1

On the Inside

Conference Perspectives 2

Updates 3

E/PO in New Missions 4

E/PO Support Net Profile 5

Education Programs

 Astrobiology & Yellowstone National Park 6

 Workshop for Special Needs Educators 6

 Journey through the Universe Program 7

 Miami’s Mission to Mars 8

 Space Science - South Carolina State University 9

Scientists in Education & Public Outreach 10

Education Products

 Astronomy Education Review 12

 African-Americans in Space Science Poster 12

On the Horizon 12

NASA Education and Public Outreach

Conference

DePaul University

This June nearly 300 scientists and science

educators gathered in Chicago for the first

national NASA Space Science education and

public outreach conference. The conference’s

goals were to strengthen and deepen nationwide

education and public outreach efforts by NASA’s

Office of Space Science (OSS).

Dr. Edward J. Weiler, NASA’s Associate

Administrator for Space Science, opened the

conference with a keynote address in which he

stressed education as one of the three priorities

of NASA’s mission. “Enhancing the quality of

science, mathematics and technology courses,

particularly at the pre-college level, is key to

accomplishing this goal,” he stated.

Dr. Maria Alicia Lopez Freeman, executive

director of the California Science Project and

another conference keynote speaker, addressed

issues of science and equity in urban schools. She

presented results of a recent national survey of

science and math educators that shows many

teachers in these areas consider themselves to be

less than competent in their subject matter.

Freeman also said that although a large portion

of current math, science and technology teachers

is approaching retirement age, few trained

replacements are in sight. In addition, although

the number of minority students is rising rapidly,

most of the teachers in these subjects are white.

Among other topics discussed at the

conference were ways to better reach members

of underserved communities, including people

with special needs; the creation of professional

development opportunities for educators; the

establishment of national standards for programs;

and better ways to access and disseminate current

information from NASA Space Science missions.

Voyages in Education and Public Outreach

An Office of Space Science Newsletter

September 2002 Issue 6

Dr. Paul Knappenberger, President of the Adler

Planetarium & Astronomy Museum spoke on “Issues in

Informal Education”
2

“The space science discoveries are inspiring,”

says Lynn Narasimhan, director of DePaul’s NASA

Space Science Center for Education and Outreach.

“We’ve seen amazing images from the Hubble

Space Telescope, but a Next Generation Space

Telescope is being built that will be able to peer

even deeper into the universe, to better understand

and evaluate its structure, perhaps to even help

answer the question, “Are we alone.” In addition,

the Cassini spacecraft is nearing the Saturn system

and will provide a wealth of new information

about Saturn, its rings and its numerous moons. ”

Such projects advance human knowledge -

knowledge that needs to be shared, she said.

Conference Proceedings are being assembled

and will be published later this fall. Specific

information on obtaining a copy will be posted on

the conference Web site at

http://analyzer.depaul.edu/ossconference/

oss_program.html

Conference Perspectives

The Office of Space Science’s Education and

Public Outreach Conference 2002 was, for me, a

unique experience. As a planetary scientist and

educator, I have attended many science and

science education conferences. The conference

was a blend of presentations by keynote speakers,

plenary panels, breakout sessions, and posters.

This conference was unique in that it brought all

of the OSS E/PO education stakeholders under

Reflecting on the completion of the first

(history in the making) OSS E/PO conference, I

found myself energized, validated and hopeful. I

was energized by the open dialogue and active

listening of colleagues in the education and

scientific communities in the round table

discussions, and perhaps even more importantly

in one on one or small group conversations.

Validation of the important work of both

communities came from the plenary speakers’

focus on the common goal of building scientific

literacy in the present and future generations.

Finally, I was hopeful of the future of partnerships

when George D. (Pinky) Nelson asked both

communities to look at their realities, and

challenged them to make contributions. The hard

reality of the classroom, with only about 15 hours

of time dedicated to space science made it

imperative that NASA work with educators to

increase their scientific knowledge and that

educators transfer that knowledge into a rigorous

curriculum that has depth of content and promotes

scientific habits of mind.

Lyn Klosowski, Northwest Indiana Challenger Center,

Hammond, IN

Conference Perspectives

one roof to discuss their common goal: to bring

the excitement of space science to our children and

the general public. The stakeholders included

scientists, educators, and administrators from

NASA, universities, K-12 schools, and museums

and planetariums; people involved in both formal

and informal education. To me, the most valuable

part of the conference was the time that we were

able to spend talking to people with diverse

backgrounds and experiences. This occurred

formally in the panel discussions and breakout

sessions and informally during breaks. In these

discussions, we were able to share ideas and

concerns: Where should we concentrate our

outreach efforts? What works and what can be

improved upon? How can we work together more

effectively in the future? I personally would like

to thank Dr. Rosendhal and those who helped put

this conference together. I would also like to thank

everyone who came to the conference and

contributed to what I hope is only the first of many

more conferences where we can all share our

experiences and expertise.

