MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Mary Beth Murrill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOct. 5, 1998

STARDUST COMET MISSION EDUCATOR FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE

       Educators are invited to apply for 15 new fellowships offered by NASA's Stardust comet sample return mission, which is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.

       An announcement of opportunity for the fellowships is being distributed to solicit applications from professional science educators including classroom teachers, curriculum specialists and museum or science center staff, who would be eligible for selection and training in early 1999. Those chosen will join 10 Stardust Educator Fellows who were selected last year to conduct educator training and to field test workshops and materials relating to the Stardust mission and comet science in general.

       The fellowships are part of Stardust's education and outreach program, which, with the Challenger Center space education organization, is implementing a nationwide teacher training initiative and developing educational modules targeted at grades 5 through 8.

       Stardust Educator Fellows will receive an expense-paid intensive educator training workshop covering the Stardust mission and science related to the mission; a three-day course on presenting the strategies of mission planning and a complete teacher-training presenter package to use for conducting Stardust workshops; priority updates and mailings on Stardust mission information and materials; materials to help plan and promote Stardust workshops; continued contact with the Stardust science team to answer questions and to facilitate discussion, and access to a 1/25th scale model of the spacecraft on loan from JPL.

       In return, selected fellows must commit to conduct a minimum of two educator training workshops per year (approved by the Stardust education outreach team) and to share evaluation information from those workshops with Stardust educational partners.

       To receive the announcement, please contact Kerri Beisser at Challenger Center either by e-mail to kbeisser@challenger.org or phone at (703) 683-9740. When leaving a message, please include a mailing address or FAX number where an application may be sent.

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