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K-12 Teacher & Student Opportunities
PLEASE ALSO CHECK OUT THE TEACHER TRAINING PAGE FOR MORE OPPORTUNITES FOR TEACHERS
Pre-Service Teacher Institutes at NASA's Johnson Space Center
The Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a one-week summer residential session for education majors preparing to teach in an elementary or middle school classroom. Two institutes will take place this year: June 10-14 and June 24-28, 2013. Both events will take place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
College students from diverse backgrounds will be exposed to aerospace, mathematics and science enrichment activities. Pre-service teachers are able to interface with NASA personnel and tour Johnson Space Center facilities while learning to incorporate NASA's cutting-edge research into lesson plans for their students.
Full-time undergraduate students in their junior or senior year are invited to apply.
The application period closes on April 1, 2013. For more information, visit http://education.jsc.nasa.gov/psti/.
Please email any questions about this opportunity to Suzanne Foxworth at suzanne.m.foxworth@nasa.gov.
Summer Counselors Needed: 2013 Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars
Audience: Educators Interested in STEM Fields
Application Deadline: April 15, 2013
Summer Session Dates: June 23-28 and July 7-12, 2013
The Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars, or WISH, project offers a one-of-a-kind experience for female high school juniors to jump-start their futures by engaging in opportunities relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. Participation starts in an online community and culminates with a summer experience at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during the summer of 2013.
WISH is looking for counselors for its summer sessions. Applicants should be educators who have experience and are interested in the STEM fields. Counselors will work either the week of June 23-28 or July 7-12, 2013. This is the perfect opportunity for educators looking to inspire young minds and spend a week at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Applications are due April 15, 2013.
For more information please contact: Maria Chambers at: maria.a.chambers@nasa.gov.
To complete an application please visit the website at: https://spacegrant.net/apps/?pk=wish3.
International Space Apps Challenge
Audience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Event Dates: April 20-21, 2013
NASA and government agencies worldwide will host the second International Space Apps Challenge April 20-21, 2013, with events across all seven continents and in space.
Participants are encouraged to develop mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualization and platform solutions that could contribute to space exploration missions and help improve life on Earth.
The two-day event will provide an opportunity for government to harness the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of citizen explorers to help address global challenges. During the event, representatives of NASA and other international space agencies will gather with scientists and participants to use publicly released open data to create solutions for 50 software, hardware and visualization challenges, including robotics, citizen science platforms and applications of remote sensing data.
Twelve locations in the United States will host an International Space Apps Challenge event: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Cape Canaveral, Fla.; Cleveland; Detroit; Easton, Md.; New York; Philadelphia; Reno, Nev.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Francisco; and Syracuse, N.Y. Thirty-eight other events will be held in 30 other countries: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Poland, Macedonia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda and United Kingdom. Also participating will be McMurdo Station in Antarctica and astronauts aboard the International Space Station
Registration for citizen participation is now open.
To learn more about the International Space Apps Challenge, get the latest updates and register to attend an event, visit http://spaceappschallenge.org/.
If you have questions about the challenge, please visit http://spaceappschallenge.org/about/contact/.
ISS EarthKAM Spring 2013 Mission – EarthKAM Erosion Challenge
Audience: Middle School Educators and Students
Mission Dates: April 23-26, 2013
Middle school educators are invited to join NASA for the International Space Station EarthKAM Spring 2013 Mission from April 23-26, 2013. This mission will feature the EarthKAM Erosion Challenge. Guide your students in hands-on research as they program cameras aboard the space station to take pictures of erosion on Earth, and then video conference with an astronaut to discuss what they learned. During the interactive video conference, students will share what they learned about erosion, exchange images and chat with the astronaut about the research being conducted from the International Space Station.
For more information about EarthKAM and to register for the upcoming mission, visit the EarthKAM home page https://earthkam.ucsd.edu/ek-images/erosion_challenge.
Please note that you can participate in the ISS EarthKAM Spring 2013 mission without participating in the EarthKAM Erosion Challenge.
If you have questions about the EarthKAM project, please email ek-help@earthkam.ucsd.edu.
Free Virtual Professional Development Workshop Series: Rockets to Racecars
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Dates: First workshop takes place on April 23, 2013, at 3:15 p.m. EDT
Start your engines! Engage students in real-world mathematics and incorporate standards-based hands-on activities to make mathematics challenging and fun. Bring the excitement of racing and the thrill of launching into your classroom with the "Rockets 2 Racecars" educational materials.
Learn about tires and air pressure as you calculate the effects of temperature on regular tires as well as Space Shuttle and racecar tires in the session "Measure Up and Calculate." Use mathematics to interpret air pressure and air flow data on airplane wings and racecar spoilers in "May the Force Uplift You...or Not!". Test the variables that affect cars' stability to travel by constructing a balloon-powered race car and maneuver through different angles to see force in action in "Newton's Angle on Force and Motion." Design a capsule to land on Mars and see its effectiveness by calculating speed or rate of descent in "Drag Race to Mars Engineering Design Challenge."
