Journey to Mars Workshop for Teachers at the AERO Institute 4/6/16

Final days to register:

Are you ready to go on a Journey to Mars? Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator professional development workshop on Being Mobile on Mars. Through hands-on experiments and physical demonstrations, educators will learn how to design and construct a rover for Mars using the Beginning Engineering Science & Technology (BEST) curriculum and the Engineering Design Process. Engage in hands-on, standards-aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities as you construct a rover, predict its performance and its chance of mission success, and test drive the rover. Learn about real world connections with NASA research and our Journey to Mars.

 Target Audience: K-12 Formal and Informal Educators

 When: Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 N. Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550

Register Online: http://goo.gl/forms/SIlPY87fPi

 Questions? Call Sondra Geddes 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

 There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided. Seats are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. All participants must be 18 years old or older.

NASA Is With You When You Fly 2/18/16

Do you know that NASA is with you when you fly?  Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator workshop on weather.  Learn about basic meteorological concepts designed to demonstrate understanding of the general characteristics of the atmosphere and how weather conditions and weather phenomena occur. There will be hands-on, standards-aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities about density, mass, fluid dynamics and weather that you can take back to your classroom.  Make real world connections with NASA and the airplanes that do weather research.  Hear from subject matter experts about cutting edge research that is happening right now through a partnership between NASA Armstrong and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with the Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT) mission.

Target Audience: K-12 Formal and Informal Educators

When: Thursday, February 18, 2016, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm PT

 Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 N. Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550

Register Online: http://goo.gl/forms/tprszIeivN

 Questions? Call Sondra Geddes 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided. Seats are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. All participants must be 18 years old or older.

 

New NASA/AERO Educator Opportunities!

Thanks to Sondra Geddes for the following information:

Please join the NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center in bringing the Apollo legacy
to your classroom by attending the Lunar Meteorite Sample Disk Certification workshop.  Learn hands-on activities that can be used in your classroom and give your students access to view and explore some small portions of these “extraterrestrial” materials.
NASA has actual lunar samples from the historic Apollo missions available to lend to
K-12 formal educators upon successful completion of the Lunar Meteorite Disk Certification
Workshop.

NOTE: To be eligible for certification, educators must be currently employed at an
accredited school as a formal K-12 classroom teacher or as a pre-service teacher
enrolled at a teaching institution.

WHEN: Saturday, September 19, 2015, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm PT
Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550.  Register Online: http://aeroi.org/ercForm/index.html

There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided. Seats are very limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Questions? Call Sondra Geddes at 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov


The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 Fellowship Year!

The AEF Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. Fellows spend 11 months working in a Federal agency or U.S. Congressional office, bringing their extensive classroom knowledge and experience to STEM education program and/or education policy efforts.

Program applications are due November 19, 2015, 8:00pm EST, and must be submitted through an online application system.

To be eligible, applicants must be U.S. citizens, be a current employed full-time in a U.S. public or private elementary or secondary school or school district, and must have taught full-time in a public or private elementary or secondary school for at least five of the last seven years in a STEM discipline.

Current sponsoring agencies include, but may not be limited to, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The DOE also sponsors up to four placements in U.S. Congressional offices.

The AEF Program is managed by the DOE Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, in collaboration with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Information about the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, including eligibility requirements, program benefits, application requirements, and access to the online application system can be found at http://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein/.

Plutopalooza Scheduled for Thursday Night on the Square 7/16/15

Join Dr. Dana Backman, NASA's SOFIA Outreach Director, at "Plutopalooza" on Thursday, 16 July 2015, at Poncitlan Square in Palmdale.  Solar system-themed hands-on activities and a special presentation will be made on "SOFIA:  Chasing Pluto's Shadow."  Presentations are at 6:00pm and 6:45pm.  Poncitlan Square is located at the City of Palmdale Civic Center.  For further information about TNOTS, visit:  Thursday Night On the Square .  For additional information about NASA/AERO Institute programs, go to:  AERO Institute Palmdale .