Larry Lebofsky, Senior Research Scientist, University

of Arizona

Dr. Jeff Rosendhal, Director of OSS Education and Public

Outreach, congratulates conference organizer, Dr. Carolyn

Narasimhan of DePaul University.
3

Updates

ViewSpace

John Stoke, Space Telescope Science Institute

ViewSpace, a multimedia astronomy display for

museums and planetariums, is now in use at over

100 institutions nationwide. [For more

information on ViewSpace see Voyages, September

2001 issue, http://spacescience.nasa.gov/

education/news] It is finding use in permanent

installations, as well as occasional special events

such as Astronomy Day programs. Two new

ViewSpace segments for the summer 2002 CD

release were “Hubble’s New Eye” (about the

Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys) and

“Sculptures In The Sky” (about planetary

nebulae). The ViewSpace team, led by John Stoke

of the Space Telescope Science Institute is currently

working to expand ViewSpace in several areas

including Internet “broadcasting” of content to

increase the timeliness and diversity of

programming and establishing a national network

of two ViewSpace venues in each state. To get a

copy of the ViewSpace CD, please contact John

Stoke at stoke@stsci.edu.

CD Replication and Distribution now

available at NASA CORE

Dan Woods, NASA Headquarters

In a major step towards making space science

materials more readily available, the Office of

Space Science has helped NASA’s Central

Operation of Resources for Educators (CORE)

[http://core.nasa.gov] acquire the capability to

replicate and distribute education and outreach

CD’s. CORE now has the capability to reproduce

and distribute all types of audio-visual education

and outreach material (i.e. videos, slides, and

CDs). E/PO products that are registered in the

NASA Space Science Education Resource

Directory [http://teachspacescience.stsci.edu]

will be eligible for distribution through CORE.

Forms and instructions are available at http://

ossdev.stsci.edu/registry/. Questions may be

directed to Carole Rest (crest@stsci.edu) or the OSS

Education Forums:

http://sseforum.jpl.nasa.gov/

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

http://origins.stsci.edu/

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

Space Place Continues to Expand

Nancy Leon, NASA JPL

The Space Place actively engages the public in

space exploration and Earth observation through

a set of interlinked outreach activities that use

diverse media to springboard from an anchor Web

site. [For more information on Space Place see

Voyages, January 2001 issue, http://

spacescience.nasa.gov/education/news]

Space Place now has a total of 230 community

partners - 79 museums; 50 planetariums; 43

libraries; 34 military bases; and 24 zoos and

aquariums (Zoo and aquarium membership has

surged since introduction last year.)

The monthly Space Place newspaper column

now appears in 16 newspapers across the country.

Seven of these papers serve Spanish language

communities in Los Angeles, New York, San Jose/

San Francisco, Washington DC, Philadelphia

Monterey, and Charlotte. The combined

circulation of these newspapers is nearly 350,000.

AMAZING SPACE

Office of Public Outreach, Space Telescope Science

Institute

New York City public schools and Princeton

University are among the 212 U.S. school districts

and 126 colleges and universities using Amazing

Space online curriculum support materials as an

educational resource.

These preliminary results are from the first

phase of an impact study on the use of Amazing

Space, a suite of Web-based, interactive activities

that includes data from NASA’s Hubble Space

Telescope. The activities are designed primarily

for classroom use, from kindergarten through

twelfth grade. The study shows educators are

using the material in many ways. States and local

school districts are linking Amazing Space to state

education content standards. Schools are

partnering and collaborating with private

companies to disseminate Amazing Space activities.

At the university level, courses are using Amazing

Space to train teachers on the principles of

integrating technology into the curriculum and are

relating state education standards to selected

Amazing Space activities on the Web at http://

amazing-space.stsci.edu .
4

Small E/PO Awards

NASA OSS is pleased to announce that final

E/PO awards have been made for ROSS 2001-02.

A total of 77 E/PO proposals were submitted in

conjunction with new Parent Research Programs

and 39 of those proposals were recommended for

funding for a total of $654K. We have spent the

past year making some significant revisions in the

overall approach to the review and selection

process and to date, these changes appear to have

been effective. We greatly appreciate the input

from the scientific community, the OSS Support

Network, and the staff at NASA Headquaters who

have contributed substantially to the overall

improvement of the process.

IDEAS Awards

Heather Bradbury, Space Telescope Science Institute

Thirteeen proposals were recently selected for

funding in the IDEAS Grant Program. A total of

53 proposal were submitted from 25 states and 1

U.S. territory, an increase of approximately 60%

from 2000. The amount of funding awarded was

over $425,000. Abstracts of the selected proposals

are on the IDEAS Web site, http://ideas.stsci.edu.

