Dear Colleague:

After just receiving the first Office of Space

Science (OSS) Education and Public Outreach (E/PO)

Annual Report for FY 2000, I believe it important

to recognize those individuals and teams that

have provided the impetus and hard work to

bring the knowledge derived from our space

science program to

the education

community. Special

recognition goes to

OSS Associate

Administrator, Dr.

Edward Weiler,

whose personal

commitment to

education is central

to his beliefs and

actions. He has

provided the

philosophical

foundation upon

which this effort has been built. Ed’s capable staff

and my colleagues, Jeff Rosendhal and his staff,

Phil Sakimoto, Dan Woods, and others have

provided the leadership and dedication to create

this significant effort. Equally important have

been the OSS scientists, educators, and the OSS

E/PO “support network” which have truly begun

to build the program upon its strong foundation.

A job well done....but just begun.

Since NASA’s inception in 1958, NASA and

our nation’s education efforts have traveled

parallel paths. We share the same goals –

exploration, discovery and the pursuit of new

knowledge. NASA’s success depends on the

nation’s educational system to produce the highly

skilled and knowledgeable workforce that is

necessary to perform this cutting edge work.

Likewise, the nation’s educational system looks

to NASA for inspiration and to exemplify doing

things that once were only imaginable - feats that

motivate and encourage our students to study

science, mathematics, technology and engineering.

The NASA Education Program is both national

and comprehensive, involving informal science

institutions, public outreach and precollege (K-12)

and higher education communities in all 50 states,

Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. But what

makes NASA unique? What does NASA bring to

the education table that other Federal agencies

can’t?

First and foremost, the NASA mission is

unique and gives educators and students an

opportunity in which to participate and a visible,

tangible example of using science and technology

to achieve national goals.

Second, NASA’s mission is carried out by

people – people from all walks of life,

backgrounds, and educational levels. It is this

human resource, representing approximately

Voyages in Education and Public Outreach

An Office of Space Science Newsletter

May 2001 Issue 2

On the Inside

OSS E/PO Annual Report 2

 Planetarium Shows

 Edge of Space & Time 3

 The Explorers 3

Education Resources

 Astrobiology Guide 4

 Solar System Explorers Video 5

Programs

 Minority University Partnership 5

 University of Hawaii Minority Initiative 6

 “Explore!” and “Fun with Science 6

 PLATO Grants for Planetariums 8

 Solar System Educators 8

 Scientists In E/PO 9

Tips for E/PO Involvement 10

On the Horizon 11
2

Space Place Team is a Winner!

NASA's New Millennium Space Place Team

is the recipient of the International Technology

Education Association (ITEA) Presidential

Citation “for efforts above and beyond the call of

duty in service to the Technology Education

profession.”

Each issue of the ITEA publication, The

Technology Teacher, features an original classroom

activity article contributed by the Space Place

team. The activities and accompanying

curriculum supplements support ITEA’s Standards

for Technological Literacy.

18,000 NASA civil servants, our contractor

community, and our university principal

investigator community, that provides role

models, mentors, teachers, curriculum

consultants, and volunteers to the education

community.

The third unique element that NASA brings

is our facilities and the laboratories and

universities where spacecraft are developed,

rocket engines are tested, the Shuttle and its

payload are readied for flight, or where new

models of the Earth and its interactive systems are

visually studied. It is the ten NASA Centers and

our related facilities that provide real life

classrooms to hundreds of thousands of teachers

and students every year.

The NASA Office of Space Science E/PO

Program is an important component of the overall

NASA Education Program. I am convinced that

OSS’s ability to embed education and public

outreach into OSS flight missions and research

programs has been and will continue to contribute

significantly to NASA’s comprehensive education

program. As importantly, the meaningful

engagement of OSS principal investigators in this

process can serve as a model to other scientists.

Both Jeff Rosendhal and I are committed to ensure

this happens.

Frank Owens

Director, Education Division

Office of Human Resources and Education

NASA OSS Education and Public Outreach

Annual Report FY 2000

The FY 2000 Annual Report on NASA Space

Science Education and Public Outreach is now

available in print and on a searchable website.

This is the first comprehensive compilation of OSS

E/PO activities that has been attempted.

Nearly 400 OSS E/PO products and activities

are included. The activities involved over 1500

discrete events, which took place in all 50 states,

Washington, D.C., Guam, Australia, Canada,

Mexico, and Peru. Over 200 partner institutions

and organizations were involved in developing

these products and in carrying out these activities.