Journey to Mars Workshop Scheduled 5/2/15

Are you ready to go on a Journey to Mars? Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator professional development workshop on Rocketry. Through hands-­on experiments and physical demonstrations, educators will select a mission and learn how to design and construct a high-­powered paper rocket that will achieve the mission. Engage in hands-­on, standards-­aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities as you construct a rocket, predict its performance and its chance of mission success, fly the rocket, and file a post-­‐flight mission report. Missions include achieving high-­‐ altitude records, landing on a “planetary” target, carrying payloads, testing a rocket recovery system, and more. Instructions are provided for different paper rocket construction techniques. Learn about real world connections with NASA research and our Journey to Mars. 

 WHEN:  Saturday, May 2, 2015, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm PT

 Target Audience: K-­‐2 Formal and Informal Educators

 Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550

 Register Online: aeroi.org/ercRegister/index.html   

 Questions? Call Sondra Geddes at 661-­‐276-­‐2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

 There is no  charge  for  the  workshop.  Free NASA educational materials  will  be provided.  Seats are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

NASA Hubble Telescope Event Planned for 4/23/15

To commemorate this quarter century of success in engineering, science and culture, NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education will host an educator workshop to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. Since its launch, Hubble has allowed astronomers to observe the universe in stunning clarity, revealed properties of space and time, and shed light on many of the great mysteries of the universe making conjectures certainties. Learn about NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft that also explores the universe with an onboard infrared telescope. Educators will interact with subject matter experts and make connections between Hubble and SOFIA as well as enjoy a tour of the SOFIA aircraft at Hangar 703 in Palmdale.

 When:  Thursday, April 23, 2015, 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm, Pacific

Eligibility: US Citizens who are K-12 Educators (Formal, Informal, Pre-service)

Location: NASA Armstrong Hangar 703, 2825 East Ave P, Palmdale, CA 93550

Registration: 1) Apply at aeroi.org/ercForm/index.html ; 2) Submit Personal Information for Visitor Request and Hangar Access:  -Full Name; -Email address; -Country of Citizenship; -Date of Birth; -Place of Birth (City, State); -Driver's license number and state of issue’ -Last six digits only of your social security number.

Questions: Call Barbie Buckner at 661-276-2966 or email barbie.buckner@nasa.gov

 There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided. Space is limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first served basis.

"Winging It" NASA Is With You When You Fly Workshop Set for 4/8/15

Did you know that NASA is with you when you fly? Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator professional development workshop on Axes and Control Surfaces. Through hands-on experiments and physical demonstrations, educators will learn about motions and forces, transfer of energy, and the abilities of technological design. Engage in hands-on, standards aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities with the basic concepts of flight, including the three axes of flight and the control surfaces that guide the aircraft. Learn real world connections with NASA research and the airplanes that are flying today. Hear from a subject matter expert about cutting-edge research happening right now at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center through the X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed.

 

There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided.  Seats are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

WHEN:  Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm PT
Target Audience: K-12 Formal and Informal Educators
Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550
Register Online: aeroi.org/ercRegister/index.html
Questions? Call Sondra Geddes at 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

 

 

NASA Is With You When You Fly - Teacher Workshop 3/11/15

Did you know that NASA is with you when you fly? Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator professional development workshop on Bernoulli’s Principle and how it relates to flight. In this inquiry-based workshop, teachers will learn about energy transfer as well as motions and forces as they engage in hands-on, standards-aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities, each of which will demonstrate the Bernoulli Principle. We will explore Bernoulli’s Principle and how it relates to flight and make real world connections with NASA research and the airplanes that are flying today. Hear from a subject matter expert about cutting-edge research happening right now at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center through the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) Project.