The 2002 IDEAS Call for Proposals (CFP) has

also been posted on the Web site. The CFP can be

downloaded as either a MS Word or PDF file. The

deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, 25 October

2002, 5 p.m. ET. Questions should be sent to

ideas@stsci.edu.

International Planetarium Society

Conference

Anita Sohus, NASA JPL

A contingent of Office of Space Science E/PO

personnel participated in the International

Planetarium Society’s conference, held this

summer at Exploration Place in Wichita, KS. The

key objective of OSS participation was to expand

the relationship with IPS and its regional affiliate

organizations in the U.S. and to begin a discussion

about how best to serve this diverse community

of astronomers, educators, and storytellers.

OSS presence at the conference included a

number of presentations and panel sessions,

workshops for planetarians and local teachers, a

new OSS exhibit and a portable dome to showcase

ViewSpace [see article on page 3].

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere

(AIM) E/PO

Dianne Robinson, Hampton University

The AIM mission will determine the causes

of the highest altitude clouds in the Earth’s

atmosphere. James Russell, III of Hampton

University, a Historically Black University in

Hampton, Virginia, will lead AIM which is to be

launched in 2006.

Dianne Robinson of Hampton University will

lead the AIM E/PO program which will use the

beautiful images of the Noctilucent Clouds (NLC),

“clouds on the edge of space,” to motivate interest,

learning, and a deeper understanding of the issues

surrounding changes in our atmosphere.

Included in the AIM E/PO will be two

professional development, lead-educator

workshops to be conducted in Alaska for teachers

nationwide. The lead-educator workshops will

focus on NLC science, data collection, national

standards, and web-based NLC lessons. The AIM

E/PO program will also include informal

education and building public awareness by

collaborating with WHRO Public Broadcasting

Network, Virginia Air and Space Center, NASA

CONNECT and the National Parks System to

develop public exhibits and multimedia products.

See the AIM website for more information.

http://www.hamptonu.edu/science/physics/

CAS/AIM/aim.htmlCAS/aim/aim.html

 NEW MISSIONS

NASA recently selected two new Small

Explorer Class Missions. As detailed below, each

has an exciting E/PO program planned.

Noctilucent Clouds

Credit & Copyright Oscar Van Der Velde

http://www.lightningwizard.com
5

Spectroscopy and Photometry of the

Intergalactic Medium’s Diffuse Radiation

(SPIDR) E/PO

Nahide Craig, University of California, Berkeley

SPIDR is a mission to map the cosmic web of

hot gas which spans the Universe. The PI is Dr.

Supriya Chakrabarti of Boston University. The

mission is scheduled to be launched in 2005.

The E/PO effort is being led by Dr. Nahide

Craig of the University of California Berkeley in

partnership with the Lawrence Hall of Science, the

New Mexico History of Natural Science Museum

in Albuquerque, Boston Museum of Science,

NASA MSFC, National Organization for the

Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and

Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the National

Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO), and

Cornerstone Evaluation Associates of Pittsburgh.

The SPIDER E/PO program will include:

• A new GEMS teacher’s guide with the theme

of “Cosmic Models” for grades 6-8. It will

highlight key concepts of the mission’s scientific

work. Students will create models to visualize our

galaxy, our Local Group, galaxies in the Virgo

cluster, and clusters of galaxies.

• A GEMS Training Center will be launched at

the New Mexico Museum of History of Natural

Science

• SPIDR science will be included in a series of

news presentations to be developed by the Boston

Museum of Science’s Current Science and

Technology Center and in a series of web programs

to be developed by NASA MSFC.

• SPIDR scientists will participate in annual

NOBCChE conferences and their teacher

professional workshops.

• E/PO segments for the SPIDR Web site.

For current information, please check the

SPIDR web site, http://www.bu.edu/spidr

NASA OSS

Support Network Profiles

This is the first in a series of articles which will

highlight contributions of the organizations of the

NASA OSS E/PO Support Network. The 12 groups

which make up the Support Network are involved in

coordinating and integrating the OSS E/PO program.

They provide a point of entry for individuals and

organizations wishing to participate in the OSS E/PO

program. A brochure describing the Support Network

can be found at http://spacescience.nasa.gov/education/

resources/ecosystem/brochure_low_res.pdf

In supporting OSS E/PO efforts, SERCH

focuses on four areas of emphasis /expertise:

• GIS Internet Mapping Solutions – an online

OSS Support Network web-based Resource

Locator Tool that offers database management

with query tools and data that includes NASA OSS

E/PO venues, partnerships, and scientists.