The report contains a narrative summary, followed

by appendices and indices that provide additional

NASA OSS is delighted the education

community has recognized the contributions of

our E/PO efforts and offers its congratulations to

Nancy Leon, Space Place program manager and

the Space Place team. Visit the Space Place website

for more information.

http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov

The Space Place

team. (Seated, L to

R) Alex Novati

(graphic artist),

Diane Fisher (writer

and webmaster),

(standing, L to R)

Nancy Leon (team

lead), Suzanne

d’Mello (writer),

and Liliana Novati

(photographer, graphic artist). Not shown are Scott Marrett,

Space Place partner liaison, and Dr. Marc Rayman, technical

advisor.

details of individual programs, participants and

partnerships, etc.

This FY 2000 Annual Report is undoubtedly

incomplete, as many excellent products and

activities were not reported to OSS. Preparations

are underway to capture a more complete picture

for FY 2001. NASA OSS wants to ensure that the

many dedicated members of the space science

community involved in E/PO have their work

included in future editions of this report.

The report may be viewed on the OSS home

page at http://spacescience.nasa.gov under the

link to “Education and Public Outreach.” Printed

copies may be requested from the editor, Dr. Philip

Sakimoto, at phil.sakimoto@hq.nasa.gov
3

Planetarium Shows Planetarium Shows Planetarium Shows

Planetarium Show Takes Audiences on

Spectacular Cosmic Journey

Structure and Evolution of the Universe (SEU)

As part of NASA’s increased emphasis on

informal science learning, the SEU Forum coproduced “Journey to the Edge of Space and Time”

with the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of

Science of Boston. This 30-minute show takes

audiences on a dynamic voyage from our Milky

Way galaxy to the furthest reaches of the

observable universe. Along the way are overviews

of some of the major mysteries in the SEU research

theme, including black holes, dark matter, and the

birth of the universe. The production drew heavily

on images and data produced by SEU missions,

including the Multi-wavelength Milky Way data

archived at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,

and visualizations of time-variable x-ray data from

the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. A special feature

of the show is that it provides a graphic “template”

for a live presenter’s segment at the end of the

scripted show, so that planetarium staff can easily

present the latest updates from space-based

missions. Indeed, audiences for the original

version of the show, which premiered in Boston

in 1999, were some of the first to see the amazing

images coming from the new Chandra X-ray

Observatory.

An evaluation survey of visitors in Boston

found that the show significantly enhanced

visitors’ awareness of characteristics of black holes

and the expanding universe, and that it prompted

visitors to ask questions about non-optical space

telescopes. (The survey also found that dark

matter was a confusing concept for visitors — a

finding that may be suggestive for future

education and public outreach projects in the SEU

theme).

Over 100,000 New England visitors saw

“Journey to the Edge of Space and Time.” Since then,

the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia has adapted

their own version of the show that has been

running twice daily for most of the past year. An

updated “show kit” is currently available to

planetariums worldwide through the distributor

Sky Skan, Inc. (http://www.skyskan.com)

Explorer’s Planetarium Shows

The Bishop Museum

The planetarium shows “The Explorers” and

“The Explorers of Mauna Kea” are a result of the

Explorers project, which is a long-term partnership

between NASA and the Bishop Museum in

Honolulu, Hawaii.

 “The Explorers,” a show about Polynesian

navigation, space travel, and connections between

the two, was shipped to 170 sites in the summer

of 2000. The sites included big public domes like

the Einstein Planetarium at the Smithsonian Air

and Space Museum, small domes such as the Holt

Planetarium at the Lawrence Hall of Science in

Berkeley, California, and inflatable STARLAB

domes. The sites that received the show were a

real cross-section of planetariums - about half the

sites were school planetariums.

“Explorers of Mauna Kea” debuted at the

Bishop Museum in May 2000 and by March 2001,

125 sites had received show kits, with another 45

kits ready for shipping.

Both Explorer shows are half-live, halfprerecorded. The live sections get the audience

actively involved in the programs. In “Explorers

of Mauna Kea,” each audience member is given a

small mirror and they try to aim the light from a

lamp onto a target. The activity dramatizes the

way the Keck telescopes use a system of thirty six

mirrors to gather as much light as possible and

how difficult it is to do.

Both shows have been adapted for STARLAB

inflatable domes. The STARLAB version of

“Explorers of Mauna Kea” had its public debut at

open houses sponsored by NASA and the Keck

Telescope, on the Big Island of Hawaii in early

February 2001.

