April 2008 Education Update
NASA Earth and Space
Science Education E-News
April 2008
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(1) GLOBE Pole-to-Pole Videoconference, Web Chat and Forum (April 8, 10-11)
(2) NASA Presentation Series at the Library of Congress (April-October)
(3) Visit NASA at 2008 Math Teachers Conference (April 9-12, Salt Lake City)
(4) CINDI Mission Planned for April Launch
(5) Preparing for the International Year of Astronomy: A Hands-On Symposium
March 31-early bird registration ends (regular registration
through April 30);
April 30-deadline for poster presentation abstracts
(6) Registration Open for Antarctic Research Challenge
(7) Application Deadlines Coming Up Soon for Summer Teacher Programs
(8) NASA Ocean Mission Educator Launch Conference, June 14-15
(9) Teacher Workshop on Geoscience Time Scales & Global Climate Change, July 9-10, UW-Madison
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EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES
(10) Get Your Gummy Greenhouse Gases!
(Upper Elementary)
(11) Sun-Earth Day 2008: Space Weather Around the World
(12) Arctic Impressions – Middle School Teacher’s Podcast Journal
(13) New Teacher-Developed Lessons Available on MY NASA DATA (Grades 6-12)
(14) Space Math Problems of the Week (Grades 8-12)
(15) NASA Earth Observatory Feature Articles
--Ancient Forest to Modern City
--Amazon Fires on the Rise
(16) Earth Observations from Space: The First 50 Years
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SCIENCE
NEWS
(17) Heavy Rain Floods
South America
(18) Spring is Aurora Season
(19) NASA Satellite Detects Record Gamma Ray Burst Explosion Halfway Across Universe
(20) Cassini Spacecraft Finds Ocean May Exist Beneath Titan's Crust
(21) Hubble Finds First Organic Molecule on an Extrasolar Planet
(22) Gravity Waves Make Tornadoes
(23) A Brief Enceladus Shower
(24) Researchers Say Arctic Sea Ice Still at Risk Despite Cold Winter
(25) The Vanishing Rings of Saturn
(26) NASA Satellite Measures Pollution From East Asia to North America
(27) Watching Alpha Centauri
(28) NASA Selects Scientists and Investigations for Robotic Moon Mission
(29) Auroras in Broad Daylight
(30) Saturn's Moon Rhea Also May Have Rings
(31) Avalanches on Mars
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS/EVENTS [Top]
(1) GLOBE POLE-TO-POLE VIDEOCONFERENCE, WEB CHAT AND FORUM (APRIL 8, 10-11)
For a second time, students from Alaska and Argentina will have an opportunity to compare polar climates and environments through the GLOBE program’s Seasons and Biomes Project Pole-to-Pole Videoconference, which will take place on April 8, 2008.
Seasons and Biomes is an inquiry- and project-based initiative that monitors the interannual variability of seasons in different biomes. GLOBE schools are organized by biomes into eight Global Learning Communities and students monitor local seasons through regional-based research campaigns. Seasons and Biomes is one of four GLOBE Earth System Science Projects (ESSP); future student research campaigns will target the other three ESSPs: Watershed Dynamics, From Local to Extreme Environments, and Investigating the Carbon Cycle in Terrestrial Ecosystems.
Students from around the world will be able to join in a follow-up Web chat and forum on April 10-11, 2008. The Web chat and forum are open to all students. They will be able to ask scientists questions about current polar and boreal forest research, their own research interests, and topics that will lead to successful school/student research projects.
For more information, visit: http://globe.gov/fsl/html/templ.cgi?ipy_video08&lang=en&nav=1. Links to the Web chat and forum will be posted on this Website.
(2) NASA PRESENTATION SERIES AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Library of Congress continue a series of free public presentations by top NASA scientists on current science topics. All programs will be held from 11:30-12:30 in the Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building, Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
Webcasts will be available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html#cybercasts (note: the Webcasts are typically not available for at least a couple of months after the event). For more information, go to: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
Upcoming programs are:
--April 8, Anne Douglass and Jeannie Allen, Gardening for Ozone Air Quality.