• SERCH Education/Outreach - Educator

training and mentoring; Mini-awards support

scientist-educator partnerships; Conference

Support, Girl Scouts

• Exceptional Needs – partnering scientists

and OSS product developers with exceptional

needs educators

• Minority Initiatives - Extensive network of

partnerships throughout the Southeast and across

the country with HBCU’s, Hispanic Serving

SERCH Team Members, Dr. Cass Runyon,

Kathryn Guimond, and Craig Anthony.

Southeast Regional Clearinghouse

(SERCH) Broker/Facilitator

Dr. Cassandra Runyon, SERCH

SERCH serves the Southeast region and is

headquartered at the College of Charleston in

Charleston, South Carolina. SERCH works closely

with 14 NASA Space Grant consortia (AL, AR, DC,

FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, PR, SC/VI, TN, &

VA) and serves a population of more than 78

million, nearly one-third of which is minority.

The SERCH staff includes Dr. Cassandra

Runyon, SERCH Director; Kathryn Guimond,

Program Manager; Craig Anthony, Web/GIS

Developer; and Wendy Weir, Office Assistant. Dr.

Donald Walter and Dr. Linda Payne, Minority

Program Coordinators, are located at South

Carolina State University.
6

Special Need Resource Group - launched

from Exceptional Space Science Materials for

Exceptional Needs II Workshop.

Dr. Cass Runyon, Southeast Regional Clearinghouse

This past June, the Southeast Regional

Clearinghouse (SERCH) hosted a 2nd workshop for

Yellowstone National Park Offers the Public

a Portal to Astrobiology

Catherine Tsairides, Director Ames Astrobiology

Outreach, Lockheed Martin Ames Research Center

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

through its outreach office, along with the NASA

Ames NAI team and its partners are working with

Yellowstone National Park (YNP) on a long term,

public engagement program that includes

exhibits, literature, field experiences, educator

workshops, and “fireside chats’ with

astrobiologists that will reach the three million

visitors of all ages that experience YNP each year.

Understanding how life began on earth is a

natural staring point for astrobiology. Yellowstone

is providing insights into the origin and evolution

of life and the potential for life to exist beyond

Earth. Biochemical clues hint that early life might

have lived in high-temperature environments,

including hot springs. The park’s hotsprings

provide a glimpse into the nature of the early

biosphere. Ancient spring alcoves on the flanks

of Martian volcanoes invite comparisons with

YNP, whose fossil-rich sinter spring deposits may,

in turn, resemble deposits on Mars.

The NAI team is working with Yellowstone

staff on several projects within the park including

the development of ten exhibits that will illustrate

astrobiology throughout the trails in Yellowstone.

The team is also developing chapters on

astrobiology and microbiology for the Yellowstone

Resources and Issues Guide which is a training

manual for the interpretive research staff used to

 Educational Programs

develop hikes and talks. The Guide will be

published and available for purchase from the gift

stores throughout the park. It will also be available

for virtual visitors through research libraries in the

national park system, the Yellowstone National

Park Web site and the NAI site [http://

www.nai.arc.nasa.gov/].

This summer, a team of teachers, geologists,

planetary scientists, and astrobiologists were in

Yellowstone National Park to investigate microbial

communities that are thought to be modern

analogs of some of the earliest life on Earth. The

Extremeties: Geology and Life in Yellowstone and

Implications for Other Worlds is a fieldtrip and

workshop for teachers sponsored by The Lunar

and Planetary Institute, NASA Office of Space

Science, NASA Ames Research Center

Astrobiology Team, and NASA Space Grant

Consortia. The program focused on field

experiences with the researchers and was

complemented by classroom and laboratory

activities at Montana State University

The team is also developing exhibit ideas to

go into a planned new visitor center at Old Faithful

geyser basin. This partnership with YNP is

helping the general public to enhance their

knowledge and skills and to access NASA research

in astrobiology, including geology, microbiology,

and space missions.

Grand Prismatic Pool, Yellowstone National Park.

Colorful algae mats thrive on the pool rim.

Institutions, Other Minority Universities and

predominately-minority attended K-12 schools.

Our strategies include working with our

partners, finding out what their needs and goals

are and working to address their needs,

understanding the resources and limitations of the

project and respecting the diversity and culture

of our audiences. Lastly, we work closely with

both the product developers and end-users to

assure that the materials and resources are

effective, scientifically correct and fun to use.

For more information on SERCH and SERCH

programs visit the SERCH website

http://serch.cofc.edu/serch/index.htm
7

Journey through the Universe Program —

An Opportunity for Scientists and Engineers

to Make a Difference in Under-served

Communities

Dr. Jeff Goldstein, Challenger Center for Space Science

Education

In 1999 Challenger Center for Space Science

Education launched Journey through the Universe

(formerly Challenger Center’s Window on the

Universe program) — an initiative to establish a

national network of under-served communities

committed to sustainable community-wide

science, mathematics and technology education.