Extensive web resources support the shows.

Scripts, slide catalogs, installation notes, and

‘Spice’ automation files are available. Teacher

guides and activities are also available on line.

The Explorers web site is -

http://www.bishopmuseum.org/bishop/

planet/explores.html
4

Students come to class filled with questions

about life on other worlds. They have seen

fantastic scenarios presented on television and in

films. They have read and heard about exploring

and colonizing space. How can teachers provide

meaningful answers to the questions that arise out

of these experiences?

They can start with astrobiology. Astrobiology

is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution,

and future of life in the universe. NASA’s

Astrobiology Institute (NAI) has just produced an

Educator Resource Guide (ERG) to provide teachers

of grades 5-10, a

way to explore

astrobiology in

their classrooms. In

addition to the

NAI, funding was

provided by Dr.

David Des Marais,

Principal

Investigator for the

Ames Astrobiology

team and Dr. Ken

Nealson, Principal

Investigator for the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory Astrobiology Program.

Collaboration of NAI outreach team scientists, its

member institutions, educators, and TERC’s

Astrobiology Curriculum staff was essential in

creating this first Astrobiology Educator Guide.

More than 20 scientists were involved. The ERG

can be obtained in its entirety from the NAI Web

site http://nai.arc.nasa.gov

The ERG includes five hands-on activities

seeking to answer student questions such as:

• What is life and what does it require?

• Which planets and moons might be

habitable?

• How do Earth’s extremophiles support the

idea of extraterrestrial life?

New Educational Products New Educational Products New Educational Products

Each activity takes one to two days to

complete. To address different learning styles and

vary the pace, the ERG uses a variety of

approaches to develop concepts. Students debate

different positions, use models, create microbial

gardens, conduct experiments, design missions,

make estimates, measure calories, play games,

graph relationships, and draw inferences about

habitability based on data that they examine.

To help teachers implement the activities, the

ERG provides -

• overviews and background on each

activity’s science and mathematics;

• lists of the required materials and of the

key concepts and skills;

• implementation strategies and assessment

recommendations;

• blackline masters of student sheets and

question sets;

• full-color cards examining the habitability

of the planets and large moons in our solar

system;

• a matrix of the science process skills and

the math and science standards met by the

activities; and

• links to related Web resources

The NASA Astrobiology Institute scientists

and outreach teams partnered with a variety of

experts from different fields to contribute to the

Astrobiology Educator Resource Guide: Life on

Earth...and Elsewhere? The collaboration between

experts allowed NAI to create an educational

product that is of high quality and valuable for

educators. The research teams and educators can

take this piece and present multi-disciplinary

lessons on astrobiology in the classroom. Coupling

the compelling story of the search for life with

engaging math and science activities produces a

powerful educational experience for students. Not

only will they want to stay abreast of

developments in astrobiology, but also they may

even be inspired to become involved in the search

for life on other worlds.

New Teachers Guide for Astrobiology

Origins Forum
5

Education and Public Outreach Video

Solar System Exploration Forum (SSE)

“Solar System Explorers Wanted: Share Your

Knowledge” is the title of a 10-minute video

produced at NASA JPL in November 2000 for

the Office of Space Science Solar System

Exploration Education and Public Outreach

Forum. The purpose of the video is to show how

scientists and researchers participate in diverse

education and outreach activities - teaching

workshops, working with students, developing

museum and science center exhibits, reviewing

books, and creating material for websites. The

video is available from Leslie Lowes

(Leslie.L.Lowes@jpl.nasa.gov), Co-Director of the

SSE Forum.

Programs Programs Programs

Space Science Development at Minority

Universities

The NASA Office of Space Science in

partnership with the Office of Equal Opportunity

Programs, has launched a major effort to develop

space science capabilities at minority universities.

A landmark NASA Research Announcement,

entitled the “Minority University Education and

Research Partnership Initiative in Space Science,”

has brought 15 minority universities into

partnerships with OSS that will build substantial

space science education and research programs on

their campuses.

Briefings by the Principal Investigators at a

program initiation conference held February 22-

23, 2001, in Washington, DC, revealed the breadth

and depth of projects underway. New space

science courses and degree programs, new space

science faculty positions, active participation in

space science flight programs, partnerships with

major space science research organizations, and

the integration of space science content into

undergraduate courses and precollege outreach

programs were common themes. The

accompanying article from the University of

Hawaii at Hilo is but one example of the impact

that these projects are having on the institutions

involved.

