorers.com.
NASA/JPL missions participating in the institute include the Cassini mission to Saturn, the Stardust and Deep Impact comet
missions, the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration Program, the Outer Planets/Solar Probe program and the Deep Space
Network of ground-based antennas that communicate with spacecraft.
The Solar System Educators Program is an element of NASA's Office of Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program,
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