These are the communities that typically have

limited access to local educational resources, or

do not use them most effectively. Journey through

the Universe was created to help respond to this

need.

Currently funded by grants from NASA’s

Minority University Research in Education

Division, and the Offices of Space Flight, Space

Science, and Earth Science, Journey through the

Universe uses research disciplines across all five

NASA Enterprises to engage entire communities.

The program also provides remarkable outreach

opportunities for scientists and engineers working

in disciplines relevant to NASA’s Enterprises.

The Partnership: The success of Journey through

the Universe owes much to the creation of a longlasting partnership between Challenger Center

and each participating community, and that

community’s ability to ‘own’ their program.

Challenger Center provides diverse national

resources to the communities, including: local

programming for students and families, K-12

curriculum support materials, K-12 educator

training, and ongoing support from Challenger

Center staff scientists and educators in both

content and pedagogical approaches in the

classroom. The communities integrate these

resources into their existing science, mathematics,

special needs teachers and NASA personnel who

develop educational materials and exhibit

resources. Attendance for the three-day workshop

at the National Space Science and Technology

Center in Huntsville, Alabama included 11 formal

and informal educators from 10 states, 4

presenters, and 15 guests from NASA education

centers, the South Carolina School for the Deaf and

Blind, and corporate America. Workshop activities

were taught ‘disabilities-on’, meaning that each

participant worked through the lessons

experiencing a variety of roles during the threeday workshop. The various disabilities simulated

by the participants included: parapalegic,

quadrapelegic, multiple motor disabilities, ADD/

ADHD, varying degrees of visual and hearing

impairments, and various verbal communication

impairments.

As a result of this simulation, both the

educators and education product developers

gained a much greater awareness of the variety of

needs an educator might be called to address.

Recommendations for adaptations were discussed

and tested wherever possible during the

workshop. A summary report with suggestions

for working with exceptional students on space

science materials is being prepared based on

feedback from the workshop participants. The

report will also address the simulation and

adaptation/modification needed for more severe

motor disabilities that were not addressed in

Huntsville.

Also, the group has formed, SNRG,

(pronounced ‘synergy’), or, the Special Needs

Workshop participants work with tactile map of Vallis

Marineris on Mars; part of the Mars Education Activities

being developed by SSE/ASU. Photo by Jobi Cook.

Resource Group, to be a ready-resource for others

developing and seeking assistance and/or

guidance when working with persons with

disabilities. The group’s first task is to make

recommendations and suggestions for adaptations

for the education products that have gone through

the OSS product review. To contact this group,

please contact SERCH [888-873-9475 or

serch@cofc.edu].
8

Miami’s “Mission to Mars” Project Reaches

out to Pre-service Teachers

Dr. Rita K. Voltmer, Miami University

This past academic year, over 200 students at

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, took part in

an innovative program designed to stimulate

interest in and encourage the study of space

science among non-science majors. The effort

specifically targeted students in the pre-service

teaching program with the additional objective

of developing increased confidence in their ability

to teach space science concepts through early

exposure to NASA space science educational

materials and programs.

Miami’s Mission to Mars (the 3-M) Project was

funded by the IDEAS Grant Program [see IDEAS

article on page 4] and the Ohio Space Grant

Consortium. The project was modeled on the

successful NASA Student Involvement Program

[http://www.nsip.net] activity called “Design a

Mission to Mars”. The students were grouped

into teams to develop proposals for science

missions to explore Mars. They were provided

with a wide range of space science resource

information and access to space scientists. The

team research proposals were reviewed by space

scientists for both content and presentation

quality. While the research reports were an

important part of the student’s course grade, there

was additional incentive – the winning team

would travel to JPL for additional exposure to the

and technology education activities in both formal

and informal science education venues. The

programming resulting from this partnership is

meant to reflect the strengths and capabilities of

the community, and provide access to resources

that would otherwise be unavailable.

Programming provided to each community

includes a week-long celebration of learning —

Journey through the Universe Week — conducted by

a national team of researchers and engineers

reflecting organizations from across the NASA

R&D communities. During the week, training is

provided for up to 350 K-12 educators, 4,000-8,000

K-12 students are visited in classrooms, and 2-4

Family Science Nights are held, each for 300-1,000

parents and their children.

Philosophy of Approach: The program is

designed to gradually build a local infrastructure

in a community — a Local Team — that can

provide self-sustaining programming using

national resources. This Team reflects the diversity

of the community, including K-12 school districts,

informal science education organizations, civic

and business groups, colleges and universities,

and research organizations. Sustainability is

viewed as a key to success, and a deep

commitment to assessment provides for ongoing

evolution of every aspect of the program.