The fifteen participating institutions are:

Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL

Dine College, Shiprock, NM

Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM

Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL

Hampton University, Hampton, VA

Medgar Evers College, New York, NY

Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA

Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, MT

South Carolina State University, Orangeberg, SC

Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute,

 Albuquerque, NM

University of Hawaii at Hilo, HI

University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, TX

University of Texas at El Paso, TX

York College, New York, NY

Contact Dr. Philip Sakimoto at NASA

Headquarters, Office of Space Science

(philip.sakimoto@hq.nasa.gov) for more

information about this initiative.

Product Registration

You can contact an OSS Educational Forum

(Solar System Exploration, Sun-Earth

Connections, Origins or Universe) for information

on how to register your education and public

outreach products in the NASA Space Science

Education Resource Directory which is at -

http://teachspacescience.stsci.edu

Forum Websites

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/forum/

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/

http://origins.stsci.edu/

http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/seuforum/
6

“Explore!” and “Fun with Science”

Informal Education in Public Libraries

OSS Broker at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI)

“Explore!” and “Fun with Science” are

cooperative projects of the LPI Broker team,

NASA’s Office of Space Science and public

libraries in Louisiana and Texas. The “Explore!”

program was

developed as a

new exciting

way to team

librarians,

community

sponsors, and

scientists to

bring space

science to the

community at a

very reasonable

cost. Current

space science information and related NASA

materials are distributed, using the established,

highly leveraged public library systems. Libraries

have long provided essential learning resources

that strengthen and perpetuate formal and

informal education. During the last two years,

space science materials for library collections,

reference holdings, and vertical files have been

distributed to public libraries in Louisiana and

Texas.

A second component of the work with public

libraries is the “Fun with Science” program. LPI

New Opportunities through Minority

Initiatives in Space Science (NOMISS)

 University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH)

The UHH NOMISS project is designed to

simultaneously increase educational opportunities

for Hawaii’s students from kindergarten through

undergraduate levels as well as create student and

faculty opportunities through developing

partnerships between UHH and observatories

atop Mauna Kea.

Principal investigator Dr. Richard Crowe will

handle the undergraduate and scientific programs,

and facilitate gaining educational access to the

observatories on Mauna Kea, including

opportunities for paid student internships. He will

also oversee the expected transfer of responsibility

of the University of Hawaii Institute for

Astronomy’s 24-inch Air Force telescope to UHH,

which will give UHH a presence on Mauna Kea.

Both the Northern Gemini Telescope and the

NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) are

currently partnered with UHH in providing

student internships and curriculum development

in the area of instrumentation instruction.

Co-investigator Dr. Alice Kawakami will be

working with teachers from both public and

private schools, including the Kamehameha

Schools and the State Department of Education,

on developing programs to get young students,

especially those of Hawaiian ancestry and other

underrepresented minorities, excited about

observational astronomy. She will focus on

combining the cultural aspects of science and

astronomy into the curriculum, in order to connect

Hawaiian children with their heritage of celestial

knowledge, and ultimately to encourage more

minority students to choose careers in astronomy

or space science. Once these students become

university students, they will have the

opportunities to become involved in the research

being carried out on Mauna Kea.

“NASA wants more people aware of

astronomy,” explained Crowe. “By including

minority students in educational programs, these

children will then someday have a stake in what

happens up there [on Mauna Kea]. This grant will

provide a new link, through UHH astronomy,

between the observatories and the community.”

(See http://schroedinger.uhh.hawaii.edu/

nomiss/index.html for details).

The Mauna Kea Telescopes
7

education and library staff present workshops that

feature hands-on activities that librarians can use

with young

patrons in

after-school

and summer

reading

programs.

Targeted to

preteen

youth, the

programs

have attracted

“children of all ages,” as entire families participate.

After attending a workshop the librarians become

Explore! team members. Members can join the

Explore! listserve for the exchange of ideas, and

their home libraries are added to the distribution

list.

“Fun with Science” currently consists of eight

activity modules, and more are under

development. In addition to the activity, or

“hook,” each module contains sections on

background information, scientific principles,

follow-up questions, and additional resources in

the form of videos, books, and internet sites. The

activities can be customized to facilitate

incorporation into each library’s existing

programs, and cover a range of subjects in space

science, from the history of rocketry to impact

cratering.

