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Teacher Workshops
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Are you interested in astronomy?
Most likely your students are too.
Do you want to incorporate astronomy into your science curriculum?
Astronomy offers an inviting way into the world and culture of science.
Would you prefer a teacher-centered, engaging learning experience?
Passive lectures and slideshows will not dominate your time. You will do the activities with a dual mindset of student and teacher, while learning firsthand the concepts and applications. |
Summer 2009 Workshops at the Observatory
 McDonald Observatory offers a unique setting for teacher workshops: the Observatory and Visitors Center in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. Tours of the telescopes, discussions with the research astrophysicists in residence, and nighttime observations are an integral part of every workshop experience. Not only will you do inquiry-based activities aligned with science and mathematics TEKS and TAKS, you will practice your new astronomy skills under the Observatory’s dark skies, weather permitting, and partner with trained and nationally recognized astronomy educators.
Additionally, 2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) by the United Nations and UNESCO. It will mark the 400th anniversary of the first astronomical use of the telescope by Galileo. McDonald Observatory will celebrate this event by offering K-12 teachers IYA content in teacher workshops as part of the international Galileo Teacher Training Program.
Benefits
- 20 hours or more of Continuing Education Credit for Summer workshops
- inquiry based activities that are TEKS- and TAKS-aligned
- immersion: all meals are at the Observatory
- meet astronomers and discuss current astronomical research
- practice basic astronomy skills
- International Year of Astronomy content, materials, and resources
- Potential for future videoconference opportunities in your classroom
How To Apply
The deadline for applications was February 15, 2009. Applications are still being accepted for spots on the waitlists for each workshop. To apply for a waitlist position, please complete the application here.
Group Workshops
Are you interested in having us present a workshop specifically tailored for your group of teachers? We have the following dates available for private group workshops:
July 14-15, 2009
August 3-5, 2009
To inquire about purchasing a custom group workshop please contact our Education Coordinator.
Directions to the Observatory
The McDonald Observatory is located in the beautiful Davis Mountains of west Texas.
Click here for driving and flying directions to our facility.
2009 Schedule, Fees and Information
Scholarships for teachers are available for six of this summer’s workshops. For these funded workshops, room and board, program fees, and materials are provided by the funding agencies listed in italics. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to/from McDonald Observatory.
** Full scholarships for all accepted applicants provided by the sponsors listed after each workshop description below. The June 23-25 ‘Explore Our Solar System’ workshop is available for $550/participant; this fee covers lodging, meals, program fees, and instructional materials.
Suggestion: If you are accepted for a workshop and require funds, either for travel or for the Explore Our Solar System workshop, we recommend you contact your school administration or parents' organization. Some teachers have found support from local businesses and industries in their communities. And some have done fundraising events such as bake sales. McDonald Observatory does not have any travel funds available for participants. Accepted participants will receive email contact information of the other registered participants for their specific workshop so that travel/carpooling arrangements can be coordinated.
All programs include both day and night instructional sessions, materials, daytime tours, evening observing (weather permitting), lodging, and meals. Shared hotel rooms have been reserved for registered participants only. Participants who do not wish to share a room with another participant are responsible for reserving and paying for any other additional hotel room arrangements for themselves or accompanying family or friends. If you are participating in a workshop and will be arranging your own room, please let us know by May 23, 2009. Some workshop activities last until late hours. The Age of the Milky Way workshop provides extensive (and late night) observing opportunities.
All applications must be submitted by February 15, 2009. You should receive notification as to the status of your application within 2 weeks after the deadline date. For all McDonald Observatory workshops, a $100 deposit is required from all accepted applicants. Your deposit is used as an accommodations placeholder. All deposits are due before April 17, 2009. If no deposit is received by this date, your spot will be given to the next qualified applicant. You may make the deposit by notifying us by telephone of your credit card number or submitting a check.
Payment and $100 Deposit Refund Policy
If you are accepted into a funded workshop (NOT ‘Explore Our Solar System’):
- A $100 deposit is due by April 17, 2009.
- Your $100 deposit is fully refunded if you attend the workshop, or if you cancel your registration more than 30 days in advance of the first day of the workshop.
- Participants canceling less than 30 days before the beginning of the workshop do not receive deposit refunds.
If you are accepted into the June 23-25, 2009 ‘Explore Our Solar System’ workshop:
- A $100 deposit is due by April 17, 2009. The remaining balance ($450) is due by May 23, 2009.
- Your $100 deposit is fully refunded if you cancel before May 23, 2009.