When:  Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm PST

Target Audience: K-12 Formal and Informal Educators

Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550

Register Online:  http://aeroi.org/ercRegister/index.html

Questions? Call Sondra Geddes at 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided.  Seats are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

STEM Mania in Sports Virtual PD Offered by NASA Beginning 2/23/15

Kick off your classroom activities with NASA STEM Mania and discover the sports in NASA with a free virtual educator professional development.  Sessions take place every Monday through Thursday from 1-2pm Pacific time.  Pre-game sessions begin at 12:30pm Pacific time. 

K-5th grade topics include: Rainout or Game On - Clouds and Weather; Robo-Arm and Weightlifting; Space, Satellites and Sports; and STEM is Newton's Laws at Play.  Sixth through 12th grade topics include: Energizing the Arena; Hydration Station; It's All in Your Head; and Robotics as a Competitive Sport.

Earn a certificate for completing 5 educator PD sessions.

For more information contact kelly.a.hartford@nasa.gov and/or Lester Morales - lester.morales@nasa.gov or visit:  NASA STEM Mania Information

To register fill out the form at:  NASA STEM Mania Registration
 

Lunar and Meteorite Disk Certification Offered at AERO Institute 2/21/15

Thanks to Sondra Geddes for this info:

Please join the NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center in bringing the Apollo legacy 

to your classroom by attending the Lunar Meteorite Sample Certification workshop. 

Learn hands-on activities that can be used in your classroom and give your students 

access to view and explore some small portions of these “extraterrestrial” materials. 

 
NASA has actual lunar samples from the historic Apollo missions available to lend to 

K-12 formal educators upon successful completion of the Lunar Meteorite Disk Certification

Workshop. 

 NOTE: To be eligible for certification, educators must be currently employed at an accredited school as a formal K-12 classroom teacher or as a pre-service teacher enrolled at a teaching institution. 

 WHEN: Saturday, February 21, 2015, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm PST 

 Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550 

 Register Online: http://aeroi.org/ercForm/index.html

 Questions? Call Sondra Geddes at 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

 There is no charge for the workshop. Free NASA educational materials will be provided. Seats are 

very limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

NASA Principles of Flight Workshop for Teachers 1/21/15

Did you know that NASA is with you when you fly? Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator workshop on the principles of flight. Come explore aeronautics, the parts of an airplane, and the four forces of flight that allow an aircraft to fly. There will be hands-on, standards-aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities and interactive multimedia that you can take back to your classroom. Make real world connections with NASA research and the airplanes that are flying today. Hear from a subject matter expert about cutting edge research happening right now at NASA Armstrong through the Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the National Airspace System, or UAS in the NAS, project. 

When: Wednesday, January 21, 2015, 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm PST

Target Audience: K-12 Formal and Informal Educators
Location: NASA Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale, CA 93550

Register Online: http://aeroi.org/ercForm/index.html

Questions? Call Sondra Geddes at 661-276-2359 or email at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov

Call for SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors - Applications Due by 12/22/14

Thanks to Sondra Geddes of NASA for this information:

SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors Program

The SOFIA program is now accepting applications for the Cycle 3 Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program, placing educators on SOFIA research flights during 2015. This call for applications will end December 22, 2014. Information regarding application procedures, eligibility, and selection criteria can be found SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors .

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) mission is responsible to NASA for conducting an Education and Public Outreach program that exploits the unique attributes of airborne astronomy to contribute to national goals for the reform of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and to the elevation of public scientific and technical literacy.

SOFIA’s Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) effort is a professional development program aspiring to improve teaching, inspire students, and inform the community. It builds upon the legacy of NASA’s highly successful FOSTER (Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher EnRicment) program that flew educators aboard the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) from 1990 – 1995.

SOFIA’s AAA program now enters its Cycle 2 phase: 12 AAA educator teams representing educators from 10 states were selected.

For the Cycle 1 phase of SOFIA’s AAA program, 13 AAA educator teams plus alternates were selected in a highly competitive application process. Selected educators came from a variety of backgrounds, and their institutions included a school for the deaf, an alternative education site (developmentally challenged), highly underserved student populations, rural schools, and a Native American school site.

The Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors “Pilot” program for educator professional development successfully flew six teachers on the observatory during the summer of 2011, representing California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Virginia (Washington DC). Evaluation confirmed the program’s positive impact on the teacher participants, on their students, and in their communities. Teachers not only incorporated content knowledge and specific components of their experience into their curricula, they also have also given dozens of presentations and implemented teacher professional development workshops.  Their efforts to date have impacted thousands of students and teachers.

As part of preparation and training for their flight experience, AAA program participants complete a graduate-level Astronomy for Teachers on-line course administered by Montana State University and National Teacher Enhancement Network. Teams are paired with an astronomer with observatory time, and they work with this astronomer throughout the research, from preparation to data analysis. AAAs optimally fly aboard the observatory twice, will implement classroom lessons based on their experiences, and will complete an outreach plan.

Selection into this prestigious program is truly an honor for the educators and their school, planetarium, or observatory.  

Cubes in Space Competition Seeks Middle and High School Experiments; Register by 1/12/15

"Cubes in Space," a collaboration among NASA's Science Mission Directorate, the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, and idoodlelearning.com, is providing students around the world aged 11-14 years old to design, prepare and compete at no cost to have their experiments launched into space via a Terrier-Orion sounding rocket launched from Wallop Island, Virginia next June.  Registration for the sponsored teams is now open, with a deadline to register by 12 January 2015; materials regarding the competition are available for download.

A second opportunity is available for US students aged 11-18 years old to have their experiment launched from a high-altitude balloon at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico in September 2015.

For further information and to register, visit Cubes in Space Competition .
(If you attended the STEMPosium and heard Christy Papadopolous from XCOR, this should inspire you to have your experiments "leave this rock"!)

NASA Educator Workshop on Pressure Suits On Tap for 5/14/14

NASA Armstrong is offering a free workshop on astronauts' pressure suits on Wednesday, 14 May 2014, from 4:00-5:30pm PST, to K-12 formal and informal educators at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Highway, Palmdale.  The workshop, featuring NASA Life Support subject matter experts, will explain how the suits deal with pressure issues at high altitude, and will provide resources and explanations of how to implement real-world projects in classrooms, aligned with CCSS. and NGSS. 

Spaces in the workshop are limited.  To register, please contact Sondra Geddes at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov or call 661.276.2359 .

"Basics of Telescopes and NASA Missions" Webinar 4/9/14

Thanks to Sondra Geddes of NASA for this announcment:


Audience: Grades 5-12 in-service, pre-service, informal and home school educators.

Join this webinar and learn about basic principles of telescope design and how NASA missions use the same design principles. Examine how NASA works within technological constraints, just as your students are expected to do with Next Generation Science Standards or Common Core State Standards activities.

This webinar is appropriate for grades 5-12 science teachers.  The focus will be on basic principles rather than a mathematical treatment of lenses and mirrors. Let’s have some fun and see how there really is a clear link between that $350 Dobsonian telescope you can buy and the incredible science going on at NASA. Wrap-up the webinar with a quick look at the “citizen science” movement and see how you and your students can be part of genuine astronomical research projects.

The free webinar (hosted by Dr. Richard Chapleau) will be held from 3:30pm-4:30pm PST.  To register, go to Basics of Telescopes and NASA Missions Webinar .

NASA Aeronautics Educator Workshop Scheduled for Palmdale 4/17/14

NASA Education Office will be holding an aeronautics educator workshop (formal educators grades 2-12) on "Seeing Sound and the FPG-9 Glider" on 17 April 2014, from 4:00pm-5:30pm at the AERO Institute in Palmdale.  Participants in the free workshop will join NASA Armstrong Education Specialist Dr. Richard Chapleau in constructing a simple waveform monitor and an "FPG-9 glider" from grocery store materials for use in the classroom, with connections to CCSS and NGSS.  Seating is limited.  Please call or e-mail to register:  Sondra Geddes, 661.276.2359, sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov .

2014 Cassini Scientist for A Day Essay Contest Submissions Due by 4/17/14

Teachers of students in grades 5-12 are invited to submit student essays of not longer than 500 words to NASA's 2014 "Cassini Scientist for A Day" competition.  In commemoration of the Cassini spacecraft's 10-year anniversary, NASA is seeking essays on one of three topics:  1) Saturn's F ring; 2) Saturn's moon, Titan; or 3) the north polar region of Saturn, answering the questions: why should Cassini take this photo; and what questions will be answered through the photo.

For information on submission rules, eligibility, and prizes (including a possible visit with  Cassini scientists), visit 2014 Cassini Scientist for A Day Essay Contest

Services for Astronaut Gordon Fullerton Scheduled

Local retired NASA astronaut Gordon Fullerton passed away at age 76 after a lengthy illness on 21 August 2013.  Gordon's long and storied career included two space shuttle missions during his tenure as an astronaut from 1969-1986.  He then returned to NASA Dryden where he served as a NASA test pilot for 22 years, and later as Associate Director for Flight Operations and chief of the flight crew branch prior to his retirement in 2007.  Gordon consistently appeared and interacted with students and educators at NASA events such as Apollo's 40th anniversary celebration, and he was a perennial favorite at Salute to Youth, flying in with his NASA F-18.  He will be dearly missed.

Gordon with NASA workers and students at Salute to Youth

 

A full biography of Fullerton is available online at:   Dryden Pilot Biographies - C. Gordon Fullerton

Video highlights of Fullerton's career are available on-line at:  Dryden People

 

A funeral mass is scheduled for Gordon at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lancaster at 10:00am on Saturday, 24 August 2013.

Aerospace Education Services Project Teacher Webinars and Digital Badging

Penn State University, as part of the NASA Aerospace Education Service Project, is offering a series of free webinars for educators.  The topics range from remote sensing (July 16), to engineering design processes (multiple sessions in July and August) to Mission Mars, weather, and solar energy, among others.  For more information on webinar dates and how to connect, visit AESP Webinars .  Teachers who complete the webinars can receive certificates of completion.

NASA's AESP is also offering a digital badging program for completers of their professional development to include within on-line portfolios, along with feedback from master educators.  For details and to sign up, go to AESP Teacher Learning Journeys .

NASA To Offer Summer LEGO Robotics Workshops in the AV

NASA Dryden/AERO Institute and the Boys and Girls Clubs will offer two types of summer LEGO robotics workshops in the Antelope Valley in 2013: 

1.  Middle school students (entering 4th through 8th grades) and their parents will be able to learn to build, program, and test/operate robots on a playing field after learning the history of robotics.  The three-hour workshops will be held at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Highway, Palmdale, CA from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on July 13 (update - the 7/13 session will now be held from 9:00am to noon), 24, and 31.   To register for any of these student-based events, please call 661-276-7784 or email nicholas.pontius@aeroi.org by July 8, 2013, with the full names of participants, grade level for the students, email, phone number and number attending with the group.  LEGO kits and computers will be provided at the AERO for up to 10 teams.
2. Middle school educators (formal and informal, including Boys & Girls Clubs, Scouts, libraries, etc.) are eligible to attend one workshop to be held on August 10, 2013 from 9am to 3pm at Joe Walker S.T.E.A.L.T.H. Academy, 5632 W. Avenue L-8, and Lancaster, CA 93536.  This workshop will be hosted by the Westside School District and will be presented by the Joe Walker Science Jets  at Joe Walker STEALTH Academy.  Please call 661-276-7784 or email nicholas.pontius@aeroi.org to register by July 26, providing your full name, email, phone number, and your school/organizational affiliation. There will be 10 teams with multiple adults on each team.
    
   If you have any questions about any of the workshops, call Cecilia Cordova, NASA, 661.276.3266 or email cecilia.f.cordova@nasa.gov.