--May 6, Tom Sever, Avoiding the Fate of the Mayans.
--June 4, Peter Hildebrand, Earth’s Water Cycle in a Changing Climate
--Sept.10, Jim Smith, Space-Based Ornithology: on the Wings of Migration and Biophysics.
--Oct. 21, Jeff Morrisette, Invasive Species in the United States
(3) VISIT NASA
AT 2008 MATH TEACHERS CONFERENCE
Salt Lake City, April 9-12
Are you planning to attend the April 2008 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) meeting? Be sure to stop by the NASA booths (738-742) in the exhibit area and learn about NASA educational resources that can be used to support math instruction.
(4) CINDI MISSION PLANNED FOR APRIL LAUNCH
The Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation, or CINDI, is a NASA mission to understand the dynamics of the Earth's ionosphere. Planned for an April 14 launch, CINDI will provide two instruments for a U.S. Air Force satellite.
An educational comic book, Cindi in Space, can be downloaded at: http://cindispace.utdallas.edu/education/cindi_comic.html. It tells the story of the android space girl Cindi and her two dogs who explain the purpose of the CINDI instrument and the science involved. The book is aimed at grades 6 to 9 reading levels, but readers of all ages will find it fun and informative. Also available in Spanish.
(5) PREPARING
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY: A HANDS-ON SYMPOSIUM
St. Louis, Mo., May 31 - June 4
March 31-Early Bird Registration ends (Regular registration through April 30)
April 30-Deadline for late abstracts (Poster presentations only)
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is holding this symposium in conjunction with the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society, as a meeting-within-a-meeting. The event will consist of hands-on workshops (over the weekend) and then a three-day symposium to help educators, scientists, public information professionals, and everyone working in astronomy and space-science outreach to prepare for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy (400 years since Galileo first turned his telescope to the skies).
The deadline for proposing workshops and regular abstracts has now passed. However, ASP is still accepting late abstract submissions for poster presentations. The deadline for these is April 30. Learn more about the conference and sign up for e-mail updates at: http://www.astrosociety.org/2008meeting.
(6) REGISTRATION OPEN FOR ANTARCTIC RESEARCH CHALLENGE
Calling all students who would like to become scientists and propose Antarctic research! The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) is the first true-color, high-resolution satellite view of the Antarctic continent. Using this view of Antarctica, students are asked to develop a research question surrounding a chosen feature of Antarctica and to debate the value of studying that area. Registration is now open to educators and club or program leaders wishing to have their students participate in the LIMA Quest Challenge.
Further instructions will be sent upon receiving your registration. Visit the challenge page at: http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lima
Register at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=R052zai3Fr_2bl3W1ZcuIh8Q_3d_3d.
(7) APPLICATION DEADLINES COMING UP SOON FOR SUMMER TEACHER PROGRAMS
April 7 – Applications due for "Floods and Flows: Exploring Mars Geology on Earth," July 13-19, 2008, the Lunar Planetary Institute. Spend the week with planetary scientists visiting the site of ancient Glacial Lake Missoula and tracing its flood waters through Montana, Idaho and into Washington. From these field experiences and accompanying classroom activities, participants will build an understanding of surface processes on Earth, including water flow, volcanism, glaciation and sedimentation. Attendees will extend their understanding to features on the surface of Mars.
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/fieldtrips/2008/floods20081st.shtml. Send questions to bnelson@lpi.usra.edu.
April 9 – Applications due for MY NASA DATA teacher workshop, June 22-27, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. Participating teachers (grades 6-12) will explore topics in Earth system science (especially atmospheric science), educational application of data sets, and hands-on classroom activities. http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/workshop.html.
May 31 – Applications due for 2008 Penn State Science Workshops for Educators (Grades 6-12), http://teachscience.psu.edu. Workshops include: Earth's History: Interactions Between Life and the Environment; Exploring Renewable Energy Technologies and the Materials that Make it Happen; Extreme Particle Astrophysics; Evolution - How important is it to a good science education?; Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomical Inquiry; and Black Holes: Gravity's Fatal Attraction.