Beta Testing in Louisiana

In 1999, Louisiana, one of the states in LPI’s

Broker/Facilitator region, was chosen as the Beta

Testing Pilot State. The State Library of Louisiana

had previewed the”Explore!” program plans, and

had enthusiastically endorsed it and agreed to help

with distribution of materials.

Librarians from the beta test group reported

on how they incorporated materials and activities

into library Children’s and Youth Programs as a

result of the initial workshop, reporting

attendances from 20 to 128 children—a total of 321.

In 2000, the “Explore!” team took the program

statewide. Between October, 1999 and May, 2000,

the “Explore!” team trained a total of 84 librarians,

representing 137 public libraries in 21 parishes

serving a population of 608,634 registered patrons.

The “Explore!” program has reached all 328

libraries in the state with three separate

distributions of a variety of resources.

Expanding to Texas

Through workshops in the fall of 1999 and the

spring of 2000, the “Explore!” team moved into

Texas, bringing the total number of “Explore!”

member librarians to 139 in the two states. In

addition to the hands-on training, the librarians

received a CD detailing the materials and activities

as well as extensive listings of resources in print

or available electronically. Materials and new

activities for this program are being developed to

provide a broader menu of choices for new and

old participants. Training in the upcoming year

will include an emphasis on school libraries that

have expressed interest in becoming “Explore!”

members.

Feedback from Explore! Librarians

From a Youth Services Librarian, Ascension

Parish Library: “The kids seem to really enjoy the

visuals. We used posters, videos and the images from

the “Explore!” CD. Please keep them coming!”

From a Young Adults Librarian, East Baton

Rouge Parish Library: “The parents as well as the

kids enjoyed building and launching the rockets.”

From a Children’s Librarian, Iberville Parish

Library: “For the rocket program we had 20 [attendees]

and for the comet program we had 21. Previously our

pre-teen group was dying out, but the numbers are

coming back up this summer. Thanks, Explore.”

From West Shreveport Library: “Great program!

The children enjoyed both activities. The parents were

impressed the ideas came from NASA.”

From Harris County Public Library, Stratford

Branch: “Excellent program, kids loved it! It was

wonderful. The CD is great. Thanks for your help!”

From Houston Public Library, Lakewood

Branch: “We made the Pencil Rocket with the straw

and the children had a blast aiming it at the Moon target

used in our Summer Reading Club Poster. Thank you

so much for sharing all those activities with us. I will

be using more of your ideas now that summer is over

and I start my regular storytimes.”

More information about “Explore!” and “Fun

with Science” can be found at the Lunar and

Planetary Institute’s web site: http://

www.lpi.usra.edu/education/EPO/explore.html
8

PLATO Grants Program off to a

Successful Start - DePaul University Broker

“A video for teachers and planetarians that

explains how to teach space science using nothing

but paper plates”; “Updating a popular 10-year

old planetarium show in a collaboration between

a science museum and minority students from a

local high school”; “Bringing together teachers

who use portable planetariums in their classrooms

in a two-day conference to share ideas” - these are

just three of the eight highly innovative projects

by planetarians from the Great Lakes Planetarium

Association (GLPA) recently funded though the

Planetarium Teaching and Learning Opportunities

(PLATO) small-grants programs from the Broker

group at DePaul University.

“During the first year of working with GLPA

it became clear to us that here is a group of highly

motivated individuals who touch millions of

students every year with wonderful ideas that are

often doomed to fail because of the lack of as little

as a few hundred dollars” says Dr. Lynn

Narasimhan, director of the Broker/Facilitator

program at DePaul. To maximize the benefit for

the planetarium community, DePaul worked

closely with an advisory committee of GLPA

planetarians, which was led by GLPA president

Dr. Jeanne Bishop and president-elect Gary

Sampson. “We wanted to make sure that we made

the application process as simple as possible so

we wouldn’t scare away planetarians who are

newcomers to the grant-writing process. We want

PLATO to be a stepping stone to larger programs

such as IDEAS” remarks Chuck Bueter, an

advisory committee member involved in

designing the PLATO call for proposals.

DePaul and GLPA now look forward to the

development of the eight funded programs over

the next year. The DePaul brokers already

contemplate how the program can be made more

effective in the coming years. “This first year is

an experiment in the Great Lakes region, but we

have already seen a lot of evidence for the huge

impact programs such as PLATO can have on the

small planetarium community in the United

States” says Dr. Bernhard Beck-Winchatz,

associate director of the DePaul center. “Our

limited funds didn’t allow us to provide similar

opportunities in other parts of the country, but

after our initial success with PLATO we will

definitely explore ways to expand the program.”