- Participants canceling after May 23, 2009 do not receive deposit refunds.
Workshops Offered:
June 18-21: Formation of Planetary Systems
Recommended for Grades 7-12 teachers
30 SBEC credit hours
Where do planets come from? No matter how many planets you think are in our solar system, astronomers have discovered over 300 in other planetary systems and see evidence of planetary formation throughout our galaxy. Build a cardboard spectrometer and perform activities that explore light at many wavelengths, such as the infrared portion of the spectrum that is used to study planetary disks - the birthplace of planets. Perform activities on how stars and disks change over time, and compare ground-based observing with NASA space missions.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides support for this project under an Education and Public Outreach supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement NNX07A183G issued through the Office of Space Science.
June 23-25: Explore Our Solar System
Due to high demand a second 'Explore Our Solar System' workshop has been added and will occur July 6-8.
Recommended for Grades K-8 teachers
$550
20 SBEC credit hours
Explore the characteristics of our solar system through hands-on, minds-on activities that you can use in your classroom. Learn about the sun - its properties and apparent motion. Use scale models to explore the relative sizes and distances of planets, moons, and other objects in the solar system. Learn about phases of the moon, seasons, motions in the night sky and more! This is one of our most frequently presented and successful workshops. It is the only open-registry workshop in 2009 being offered to elementary-level teachers.
The fee for this workshop is $550. This covers lodging, meals, program fees, and instructional materials.
June 28-July 2: Chandra: Stellar Evolution from Formation to Destruction
Recommended for Grades 9-12 teachers
30+ SBEC credit hours
Learn how technologically advanced detectors are used to observe invisible sources, record measurements, and transform the results into increasingly greater detailed false color images. Content will focus on the electromagnetic spectrum, spectroscopy, and stellar evolution, and will be connected to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the most sophisticated X-ray space telescope built to date.
This program is supported by funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the Chandra X-Ray Center.
July 9-13: The Age of the Milky Way
Recommended for Grades 9-12 teachers
30+ SBEC credit hours
Learn how astronomers use white dwarf stars to measure the age of our galaxy, the Milky Way, in this advanced five-day/ four-night workshop. This workshop includes hands-on activities, computer-based analysis of astronomical images, tours of all of the major research telescopes, as well as extended late-night observing opportunities on larger telescopes. Preference is given to applications from Texas, Delaware, Arizona, and New Mexico teachers, and to teachers who have previously participated in a McDonald Professional Development Workshop.
Support from the National Science Foundation (AST-0607480) and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration under an Education and Public Outreach
supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement No. NAG5-13070 issued through the
Office of Space Science, and support from the Kelleher Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Additional support for Program number HST-EO-11141.08-A was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
July 20-22: MONET: Using a Remote Telescope
Recommended to Grades 9-12 teachers
20 SBEC credit hours
The most recent research telescope to be added to McDonald Observatory is the 1.2-meter MONET/North robotic telescope. Part of the telescope’s design includes the ability for teachers to operate it remotely in real-time via the Internet in their classroom. The activity content of this workshop will focus on optics, telescope design, and image processing. Participants will learn how to operate MONET (and its sister telescope in South Africa), and be given future observing time on the telescope to use from their schools with their students.
Support for HST-ED 90312.01A was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
July 23-25: Light and Optics
Recommended to Grades 6-12 teachers
20 SBEC credit hours
Explore how astronomers use lenses, mirrors, prisms, and diffraction gratings in building astronomical instruments and telescopes. Build a cardboard spectrometer, and perform activities that explore light at many wavelengths, such as the infrared region of the spectrum, that you can do in your own classroom. Learn about how NASA develops astronomical instrumentation for its missions.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides support for this project under an Education and Public Outreach supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement NNG06GC45G issued through the Office of Space Science.
July 27-29: Worlds Beyond Our Solar System
Recommended to Grades 7-12 teachers
20 SBEC credit hours
Astronomers are finding new planets around other stars at an increasing rate. What do we know about these exoplanets? How do we know what we know? This workshop we will have a focus on spectroscopy and how it applies to our discoveries of the properties of these distant worlds, including detection of the atmospheres of some exoplanets. Compare ground-based observing with NASA space missions, and visit the first ground-based telescope to ever observe the atmosphere of a distant planet.
This program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award# 0807992). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. Additional support was provided by the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation Education Endowment, the Carolyn Keenan and Charlie Gaines Endowment for McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach, and the Hugh Gragg Educational Endowment. |
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