(8) NASA OCEAN MISSION EDUCATOR CONFERENCE
June 14-15, Lompoc and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
NASA’s Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite (OSTM/Jason-2) is scheduled to launch on June 15, 2008. An Educator Launch Conference will be held on June 14-15, 2008 (Saturday/Sunday). The conference will have education workshops in the afternoon at Alan Hancock College in Lompoc, and a dinner banquet followed by presentations by NASA and industry scientists and engineers at the Pacific Coast Officer's Club, Vandenberg Air Force Base. Participants will be bussed to see the Jason-2 satellite launch scheduled for 1:47 a.m. on a Delta II launch vehicle from Vandenberg.
OSTM will measure sea surface height to an accuracy of < 4 cm every ten days. Sea surface topography measured by satellite has numerous applications that are important to global environmental monitoring. These include: predicting hurricane intensification, improving tide models, mapping deep ocean bathymetry, monitoring and forecasting El Niño Southern Oscillation, measuring the rate of global sea level rise, and charting surface currents.
For more information on the Educator Launch Conference, go to http://endeavours.org/sec. For more information on NASA’s OSTM/Jason-2, visit: http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ostm.html.
(9) TEACHER
WORKSHOP ON GEOSCIENCE TIME SCALES & GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
July 9-10, UW-Madison
Look backward and forward in time by studying weather for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month; climate for a year, 30 years, 400,000 years; and geology for millions of years. Sessions will include hands-on activities utilizing real-time NASA and NOAA satellite imagery in Google Earth to study the Earth System and detailed discussions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007 Summary for Policy Makers. Teachers can earn 1 graduate level credit through the UW-Madison’s Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department (course # 508). A nominal registration fee of $20.00 is required; otherwise the workshop (including lunches) is free to all educators with lodging provided for educators residing outside of Dane county.
For more information please visit: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/teacherworkshop/ or contact Margaret Mooney (mooney@ssec.wisc.edu), phone: (608) 265-2123.
(10) CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR THE 2008 DISCOVERY EDUCATION/3M
YOUNG SCIENTIST CHALLENGE,
Deadline: June 15
Discovery Education and 3M are partnering with NASA for the 2008 Young Scientist Challenge. Currently in its 10th year, the YSC encourages the exploration of science among America's youth and promotes the importance of science communication at a critical age when interest in science begins to decline.
The challenge sponsors are looking for a few great students and teachers who can inspire others with their enthusiasm for science and their ability to communicate. What does it take to be America's Top Young Scientist or America's Top Science Teacher? Students in grades 5-8 and teachers of grades K-12 are being asked to create a short (1-2 minute) video about one of this year's scientific topics, which all relate to this year's theme, "The Science of Space." Participants should enter their videos online and will become eligible to win a trip to Washington, D.C., in the fall to compete in the YSC finals at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Science teachers who are interested in participating must be members of the Discovery Educator Network. Becoming a member is easy and registration is free. To become a member, visit http://community.discoveryeducation.com/about/become_discovery_educator. For more information, log-on to http://www.discoveryeducation.com/youngscientist.
Videos will be accepted through June 15, 2008. Finalists will be announced this summer, and the competition finals will take place Oct. 4-7, 2008.
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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES [Top]
(11) GET YOUR GUMMY GREENHOUSE GASES!
Making science edible--and sweet--is a reliable way to attract kids' interest. The new "Gummy Greenhouse Gases" activity on The Space Place Website makes it fun and easy to learn a bit of chemistry and to find out why too many of these kinds of molecules in the air are likely to cause Earth to get warmer. At http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/tes/gumdrops, kids use gumdrops and toothpicks to make simple molecules of ozone, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane. The curious can go on to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/tes/gases to learn more about the greenhouse effect and about the "good and bad" roles of ozone. A short video shows how new space technology can literally paint a 3-D picture of these gases all around the globe. Afterwards, the ghastly gases can be consumed (mind the toothpicks!), thus helping the environment.