Solar System Educator Program

Solar System Exploration Forum (SSE)

The Solar System Educator Program (SSEP) is

composed of current K-12 educators and others

from the informal education community

(museums, science centers, planetariums, etc.)

with a strong background in teaching science or

math and experience in teacher training. These

educators traveled cross-country for the

opportunity to learn new techniques to engage

other educators and students in the wonders of

scientific inquiry. Some of the educators work

with visually-impaired students, children with

disabilities and with underrepresented minorities.

So far this year, 74 educators have taken part in

the Solar System Educator Program.

The educators attended training institutes

held at NASA JPL to learn techniques for training

an additional 100 teachers in their state on how to

use and incorporate current space missions data

into their curriculum to help kids learn about math

and science. The goal is to make science a fun and

fascinating topic for educators and students.

To date twenty-four of the NASA Space Grant

Consortiums across the country have collaborated

with SSEP educators in their state for teacher

outreach training. Many Space Grants have also

contributed their funds to the training being

sponsored. Twenty-five Solar System Educators

have received additional grants and a few have

received multiple awards.

Space Explorers, Inc., DePere, Wisconsin, and

the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Hampton,

Virginia, manage the Solar System Educators

Institute program for JPL. Participating missions

currently include -

• Cassini mission to Saturn,

• Stardust and Deep Impact comet missions,

• Galileo mission to Jupiter,

• Mars Exploration Program,

• Outer Planets/Solar Probe Program and

• the Deep Space Network of ground- based

 antennas that communicate with spacecraft

See the website for more information about the

Solar System Educators program -

http://www.ssep.org/
9

Current Professional position:

I’m a Senior Fellow researcher at the Space

Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of

California Berkeley (UCB), and I work in a space

physics group. I lead investigations, edit a

scientific journal and manage a small research

group.

Description of Janet’s featured E/PO role:

I participated in a solar eclipse event at the

Exploratorium in San Francisco. My role was to

interact with the large group of people who had

gathered to watch the eclipse that was being

webcast from Aruba on February 26, 1998. I

worked with an emcee and another solar scientist

(Dr. Phil Scherrer) from Stanford. We spent the day

answering questions on the eclipse, and on related

visuals we had each sent in advance.

How she got involved in the webcast:

The key was having the opportunity presented

to me through SECEF. In making the connection

between me and the Exploratorium, they provided

a framework which I could not possibly have

created on my own, simply for lack of time and

knowledge. Having that framework, and being

approached by SECEF people asking, “Would you

do this?” “Would you help us?” provided the

encouragement and incentive.

Comments on her time commitment:

My time commitment is pretty modest. The

Sun Earth connection Forum (SECEF) sets up the

framework for my E/PO interactions, and my

preparation is basically my career, almost all I have

to do is appear for the event. There may be brief

periods of intense activity, an occasional day’s

commitment, but I find it to be a very efficient and

effective process.

Challenges to her E/PO involvement:

Aside from the challenge of finding the time

to do it, there’s also the matter of communicating

the material in an understandable way. Doing

E/PO without a large investment of time

sometimes requires going into it without having

passed it by educators or youngsters who might

be able to tell me if it’s the kind of thing that would

work or not. Often I have to play it as I go, and

hope that the real-time feedback keeps the

exchange understandable and interesting.

What she got out of her participation:

It’s a very good feeling to see young people

engaged in what I’m saying. Though E/PO

activities generally don’t include any extra

financial compensation, they are an important way

of sharing my knowledge and my excitement with

those who ultimately support my research. I’m

able to give something back in other ways besides

the writing of journal articles, and adding to

encyclopedias. I’m really touching people in every

SCIENTISTS IN EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH

This profile is based on excerpts of an interview of Dr. Janet Luhmann about her involvement in Education

and Public Outreach (E/PO), specifically her participation in the total solar eclipse webcasts produced by NASA’s

Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF) and the Live@The Exploratorium program. Cherilynn Morrow

of the Space Science Institute (SSI), Boulder, CO designed the interview questionnaire. Christy Edwards, also

of SSI conducted and edited the interview .