The Current Network: Journey through the

Universe reaches communities with limited space

flight and Earth and space science education

resources, or those where resources are not utilized

Family Science Night in Rio Rico, Arizona, February

2002. 1,500 parents, students, and educators attended the

event, whichincluded dozens of family science stations.

One of the concurrentsessions was a 'performance' by a

space scientist, attended by 250. The National Team also

conducted 87 class visits to 4,300 students.

community-wide. This includes, but is not limited

to, communities in rural settings, as well as lowincome populations in urban settings. Eight

communities are part of the initial network:

Nogales, Arizona

Moscow, Idaho

Tuskegee, Alabama

Muncie, Indiana

Washington, DC

Marquette, Michigan

Labette County, Kansas

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Network growth of four communities per year

is projected for the next three years. To learn more

about the program and how you can participate

please see the program Web site at http://

www.challenger.org/jttu, or write John Hamel,

program coordinator, at jhamel@challenger.org.
9

Mars research science and education program.

Space scientists were instrumental in giving

the project the credibility needed at the college

level. Dr. Philip James of the University of Toledo,

who has been involved in many NASA Mars

projects, came to Miami University and presented

an introductory lecture on Mars. NASA OSS

supported the project by facilitating the

participation of scientists to review and critique

the student proposals. Scientists participating in

the project were Dr. Philip James, Dr. Adolf Witt,

and Dr. Karen Bjorkman of the Department of

Physics and Astronomy at the University of

Toledo, Dr. Steve Herbert, Department of Physics

at Xavier University; Dr. Mike Sitko, Department

of Physics at the University of Cincinnati; Dr.

Andrew Layden, Department of Physics and

Astronomy at Bowling Green State University; Dr.

Eric Feigelson, Department of Astronomy and

Astrophysics at the Pennsylvania State University

and Diane Callahan, science teacher at Fairfield

Middle School.

In May, the winning student team of Jessica

Bigham, a foreign language education major from

Napier, Illinois; Angela Rader, an early childhood

major from Rawson, Ohio; Bryan Sisto, an English

major from Columbus, Ohio; and Whitney

Crawford, a business major from Granville, Ohio

and faculty advisor Dr. Rita Voltmer traveled to

NASA JPL for behind the scenes experiences and

visits with scientists directly involved in NASA’s

Mars program. They had the opportunity to

observe equipment and facilities they had only

read about and listen to scientists describe the

work they are doing regarding Mars. The students

were truly impressed -

“Seeing an actual rover was amazing. It is

something most people only hear about. When

we were watching it climb over rocks in the Mars

3-M Team at the Rover Yard

Rover Yard, I remember thinking, Wow, I am

seeing what is actually going to be sent to Mars. I

am watching what it is going to be doing on

another planet.”

Special thanks goes to Ms. Consuelo Gennaro

who was instrumental in planning, organizing and

hosting the visit and to JPL scientists Dr. John

Callas, Mr. Tom Shain, Mr. Robert Brown, Dr.

Deborah Bass, Ms. Nagin Cox, Dr. Issa Nesnas,

Mr. Mehran Gangianpour, Dr. Terry Huntsberger.

Mr. Shigeru Suzuki and other members of Dr. Eric

De Jong’s team for sharing their experience and

enthusiasm with the students.

Based on the success of the program at Miami

University, plans are being made to expand the

project to other Universities and perhaps create a

nationwide competition.

Enhancement of Space Science Research

Program at South Carolina State University

Dr. Donald K. Walter, South Carolina State University

South Carolina State University (SCSU), a

Historically Black College/University (HBCU),

located in Orangeburg, South Carolina has

implemented a number of space science programs

with support from NASA. It was one of 15 schools

to receive a Minority Initiative Partnership award

from NASA OSS in 2001. [See Voyages, May 2001,

http://spacescience.nasa.gov/education/news].

The SCSU project focuses on enhancements in four

areas: student research, faculty research,

curriculum development and K-12 outreach.

Student research in astrophysics: The award

has enabled SCSU to develop, the Undergraduate

Research Program in Astrophysics [URPA; see

http://www.cnrt.scsu.edu/astro2002]. In the

program, minority students with previous space

science experience are paired with research

scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

(GSFC), Lawrence Livermore National Lab

(LLNL), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO)

and the Planetary Science Institute (PSI). During

the past two summers a total of eight students

from minority institutions across the country have

been supported through URPA. Their work has

included solar physics research at GSFC, work at

LLNL developing new CCD technology and

studying light curves generated by the MACHO

project, searching for asteroids at KPNO and PSI

as well as studying stellar evolution of a dwarf

elliptical galaxy while at KPNO. In the summer
10

contributed by Dr. Cherilynn Morrow and Christy

Edwards, Space Science Institute – SSI

This profile is based on excerpts of a June 2002 interview

with Dr. Rosaly Lopes-Gautier about her involvement

in Education and Public Outreach (E/PO).