Sign up today to join the free four-day workshop series on April 23, April 25, April 29 and May 1, 2013, from 3:15pm to 4:30pm EDT.
Participants who register and complete all four workshops are eligible to receive five workshop hours towards continuing education units.
For more information visit http://dln.nasa.gov.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Marilé Colon Robles at marile.colonrobles@nasa.gov.
2013 Astrobiology Summer Science Experience for Teachers
Audience: Grade 9-12 Educators
Registration Deadline: April 30, 2013
Event Date: July 29 - Aug. 2, 2013
The 2013 Astrobiology Summer Science Experience for Teachers, or ASSET, is being held July 29 - Aug. 2, 2013, at San Francisco State University. ASSET will feature presentations by leading astrobiology researchers from the SETI Institute, NASA and the California Academy of Sciences. Scientists will share the latest in astrobiology research on the origin of life on Earth, the extreme conditions in which life exists, Mars exploration, the formation of planetary systems around sun-like stars and the search for life in the universe.
The six-day workshop features a combination of cutting-edge science, inquiry-based teaching and learning and leadership skills development to support teachers and teacher trainers.
Participants receive the entire Voyages Through Time curriculum and complementary astrobiology materials, developed by NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, for use in their classrooms.
Applications are due April 30, 2013.
For more information and to apply online, visit http://www.seti.org/seti-educators/asset.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Pamela Harman at pharman@seti.org.
Historical NASA Space Artifacts Available for Educational Use
Audience: Educational Institutions, Museums and Other Education Organizations
Deadline: May 6, 2013
NASA is inviting eligible educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical space artifacts.
The artifacts represent significant human spaceflight technologies, processes and the accomplishments of NASA's many programs. NASA and the General Services Administration worked together to ensure broad access to space artifacts and to provide a web-based electronic artifacts viewing capability. This is the 17th time since 2009 NASA has made this opportunity available.
The web-based artifacts module is located at http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm.
Eligible participants may view the artifacts and request specific items at the website through May 6, 2013. Only schools and museums are eligible to receive artifacts. They must register online using an assigned Department of Education number or through the state agency responsible for surplus property.
The artifacts are free of charge. Eligible organizations must cover shipping costs and any special handling fees. Shipping fees on smaller items will be relatively inexpensive, while larger items may involve extensive disassembly, preparation, shipping and reassembly costs. NASA will work closely with eligible organizations, on a case-by-case basis, to address any unique special handling costs.
Special items, such as space shuttle thermal protective tiles and packages of three packets of astronaut food, also are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Instructions for requesting artifacts and special items are linked on the website home page.
To date, more than 7,700 artifacts from programs, including the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, space shuttle and the Hubble Space Telescope, have been given to eligible museums, schools, universities, libraries and planetariums in all 50 U.S. states. Artifacts are on display for 42 days. NASA organizations must register their requests within the first 21 days. All other eligible organizations may register their requests after the first 21 days. After the viewing period ends, organizations will be notified about the status of their requests.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to GSAXcessHelp@gsa.gov.
IRIS Challenge: Tracking a Solar Storm
Join the Tracking a Solar Storm Challenge and guide students as they learn about the sun’s anatomy, the space weather it generates and why studying the sun is important.
This challenge is designed around NASA’s solar mission Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS. Scheduled to launch in April 2013, the IRIS spacecraft will study the dynamics of the interface region of our sun’s atmosphere using an ultraviolet telescope and imaging spectrograph. As students participate in the challenge, they will learn more about the IRIS mission and the instruments that scientists use to gather solar data.
An educators’ guide for the IRIS challenge is available on the Tracking a Solar Storm website and includes key information for helping students study the sun’s weather, track a solar storm and predict its effect on Earth. Students will demonstrate what they have learned by collecting data and producing a space weather report.
The challenge will run February - May 2013.
To learn more about the challenge, visit http://irischallenge.arc.nasa.gov/.
Educators are invited to register now at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZRBWQQK to receive updates as the challenge develops.
Please email any questions about this challenge to Linda Conrad at arc-quest-challenge@mail.nasa.gov.
Curiosity Explorer Badge on Foursquare
NASA and the mobile application Foursquare have teamed up to help the public unlock its scientific curiosity with a new rover-themed Curiosity Explorer badge.
Users of the Foursquare social media platform can earn the badge by following NASA and checking in at a NASA visitor center or venue categorized as a science museum or planetarium. Upon earning the badge, users will see a special message on Foursquare:
"Get out your rock-vaporizing laser! You've explored your scientific curiosities just like NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. Stay curious and keep exploring. You never know what you'll find."
The launch of the badge follows the October check-in on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover, which marked the first check-in on another planet. Foursquare users can keep up with Curiosity as the rover checks in at key locations and posts photos and tips, all while exploring the Red Planet.
To learn more about the new Foursquare badge, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect/foursquare.html.
