# Presentation: 261097

## E/PO Activities in the HEASARC

- James Lochner
*HEASARC E/PO Lead*

## Our E/PO Objectives

- Promote our Science, Missions, and Technology to the general public.
- Develop curriculum support materials with teachers for the K-14 education community.
- Integrate various E/PO initiatives within HEASARC and the LHEA into a coherent program.
- Distribute materials and information via high-leverage opportunities.
- Monitor our efforts via formal evaluations and teacher feedback.
- Integrate our efforts with SEU Education Forum and OSS E/PO Support Network.

## E/PO Team

- E/PO Scientist Lead, 2+ support staff
- Portion of time of science writer, graphic artist, and meeting support staff.
- Summer teacher interns and network of teachers representing a wide range of classroom levels and technology capabilities.
- Dozen volunteer scientists and programmers.
- Answer “Ask a High-Energy Astronomer” questions.
- Provide input and review to Imagine web site and materials.
- Leverage off other Lab and GSFC expertise and resources.

## Education Web sites

- Imagine the Universe!
- More than half million hits per month
- Distribute > 20,000 CDs/year.
- CD rated for “broad distribution” by Space Science Education Product Review.
- Planning tri-annual external review of the site.
- StarChild (Whitlock)
- L. Whitlock continues to maintain and develop site as we host it.
- 1.2 Million hits per month (among top 3 sites at GSFC).
- Astronomy Picture of the Day (Bonnell and Nemiroff (MTU))
- 6 million hits per month (top site at GSFC).
- HEA Picture of the Week (Corcoran)

## Materials Under Development

- Poster and Information Booklet on the cosmic origin of the elements & their connection to us.
- Lab Scientists, E/PO staff, and GSFC Education office participating in development.

## Development of Cosmic Connection Materials

- Material tested at “Elements 2002” summer workshop for educators.
- Participants developed classroom activities for booklet.  Activities tested by external educators.
- Assistance in facilitation of workshop provided by Ilan Chabay.
- Follow-up meeting reviewed test results and finalized the activities.
- Poster evaluated by expert in graphic science.
- Further evaluation of poster by students in coming weeks.
- 1-hr workshop for NSTA under development (with AESP in GSFC Education Office).
- Expect completion in 2003.

## Hera Education Interface

- Give teachers and students easy access to data and software tools via the Hera framework to engage students in the process of doing science.
- Summer teacher intern guided the content and scope of data and analysis.
- We’ve also studied the Chandra education software and activities for ds9.
- We have developed a guided project in which students apply epoch folding to RXTE ASM data.
- An extension of an Imagine lesson.
- We’ve also identified additional data sets for students to further explore.

## Hera Education Interface (cont.)

- Prototype interface has been constructed.
- Utilizes selected tools with salient input parameters.
- Includes web page walk-through of data analysis process.
- Future projects will include imaging and spectra.
- Funded by GSFC Director’s Discretionary Funding.

## Outreach to Undergrads and Graduate Students  

- Astronomy 191 (Corcoran)
- Astrophysics from a high-energy perspective
- George Washington Univ, upper undergrad-lower graduate level course.  Offered once a year since 1996.
- Team taught by 6 Lab scientists
- Web site includes syllabus and lectures
- X-ray Astronomy School (Harrus and Arnaud)
- For graduate students and recent post-docs to understand the foundations of X-ray Astronomy.
- Previous schools had attendances of 40 & 55 students
- 3rd Annual School, May 12-16, 2003  at Wallops.