UCB/SSL researcher Dr. Janet Luhmann

describes the impact of our Sun’s activity on the

Earth. Dr. Phil Scherrer from Stanford University’s

Solar Oscillations Investigation Group looks on.
10

Tips for Space Scientists in Education and

Public Outreach

Cherilynn A. Morrow (camorrow@colorado.edu)

As a space scientist, you work very hard, very

passionately, and are generally so oversubscribed

that asking you for additional time and effort to

contribute to K-12 education or public outreach

is asking a lot. Nonetheless, as a scientist you are

an essential contributor to the successful E/PO

efforts needed to raise appreciation and

understanding of science in our society.

One example of a satisfying and valuable way

to contribute to E/PO is with traveling exhibit

projects. Consider the scores of scientists all over

the nation who have already quietly played key

roles in the success of three major space science

travelling exhibits: 1) Hubble Space Telescope:

New Views of the Universe; 2) MarsQuest; and 3)

the Space Weather Center (for details see issue 1 of

the Voyages newsletter). These exhibits all began

their extensive tours in the past year. Collectively,

they are bringing some of the newest results of

space science to tens of millions of students,

teachers, and other citizens. The educator

workshops and websites associated with these

exhibits will extend this reach even further.

walk of life. In addition, I got to watch the live

video of the eclipse along with everybody at the

Exploratorium.

Janet’s words of wisdom about E/PO:

If scientists make the right connection, they can

do something important and valuable without a

huge investment of time. With SECEF, we have

the contacts and capabilities to make connections

with the education world as we’ve never had

before. I find that it’s possible to invest 10% of my

time and get a lot out of that 10%. Although we

already often feel over-subscribed, and E/PO

seems like “yet another thing to do,” much can be

done with good arrangements by those who know

the E/PO business. It’s a good investment in the

future to get involved in E/PO, even at the 10%

or less level. I hope more people will look into

contacting NASA’s E/PO Support Network of

Forums and Brokers to see how they can work

together with whatever commitment constraints

they have.

A hundred or more of your scientific

colleagues have been involved in a many ways in

all phases of these exhibit projects, including

design, development, and dissemination. Their

E/PO participation represents a wide variety of

time commitments and talents, and many of the

vital E/PO roles do not require being especially

good at public speaking. Most of these scientists

have contributed to exhibit concept plans or

reviewed exhibit text for science accuracy and

currency. Some have provided physical objects

for display (e.g. rock samples, spacecraft models).

Many others have provided access to and

processing of data for exhibit murals, interactives,

and video presentations. Scientists all over the

country have given, and will give, public talks or

teacher workshop presentations by video, web, or

in person to support the exhibit’s dissemination.

Science centers are hungry for greater connectivity

with scientists, and there are a great many ways

you can be a valuable resource.

Future Venues for Space Science Exhibits

Hubble Space Telescope - New Views of

the Universe

June 2 - August 26

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Raleigh, NC

June 2 -August 12

Chabot Space and Science Center,

Oakland, CA

October 6 - January 2

Kennedy Space Center, FL (pending)

MarsQuest

June 1 - August 31, 2001

Tucson Children's Museum, Tucson, AZ

October 1 - December 31, 2001

Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC

Space Weather

June 1 - August.1,2001

Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, CA

October 1 -December 1, 2001

Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL
11

On the Horizon On the Horizon On the Horizon

Smithsonian’s National Air and Space

Museum Announces “Explore the Universe”

Exhibition - Opening September 2001

 The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air

and Space Museum (NASM) will open “Explore

the Universe” in September. This permanent

exhibition will present the major discoveries that

have given us our current scientific view of the

universe, illustrate how the universe is taking

shape and probe the mysteries that remain.

Encompassing an unprecedented array of

artifacts representing the state of the art over the

past 400 years, the exhibition will lay out the

world’s astronomical progress within its historical

and technological context. “Explore the Universe”

will be made up of five major sections covering

the evolution of man’s tools for searching the

heavens.

As part of NASA’s contribution to this exhibit,

NASA OSS arranged for the Hubble Space

Telescope (HST) backup mirror to be turned over

to the museum. The mirror was delivered in

January. The mirror and other pieces of the HST

hardware will be seen by millions of people each

year when the exhibit opens.

A Web-based “Watering Hole” for Informal

Science Educators

SEU Forum

Museum and planetarium professionals will

soon have a new way to access space science

resources for their projects and programs. The OSS

Education Support Network has been working

with the informal education community to

develop a web portal to information of particular

interest to science museums and planetariums.