Current Professional position:

I’m a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory. My research has focused on terrestrial

and planetary volcanism, particularly Io and Mars.

I am a member of the science team for the Nearinfrared Mapping Spectrometer on Galileo. I use

data from NIMS to detect active volcanism on Io

and to study its character, global distribution, and

variations with time. Io is the only place outside

Earth where we see large-scale, active volcanism.

It is a fascinating moon to observe and study.

Description of Rosaly’s featured E/PO role:

I do a wide variety of E/PO activities,

including teachers’ workshops, public talks, and

media. The one activity I will highlight here is

being the science advisor for an educational video

of 2002, Dr. Daniel Smith led a team of students

who used Early Data Release from the Sloan

Digital Sky Survey, to create multi-dimensional

graphical plots and animations to depict the

structure of the universe using Mathematica

software.

Curriculum Development: Physics faculty

member, Dr. Daniel Smith, has developed several

new web-based space science curriculum activities

including 2-D and 3-D simulations of the large

scale structure and expansion of the Universe.

Faculty research:A new tenure-track position

in astrophysics has been created. This brings to

two the number of SCSU faculty members actively

engaged in astrophysical research. New faculty

research partnerships have been established with

astronomers at GSFC and the University of South

Carolina (USC). GSFC astronomer Ted Gull is

working with a SCSU astronomer on a HST

proposal, while the USC partnership has lead to

the submission of a NASA EPSCoR proposal on

the chemical evolution of galaxies. Although this

second proposal was not funded, it established a

faculty research relationship between the two

schools with proposals in the planning stages to

Space Grant, EPSCoR and HST.

K-12 Outreach: “Space Science for Teachers,”

an intensive one-week course for middle and high

school teachers, was offered during the summers

of 2001 and 2002. SCSU partnered with the

Bamberg-Calhoun-Orangeburg Math/Science

Hub, a teacher resource center that is part of the

NSF-funded Statewide Systemic Initiative.

Organized around the four OSS themes, this

standards-based course provided science content,

as well as hands-on activities for use in the

classroom. Over 50 teacher applications were

received in 2002 for only ten openings. The

overwhelmingly positive response to this course

was echoed in one teacher’s evaluation of the

program that stated “This is the best workshop I

have ever attended!!”

As an outgrowth of participation in the MI

program, a partnership has been developed with

the College of Charleston. SCSU is now part of

the SERCH Broker/Facilitator project [see article

on page 5] promoting partnerships which increase

participation of minority institutions in the field

of space science.

The small, but active program at SCSU has

been significantly enhanced through this OSS

award. Research and education collaborations

established under this program have positioned

the University to continue making contributions

to the field of space science for years to come.

Profiles of Scientists in

Education and Public Outreach

Erica Lamar, a senior physics major at SCSU who has now

graduated, is shown during the summer of 2001 when she

worked with the Advanced Detector Group at the

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developing new

CCDs with astrophysical applications.
11

Dr. Rosaly Lopes-Gautier

NASA JPL

about Io prepared by students and staff at the

College of the Sequoias in California. The

students, helped by staff, wrote the script and did

the filming and graphics. My role was to provide

initial ideas and to critique the material they

prepared. It was a very enjoyable experience and

I was impressed by how much effort the students

and staff put into making the video.

How she got involved in the Io video:

I am a strong supporter of E/PO. It is both a

good business practice (we need public support

for our missions and our science) and a duty as a

scientist supported by public funds. I consider

myself extremely fortunate to be able to do work

that I love, and I believe I have an obligation to

share my work and the exciting results it brings

with the people who pay for it. Most of the E/PO

activities I get involved in are in response to

requests. However, in the case of the Io video, I

proposed the project to NASA for funds under

the Jupiter System Data Analysis Program.

Comments on her time commitment:

As a science advisor, my involvement totaled

about 4 weeks over 2 years, on a sporadic basis.

A lot of the work was done remotely, for example,

critiquing various versions of the script. I was

helped by Bill Smythe, my Galileo colleague and

Co-Investigator on the science proposal. Some of

the work on the video was combined with other

E/PO activities. We did some filming while I was

lecturing at a teachers’ workshop in Yellowstone

National Park, which is an ideal place to discuss

Io’s volcanic activity. I did some critiquing of the

video while giving talks at the College of the

Sequoias. This activity was never a burden to my

research, although I must admit that some of the

work was done at home in my “spare” time.