(12) SUN-EARTH DAY 2008: SPACE WEATHER AROUND THE WORLD
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/sun-earth-day-2008.html
What does the sun have to do with everyday life on Earth? Quite a lot, as it turns out. This year's theme for NASA's Sun-Earth Day, which annually highlights the connections between the sun and Earth, is "Space Weather Around the World." NASA has a variety of resources to help educators introduce and explain space weather and the sun-Earth connection to students. Read more about these resources on the NASA portal.
(13) ARCTIC IMPRESSIONS – MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER’S PODCAST JOURNAL
http://sunearthday.gsfc.nasa.gov/2008/multimedia/arctic.php
Arctic Impressions is the audio journal of Dorian Janney, a middle school teacher from Rockville, Md. Dorian joined NASA’s Sun-Earth Day team in Barrow, Alaska, for the "Polar Gateways Arctic Circle Sunrise 2008.” One of the main goals of this conference was to share information about changes in the Earth's Polar Regions due to global climate change. Other topics included our Sun's influence on the solar system as well as our future exploration of other planets.
Dorian joined in on a variety of educational activities including school visits, cultural excursions, Webcasts and podcasts. She also kept a written journal of her entire experience complete with descriptive text and imagery that she emailed back to her students in Maryland at the end of each day. In these podcasts you will hear from Dorian as she reads directly from her journal. The podcasts also included a variety of interviews with scientists and residents of Barrow as conducted by student reporter, Cara.
(14) NEW TEACHER-DEVELOPED LESSONS AVAILABLE ON MY NASA DATA (Grades 6-12)
Four new lesson plans are available that were developed by teachers who are alumni of the 2007 MY NASA DATA summer workshop. The lessons can be downloaded at: http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/User_lessons.html; the four new teacher lessons are:
Eleven additional lessons from the 2007 summer workshop were posted earlier (#27-37), with a couple more in final editing.
Interested in applying for the 2008 MY NASA DATA Summer Teacher workshop? The deadline for applications to the June 22-27 workshop is April 9, 2008. For more information, go to: http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/workshop.html.
(15) SPACE MATH PROBLEMS OF THE WEEK
http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Problem 128 Black Holes – I (Grades 8-12)
Students learn about the most basic component to a black hole - the event horizon. Using a simple formula, and scientific notation, they examine the sizes of various kinds of black holes. [Skills: Simple linear equations; scientific notation]
Problem 129 Lunar Orbiter - How Big is It? - The Moon up close (Grades: 4 – 7)
Students work with an image taken by the Lunar Orbiter III spacecraft to determine image scale, and search for the smallest things seen in a photograph.
[Skills: image scaling; multiply, divide, work with millimeter ruler]
Problem 130 Black Holes - II (Grades: 8 – 12)
Students learn
about how gravity distorts time and causes problems even for the Global
Positioning System satellites and their timing signals.
[Skills: Simple linear equations; scientific notation]
(16) NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY FEATURE ARTICLES
Feature articles on the NASA Earth Observatory Website offer an in-depth look at current science topics. Following are two recent articles.
Ancient Forest to Modern City
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AncientForest/
To understand how local weather shifted when the towering forests of the eastern United States gave way to fields and cities, scientists must reconstruct the region's historical landscapes.
Amazon Fires on the Rise
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AmazonFireRise/
In 2006, fires and smoke in the Amazon declined significantly for the first time in nearly a decade. Is Amazon burning under control?
(17) EARTH OBSERVATIONS FROM SPACE: THE FIRST 50 YEARS
http://www.nationalacademies.org/earthobservations
Observations from space over the past 50 years have fundamentally transformed the way people view the Earth. The National Research Council report “Earth Observations from Space: The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements” (2007) describes how satellites have revolutionized Earth studies and ushered in a new era of multidisciplinary Earth sciences. A companion CD that includes the full report, plus numerous NASA animations and images, can also be ordered for free from this Website.
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SCIENCE NEWS [Top]
For the latest NASA Earth and space science news, visit the Science Mission Directorate website (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/), the NASA Earth Observatory (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov) or Science@NASA (http://science.nasa.gov). Science@NASA stories are also available as podcasts, as well as translated into Spanish at their sister site, Ciencia@NASA, http://ciencia.nasa.gov/. NASA science is also regularly featured on Earth & Sky radio shows available at http://www.earthsky.org/.