The site, which will be released shortly, will

contain three main sections. “Space Science

Resources” will direct users to the current OSS

Resource Directory as well as to an annotated list

of Exhibits, Programs, Visual and Human

resources. “Project Sharing” is an ongoing

communication tool and updateable bulletin

board for Space Science Informal Education

projects that are in the works. “Best Practices” is

an area for promoting high quality informal space

science education programs and products. It will

document lessons learned, provide access to

evaluation data, and present recommendations

from the informal education community.

ACSSE CyberSpace Learning Center

Opening September 2001

A new CyberSpace Learning Center will soon

open at the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy

Museum. The Center will host an all-electronic

exhibit gallery, an interactive distance-learning

video studio, computer classroom, and a

programmable public exhibit space. This newly

developed gallery, along with a new StarRider

planetarium presentation, will become the

primary resources to deliver educational programs

for the 2001-2002 academic year to explore the

theme of the Sun-Earth Connection.

Hubble Space Telescope backup mirror arrives at the

National Air and Space Museum.

(photo provided by D. DeVorkin - NASM)
12

FAST FACTS

There were nearly 100 E/PO efforts featured

in several poster and oral sessions at the American

Astronomical Society meeting in January 2001.

The NASA OSS Education Resource Directory

has been searched nearly 300,000 times since going

online in October 2000. Currently over 100 items

are available for downloading.

http://teachspacescience.stsci.edu

If you’d like to receive an electronic copy of

future newsletters, contribute an article or have

questions about getting involved with the NASA

Office of Space Science Education and Public

Outreach Program, please contact Larry Cooper,

Editor. larrycooper@oai.org

OSS Education and Outreach Conference,

September 12 – 14, 2001, in Chicago, Illinois.

2nd Announcement

Hosted by the DePaul University NASA

Broker/Facilitators, the conference will be held at

the Union League Club of Chicago. The purpose

is to bring together members of the OSS Education

and Outreach Community, NASA Education

personnel, and others involved in science

education and outreach to build community and

provide opportunities for participants to engage

in discussions around issues.

The conference will be a mixture of plenaries,

panels, breakout sessions, poster sessions, and

unstructured time. Four major sessions are

planned - Science Education Research, Issues in

Formal Science Education, Issues in Informal

Science Education, and Scientists’ Participation in

E/PO. There will be a reception and dinner at the

Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum on

September 13. Participants will also have the

opportunity to visit shows and exhibits. More

information on the conference, including

registration and accommodations, will be

available in May 2001. Please direct inquiries to

vsimek@wppost.depaul.edu.

Eclipse ’01 Event Heats Up – Increased

Participation from Museums, Scientists

Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF)

There’s a lot going on as SECEF and partners

prepare for the total solar eclipse on June 21, which

will be webcast live from Zambia, Africa by the

Exploratorium of San Francisco, CA. As of early

April, 49 groups (museums, planetaria, schools)

were officially registered to participate in the

program by building their own public events

around the live webcast. Ten of the groups are

international—from Australia, Greece, India,

Malaysia, Spain, Costa Rica, France, Tanzania, and

Mexico. Close to twenty scientists have signed

on to share their expertise with participating

groups. See http://museumeclipse.org for

information on how you can get involved. We

are also delighted to have received official

sponsorship from the National Society of Black

Physicists (http://www.nsbp.org/), and the event

will feature African American scientists as role

models to engage and excite young people about

space science and technology.

Eclipse Event 2001 will focus on themes of

solar maximum, habitability of space, and living

with the Sun, our nearest star. As part of the event,

a 30-minute downlink from the International

Space Station is planned, including a conversation

with astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms of the

Expedition Two crew.

Exhibit of African-Americans in Space

Science - Opening August 28th

 Ohio Aerospace Institute

A new exhibit of African Americans in Space

Science will debut at the national convention of the

Association of African American Museums

(AAAM) on August 28th at the Cleveland African

American Museum (CAAM). The Ohio

Aerospace Institute is developing this exhibit with

funding from the IDEAS program and the Ohio

Space Grant Consortium. The exhibit will profile

about twenty African Americans currently

involved in space science and is being facilitated

by members of the Association of Black Physicists

through their President Dr. Charles McGruder of

Western Kentucky University.

One exhibit will be on permanent loan to the

Cleveland African American Museum. A second

exhibit will travel next year toAASM member sites

and then will be available on request. A

companion video is also in the works. For more

information contact Larry Cooper at

larrycooper@oai.org