Challenges to her E/PO involvement:

In general, the biggest challenge is money. As

a JPL scientist I have to bring in money for my

salary plus burden money to be able to pay for

my time. A $10K grant (that also has to cover the

costs of the E/PO project) hardly allows me to

spend any time on a project. I do some work for

the SSE Forum and I get some support from that.

However, most of my efforts in E/PO, particularly

in the “public relations” area (giving lectures,

interviews, and so on), is done on a volunteer

basis, though I do consider E/PO to be part of my

duties as a scientist.

What she gets out of her participation in E/PO:

I have participated in E/PO since my graduate

student days and have found great personal

satisfaction from the involvement. The most

rewarding aspect is to be able to inspire others,

particularly young people. Outreach has always

been an integral part of my science career and will

continue to be so. I welcome opportunities for

involvement and am very happy that more

scientists now recognize the importance of E/PO.

Rosaly’s words of wisdom about E/PO:

Find something you love and do it well. There

are many different ways to become involved in

E/PO and all can be personally rewarding. Look

for opportunities that suit your personality and

your talents. Every impact, small or large, is

important. It’s hard to measure the impact one

has while doing E/PO. I have done many highprofile activities (press conferences, media

interviews, and TV documentaries) but often it is

the low-key activities that can bring us the largest

rewards. Today’s news may be forgotten

tomorrow but the impact of inspiring a young

person to pursue science as a career can be

enormous and long lasting.
12

On the Horizon

If you would like to receive an electronic copy

of future newsletters, contribute an article or just

have questions about getting involved with the

NASA OSS E/PO Program, contact Larry Cooper,

Editor, at lcooper1@hq.nasa.gov . Prior issues of

Voyages are online at http://

spacescience.nasa.gov/education/news .

NASA’s Sun-Earth Days, 2003 to Feature

New Science Specials

Two new science specials, Auroras-Living With

A Star and Live From The Aurora will debut on

Tuesday, February 11 and Tuesday, March 18, 2003

on participating PBS stations and NASA

Television. Supporting the broadcasts will be

teacher-tested hands-on activities and web

resources connecting real world science to the

National Science Education Standards.

Register your interest in participating and join

the LIVE FROM THE AURORA email list to

receive updated information about the project at

http://passporttoknowledge.com/sun .

New Planetarium Show Coming

A new, updateable planetarium show,

Ringworld, is slated for distribution in early 2003.

It is being produced by Sullivan Presentations in

Salt Lake City, UT, with support from the Cassini

mission. For information, contact Alice Wessen

at alice.s.wessen@jpl.nasa.gov .

Educational Products African Americans in Space Science Poster

Dr. Larry Cooper, Ohio Aerospace Institute

A new poster featuring profiles of five AfricanAmerican space scientists has been released. The

poster is based on a traveling exhibit created by

Dr. Larry Cooper of OAI and Dr. Willie Mackey of

NASA Glenn Research Center with funding from

the NASA IDEAS program [see article on page 4],

OAI and the Ohio Space Grant Consortium. An

update to the exhibit and poster is underway and

will debut at the AAS meeting in January 2003.

Information on the poster and companion exhibit

may be obtained at

http://www.osgc.org/Events.html#AfAmerican

ASTRONOMY EDUCATION REVIEW:

A NEW JOURNAL/MAGAZINE

Dr. Sidney Wolff, National Optical Astronomy

Observatories and Dr. Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill

College & Astronomical Society of the Pacific

A new journal and magazine is being started

for those working in astronomy and space science

education. Called Astronomy Education Review

(AER), the on-line journal will also become a

repository of information on educational topics.

Its web address is http://aer.noao.edu .

The model for the new publication is Science

or Nature, in that AER will include not only

research papers, but news reports, opinion pieces,

and coverage of useful resources in education and

outreach. There will be five sections in each issue:

• Refereed papers on research in astronomy

education

• Short reports on innovative techniques,

approaches, activities, and materials

• Annotated lists of useful resources

• Announcements of opportunities

(employment, conferences, grants, etc.)

• Editorials, reviews, opinion pieces, and

interactive discussions

AER will cover all five of the educational

arenas where astronomy and space science

education takes place: K-12, undergraduate,

graduate, informal, and public outreach. A strong

board of editors with members from each arena

has been set up. Subscriptions are free and we

expect to publish quarterly issues, with an email

announcement to subscribers when an issue is

ready. Each paper and article will be classified by

topics and arena and will become part of a

searchable database on the Web site.

The recent Decadal Survey in astrophysics

strongly recommended such a journal and both

the American Astronomical Society and the

Astronomical Society of the Pacific have endorsed

it. The journal is being sponsored by the National

Optical Astronomy Observatories and NASA OSS

during its start-up phase.

We welcome ideas, support, practical advice—

and submissions—from everyone in the NASA

OSS education community as we move forward

with the project.