(18) HEAVY RAIN FLOODS SOUTH AMERICA
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14739
Persistent, heavier-than-normal rains throughout February and March 2008 triggered flooding across parts of northern and central South America. La Niña conditions in the Pacific may have caused the unusual rainfall.
(19) SPRING IS AURORA SEASON
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/20mar_spring.htm?list1022025
March 20 - For reasons not fully understood by scientists, the weeks around the vernal equinox are prone to Northern Lights. In other words, spring is aurora season. Observations from NASA spacecraft are shedding new light on this old mystery.
(20) NASA SATELLITE DETECTS RECORD GAMMA RAY BURST EXPLOSION HALFWAY ACROSS UNIVERSE
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/mar/HQ_08086_Swift_Detects_GRB.html
March 20 - A powerful stellar explosion detected March 19 by NASA's Swift satellite has shattered the record for the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye.
(21) CASSINI SPACECRAFT FINDS OCEAN MAY EXIST BENEATH TITAN'S CRUST
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/mar/HQ_08085_cassini_ocean.html
March 20 - NASA's Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence that points to the existence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Saturn's moon Titan. The findings made using radar measurements of Titan's rotation will appear in the March 21 issue of the journal Science.
(22) HUBBLE FINDS FIRST ORGANIC MOLECULE ON AN EXTRASOLAR PLANET
http://hubblesite.org/news/2008/11
March 19 – The NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has made the first detection ever of an organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step in eventually identifying signs of life on a planet outside our Solar System. This unique discovery is featured in the March 20 issue of the journal Nature.
(23) GRAVITY WAVES MAKE TORNADOES
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/19mar_grits.htm?list1022025
March 19 - New research by
NASA-supported scientists shows how atmospheric gravity waves, the kind we
often see rippling in clouds overhead, can hit a thunderstorm and turn it into
a deadly tornado.
(24) A BRIEF ENCELADUS SHOWER
March 19 - NASA's Cassini spacecraft performed a daring flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on March 12, flying about 15 kilometers per second (32,000 mph) through icy water geyser-like jets. The spacecraft snatched up precious samples that might point to a water ocean or organics inside the little moon.
(25) RESEARCHERS SAY ARCTIC SEA ICE STILL AT RISK DESPITE COLD WINTER
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/seaice_conditions_feature.html
March 18 - Using the latest satellite observations, NASA researchers and others report that the Arctic is still on “thin ice” when it comes to the condition of sea ice cover in the region. A colder-than-average winter in some regions of the Arctic this year has yielded an increase in the area of new sea ice, while the older sea ice that lasts for several years has continued to decline.
(26) THE VANISHING RINGS OF SATURN
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/18mar_saturn.htm?list1022025
March 18 - Amateur astronomers around the world have noticed, something is happening to Saturn. The planet's rings are rapidly narrowing and, if this continues, before too long they will be reduced to a wafer-thin line invisible to backyard telescopes. What's going on?
(27) NASA SATELLITE MEASURES POLLUTION FROM EAST ASIA TO NORTH AMERICA http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/2008/2008031726358.html
March 17 - NASA researchers offer the first measurement-based estimate of the amount of pollution from East Asian forest fires, urban exhaust, and industrial production that makes its way to western North America.
(28) WATCHING ALPHA CENTAURI
March 11 - Scientists have determined that one of the Solar System's closest stellar neighbors, Alpha Centauri, should harbor Earth-like planets. Knowing where to look for rocky planets is the first step in searching for habitable worlds around distant stars.
(29) NASA SELECTS SCIENTISTS AND INVESTIGATIONS FOR ROBOTIC MOON MISSION
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/mar/HQ_08079_LRO.html
March 10 - NASA has selected 24 scientists to initiate new investigations and assist with planned measurements to be conducted by the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Scheduled for launch later this year, LRO represents NASA's first step toward returning humans to the moon.
(30) AURORAS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/06mar_polar.htm?list1022025
March 6 - Imagine living on a planet where Northern Lights fill the heavens at all hours of the day. Where around the clock, even in broad daylight, luminous curtains shimmer and ripple across the sky. News flash: Astronomers have discovered such a planet. Its name is Earth.
