“The International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN)”
“The International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN)”, is an annual public outreach event that provides opportunities for involving new partners in engaging the public in lunar science and exploration.
The goal is to engage the lunar science and education community, our partner networks, amateur astronomers, space enthusiasts, and the general public in annual lunar observation campaigns that share the excitement of lunar science and exploration.
InOMN events use “Tweet-ups” model and partners’ dissemination networks to promote and recruit participation in the events. All information about InOMN is supplied on a central website, accessible to the public. Members of the public are encouraged to host their own InOMN events, and there will be a place for local astronomy clubs, schools, or other groups to post information about InOMN events they are organizing. To assist with their efforts, the website contains downloadable documents of templates of advertising fliers, Moon maps, and activities that will be distributed at the national events, such as Moon calendar journals. After the events, participants will be able to continue using the website to follow links for more information about sites indicated on their Moon maps.
The InOMN Team consists of scientists, educators, and Moon enthusiasts from government, non-profit organizations, and businesses throughout the United States and across the globe. We believe in the inspirational power of the Moon— a celestial body that has influenced human lives since the dawn of time. InOMN has created the opportunity for people to take notice of the Moon’s beauty and share that experience with one another. Through InOMN, we hope to instill in the public a sense of wonderment and curiosity about our Moon. Our partnerships enable us to stay up to date with the latest and greatest scientific discoveries about Earth’s nearest neighbor, and bring those discoveries to the public.
“My Moon”
The NASA Lunar Science is partnering with the Lunar Planetary Institute through the Center for Lunar Science and Exploration team on the “MyMoon” web portal.
“MyMoon” uses new and traditional media to share NASA’s current lunar science and exploration with exploration with young adults. MyMoon engages our audience in conversation with scientists, engineers, authors, artists, story tellers, and with each other.
NASA Lunar Science Institute Public Lectures
The NASA Lunar Science Institute is rich with scientists, engineers, and EPO professionals that represent a large network of speakers happy to share the latest discoveries with local, state, and national audiences at various Community event and civic group venues.
Journey through the Universe:
The NASA Lunar Science Institute’s involvement in classrooms, public venues, and teacher professional development extends into the communities throughout the country with the help of the “Journey through the Universe” program.
Journey through the Universe is a national science education initiative that engages entire communities—students, teachers, families, and the public—using education programs in the Earth and space sciences and space exploration to inspire and educate. Journey through the Universe is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, which facilitates Journey events in ten communities across the country.
One of the Journey instantiations is conducted by the Gemini Observatory. Gemini’s Journey program, now in its seventh year, serves the community in and around Hilo, Hawaii. Key partners in Gemini’s Journey program include the various observatories operating on Mauna Kea, the Hawaii State Department of Education, the University of Hawaii, the Imiloa Astronomy Center, and, new in 2011, the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI).
This Journey program typically runs in February-March and features a Family Science Day public event at Imiloa Astronomy Center, Family Science Night at the University of Hawaii Hilo, an astronomer workshop, a teacher workshop, and a master teacher training session.
Through audience participation, the family science events provide a family learning experience in exciting human space flight, with Earth and space science subjects that are connected to the curriculum.
Colorado Center for Lunar Dust and Atmospheric Studies (CCLDAS) Public Symposia
http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/
The CCLDAS Public Symposia brings 2-3 speakers together around a controversial or timely topic for the Colorado University community. The audience is typically 300-400 people in the greater Boulder/Denver area.
The symposia draws invitees from all of the NLSI teams, and focuses on new and exciting topics in lunar sciences. Timely topics are chosen with participants that are key scientific players where possible.
Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE) Travelling Library Exhibits
Our CLSE team at the Lunar Planetary Institute (LPI) has created a series of library exhibits to share CLSE, NLSI, and NASA lunar science and exploration with the general public through a nation-wide network of librarians.
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/nlsi/education/exhibits/about/
Two exhibits have been produced, four are in development, and an additional six are planned. A minimum of 8,000 visitors will see each exhibit annually; collectively, the twelve exhibits will engage almost 100,000 library patrons each year.
Each exhibit consists of 3 single-sided banners arranged side by side, each of which measure 32 inches wide by 83 inches tall when displayed. Each banner consists of a stand, a telescoping pole, and the banner itself, in one unit.
Setting up the banners is fairly simple.
Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution (CLOE) Library Programs
http://cloe.boulder.swri.edu/
Explore the Moon! Engaging Young Explorers in Library Programs.
The CLOE Team is creating “Earth Without Moon,” hands-on inquiry based, standards-aligned modules of activities through which children discover the role of the Moon in our lives, its influence on Earth, and how it came to be. Ninety children’s and youth librarians, serving underserved and underrepresented audiences in CO/WY, ND/SD, and MT/ID, will be trained during two-day workshops to use the modules. Ultimately they will engage 5400 children annually in CLOE and NLSI science. Web-training will be offered to a nationwide network of librarians, further expanding impact. The module is currently in development.
Portable Museum Exhibits on Lunar Science and Exploration
In Partnership with Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, our MIT/Brown team is creating a travelling exhibit on Lunar Science and Exploration. The exhibit includes lunar imagery, photography, film, sound, science, folklore, and more! The exhibit will be interactive and multi-modal, ADA-compliant
Max Goes to the Moon Planetarium Show
As part of NLSI’s Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) E/PO, we have begun to produce a planetarium program, both in English and Spanish. The program “Max Goes to the Moon,” is designed for kindergarten through fifth grade students. The plot of the show is based on the award-winning book, “Max goes to the Moon.” Max, a real dog belonging to author and scriptwriter Jeff Bennett, helps communicate to children the story line of tangible preparations needed for going to the Moon. A nice touch is the idea that Max’s first lunar paw print will be preserved just like Armstrong’s first lunar footprint. Fiske Planetarium staff has interviewed and selected narrators for each of these programs.
http://lunar.colorado.edu/publicfiles/tiny/files/max_goes_to_the_moon_(website).pdf
Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE) Online Gallery
“Fly Me to the Moon” Online Gallery
Explore a variety of NLSI themes, such as lunar exploration and the Moon’s formation and evolution, through this evolving gallery of interpretive albums. Follow the links provided to download stunning lunar images! High-resolution images are available for creating an exhibit at your museum, park, or nature center. Lower resolutions are suitable for personal or educational use.
Treasure Hunt in Earth’s Attic
Scientists hunt for treasures in Earth’s attic: the Moon. Uncover the history recorded by lunar rocks through this online scrapbook of seven images.
Camping Trip to the Moon
An expedition to the Moon is a far-out camping trip. Discover the Apollo missions to the Moon through this online scrapbook of 15 images.