To follow the Mars Curiosity rover and NASA on Foursquare, visit http://www.foursquare.com/MarsCuriosity and http://www.foursquare.com/NASA.
For more information about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Jason Townsend at Jason.C.Townsend@nasa.gov.
Foursquare is a registered trademark of Foursquare Labs Inc.
Distance Learning Opportunity
The Digital Learning Network is excited to offer a unique opportunity to ask questions of an actual Mission Control Flight Officer at the Johnson Space Center! Students will have a direct connection to the Public Affairs console and will witness the inner workings of the International Space Station’s (ISS) Mission Control! Additional Flight Control Officers specializing in life support, power, data/communications and robotics may be also be available to speak with students.
Before you connect with Mission Control, a DLN education specialist will spend approximately 30 minutes with your students highlighting the many Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts that are important aboard the ISS. Give an incredible, inspirational opportunity to your students and illustrate real-life applications of STEM in action!
Please visit their website to register.Call 281-483-7325 for more information.
360 Panorama of the Discovery Crew Cabin Flight Deck
Check out this link. Move your mouse around and you change the view.
NASA for Kids: Intro for Engineering
The video was produced by the NASA’s BEST Students program.
NASA’s BEST Students (Beginning Engineering, Science and Technology) is support for engineering education at the elementary and middle school level, managed by GSFC with additional work at SSC, MSFC, and GRC. A Teacher’s Guide and Student Activity Pages are offered for 12 activities for grades K - 2, 3 - 5, and 6 - 8. The theme of the activities is “Living on the Moon.” The activities use low cost materials: a kit is available for $330 for 12 activities for 20 students, with $175 refills. The Engineering Design Process is the focus, and each activity includes design specifications, measurement and data presentation. The NASA’ BEST Students team offers teacher professional development on these activities.
Contract Information:
Susan Hoban (301) 286-7980 susan.hoban@nasa.gov
New Education Videos Provide a Guided Tour of NASA's Newest Mission
Astronaut Pam Melroy is calling on students to learn about NASA's Constellation Program, which will send humans to the moon, Mars and beyond. She is inviting students to become America's next great explorers.
Students and teachers can learn more about these missions in a new interactive feature called "Constellation: Earth Moon Mars." In this Web-based feature, astronaut Pam Melroy gives a guided tour of NASA's newest missions, starting from the International Space Station in low Earth orbit, to the moon and to the Red Planet.
Videos available to view online include:
Pam Melroy Education Message
In this video, astronaut Pam Melroy encourages students to stay in school, study math and science, and join the journey of Constellation. Learn more about Constellation and how NASA is preparing to launch new spacecraft to the space station, return to the moon and extend human presence to Mars.
Constellation: Earth, Moon, Mars
This narrated production explains the link between Constellation's missions to low Earth orbit, the moon and ultimately Mars. NASA astronaut Pam Melroy guides the viewer as they journey first to the International Space Station, where the Orion spacecraft gets a test drive in space. They then travel on to the moon, where the Altair lunar lander brings crews and infrastructure to the lunar surface. And finally, the travelers reach Mars, where the experience in orbit with the station, Earth analogs and lunar surface operations all tie together to help explore the Red Planet. Guests include John Curry, Julie Kramer White, Clarence Sams, Kathy Laurini and Bret Drake.
Constellation Mini Feature #1: Constellation in Low Earth Orbit
This video clip is derived from the longer show "Constellation: Earth, Moon, Mars." This episode focuses on the Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit, and its missions to the International Space Station. This video features guests Julie Kramer White and John Curry.
Constellation Mini Feature #2: Lessons Learned for Exploration
This video clip is derived from the longer show "Constellation: Earth, Moon, Mars." Clarence Sams explains what we learn about the human body and exploration by conducting missions in low Earth orbit on board the International Space Station.
Constellation Mini Feature #3: Constellation on the Moon
This video clip is derived from the longer show "Constellation: Earth, Moon, Mars." Guest Kathy Laurini discusses Constellation's plans for the moon, including conducting missions to the lunar surface and building lunar habitats for longer stays, all in preparation for conducting missions to Mars.
Constellation Mini Feature #4: Constellation on Mars
This video clip is derived from the longer show "Constellation: Earth, Moon, Mars." Guest Bret Drake discusses how Constellation hardware tests on Earth and how Constellation missions to the International Space Station and the moon all tie together to help explore Mars.
Constellation Mini Feature #5: Constellation and Future Explorers
This video clip is derived from the longer show "Constellation: Earth, Moon, Mars." Guests Bret Drake and Clarence Sams explain that the Constellation missions look decades into the future, and, as such, will require the students of today to be the explorers of tomorrow. Guest Wendell Mendell explains that the process of conducting the Constellation missions to low Earth orbit, the moon and Mars will not only inspire youth, but will have both scientific and economic implications.
To view these videos and join the adventure, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/CxEMM_SITE/index.html.
Educators should also see the Teacher Training Page for more information
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