(31) SATURN'S MOON RHEA ALSO MAY HAVE RINGS
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/rhea20080306.html
March 6 - NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon.
(32) AVALANCHES ON MARS
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/03mar_avalanche.htm?list1022025
March 3 - A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of avalanches in action near the Red Planet's north pole.
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CALENDAR [Top]
7 April 2008
Deadline to apply for Floods and Flows: Exploring Mars Geology on Earth, field experience for science teachers, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/fieldtrips/2008/.
8 April
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Gardening for Ozone Air Quality, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
8, 10-11 April 2008
GLOBE Pole-to-Pole Videoconference, Web Chat and Forum, http://globe.gov/fsl/html/templ.cgi?ipy_video08&lang=en&nav=1
9 April 2008
Deadline to apply for MY NASA DATA summer workshop for teachers, http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/workshop.html.
9-12 April 2008
Visit NASA sessions and exhibit at National Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual conference, Salt Lake City, http://nctm.org/.
14 April 2008
CINDI mission launch, http://cindispace.utdallas.edu/education/.
14 April 2008
Workshop on Exploring and Using NASA MISR Data, http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/PRODOCS/misr/workshop/.
17-19 April 2008
POLAR-PALOOZA National Tour, Salt Lake City, Utah Museum of Natural History, http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php.
21-22 April 2008
POLAR-PALOOZA National Tour, Norman, Okla, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php.
4-6 May 2008
POLAR-PALOOZA National Tour, Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Natural History, http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php.
6 May
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Avoiding the Fate of the Mayans, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
8-10 May 2008
POLAR-PALOOZA National Tour, Fairbanks, Alaska, University of Alaska Museum of the North, http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php.
16 May 2008
NASA’s Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is launched, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/main/index.html.
24-25 May 2008
POLAR-PALOOZA National Tour, Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php.
25 May 2008
Phoenix Mars Mission lands, http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/.
31 May 2008
Deadline to apply for 2008 Penn State Science Workshops for Educators http://teachscience.psu.edu.
31 May – 4 June 2008
2008 Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific: “Preparing for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy: A Hands-On Symposium,” http://www.astrosociety.org/events/meeting.html.
June 4,
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Earth’s Water Cycle in a Changing Climate, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
14-15 June 2008
OSTM/Jason-2 Educator Launch Conference, http://endeavours.org/sec.
15 June 2008
NASA launches the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite,
http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ostm.html.
15 June 2008
Deadline for entries, 2008 Discovery Education/3M Young Scientist Challenge
22-27 June 2008, http://www.discoveryeducation.com/youngscientist.
22-27 June 2008
MY NASA DATA 2008 summer workshop for teachers, Hampton, Va, http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/workshop.html.
9-10 July 2008
Teacher Workshop on Geoscience Time Scales & Global Climate Change, UW-Madison, http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/teacherworkshop/.
13-19 July 2008
Floods and Flows: Exploring Mars Geology on Earth, field experience for middle school science teachers, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/fieldtrips/2008/.
15 July 2008
NASA launches the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), http://www.ibex.swri.edu.
8 August 2008
NASA launches Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-O, http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/index.html.
Sept.10
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Space-Based Ornithology: on the Wings of Migration and Biophysics, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
Oct. 21
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Invasive Species in the United States, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
15 December 2008
NASA Launches the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [Top]
NASA Science Mission
Directorate:
Larry Cooper, Ann Coren, Doris Daou and Ming-Ying Wei.
Editor: Theresa Schwerin,
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES),
theresa_schwerin@strategies.org.
Contributions from: Jeannie Allen, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Troy Cline, NASA GSFC; Marc Hairston, CINDI E/PO, University of Texas, Dallas; Nancy Leon, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); Jim Manning, Astronomical Society of the Pacific; Margaret Mooney, UW-Madison; Sten Odenwald, NASA GSFC; Annie Richardson, NASA JPL; Dan Stillman, IGES; and Emmett Wright and Sheila Yule, GLOBE.