http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/ Earth and Space Science News for Educators en-us webmaster@lpi.usra.edu (LPI Webmaster) Copyright 2012, Lunar and Planetary Institute Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:05:00 CST http://www.lpi.usra.edu/images/lpi_logo_sm.gif http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/ 3553 1440 01234561920212223 SaturdaySunday http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm?Year=2012&Month=2&Tab=Overview http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?calendar=91 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm?Year=2012&Month=3&Tab=Overview http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?calendar=95 http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2012/about/about.php http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?calendar=92 http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?calendar=94 http://www.transitofvenus.org/ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?calendar=93 http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/TXWorkshop_about This workshop at University of Texas at Austin, June 11-15, shares three new high school curriculum units that address the complexity and interconnectedness of Earth?s natural cycles across various time and spatial scales and how you can incorporate these topics into your science classes. Interested Texas teachers will receive first priority through February 14, 2012. After that date, unfilled spaces will be made available to teachers from other states. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=945 http://www.seti.org/seti-educators/asset ASSET, a science and curriculum institute (July 23-28 in San Francisco) for high school science teachers, offers an interactive and content-rich program, with presentations by leading astrobiology researchers. All expenses are covered through grant funds. Application deadline: April 13. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=936 http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/discovery/vision_of_discovery.asp This NASA workshop for K-12 educators presents new images of Mercury from MESSENGER, of asteroid Vesta from Dawn, and prepares for the first ever close-up images of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt from New Horizons. Participants will get the latest mission updates from dynamic scientists, then learn how to use art to engage students in the appreciation and interpretation of NASA imagery. The workshop will be held in four locations simultaneously on March 10: Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA; Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, and JHU Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=925 http://eeep.tamu.edu/ The summer workshop at Texas A&M University (June 6 - 12, 2012) is open to high school science and mathematics teachers to integrate earthquake engineering into their classrooms. The deadline is to apply is April 1st, 2012. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=919 http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/GLOBE/training-1.php NASA Langley Research Center is offering a series of GLOBE Teacher Training Workshops at the Virgina Air and Space Center in Hampton, Va. These free workshops will be on Jan. 14, Feb. 18, and March 17. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=904 http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/neh.htm The Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center will offer a three-week NEH Summer Institute on July 9-27, 2012 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. This dynamic learning experience for K-12 teachers will explore how Native Americans and Euro-Americans have adapted to the Upper Mississippi River Valley over the past 13,500 years, and how archaeology leads to an understanding of how human cultures change and adapt through time. Some stipends are available. Application Deadline: March 1, 2012. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=897 http://www.instesre.org/GCCE/GCCEHome.htm This project will teachers and students develop authentic climate-related science research projects. During summer 2012, two climate science workshops will take place in New York City. The first workshop will focus on understanding sun/Earth/atmosphere interactions and Earth's radiative balance, a fundamental concept for climate science. A follow-up workshop will take place in August. During the summer, participants are expected to conduct their own research. Applications are due June 1, 2012. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=892 http://www.smdeponews.org/programs-events/nasas-expedition-earth-and-beyond-webinars-feb-14-16-and-22/ NASA's Expedition Earth and Beyond Program promotes student-led research investigations in the classroom using NASA data and resources. February's webinars include 2 classroom connections "Volcanoes on Earth and in the Solar System" for entire classes to participate in, and a teacher training on geologic processes on Earth and other planets in our solar system. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=935 http://psc.apl.washington.edu/wordpress/education/polar-science-weekend/ Polar Science Weekend at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, is taking place March 1-4, 2012. The event is four days of hands-on activities, live demonstrations and exhibits presented by scientists who work in some of the most remote and challenging places on Earth. Learn about ice sheets and sea ice, polar bears and penguins, scientific instruments and polar expeditions. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=932 http://www.ngcproject.org/events/events.cfm?eventid=232 All organizations, schools and individuals involved in STEM outreach are invited to attend this free event on Feb 15 at the University of Texas at Tyler. Network and learn about the resources available. Connect with local programs active in K-12 STEM outreach and education. Share what you and/or your organization are doing to excite kids about STEM fields! http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=924 http://www.globeatnight.org/ GLOBE at Night is a citizen-science campaign open to people all over the world to raise awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and report their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone. Please participate in the 2012 campaign an hour after sunset til about 10pm January 14 - 23, February 12 - 21, March 13 - 22, and April 11 - 20. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=918 http://www.smdeponews.org/programs-events/famelab-astrobiology-science-communication-competition-for-grad-studentsearly-career-astrobiologists-jan-13-2/ FameLab Astrobiology is a science communication competition focused on graduate students and post docs doing research in astrobiology. Via four preliminary and one final competition, early career astrobiologists will compete to convey their own research or related science concepts. Local visitors are welcome to come and watch the event! Jan. 13 at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Feb. 10 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Mar. 9 at NASA HQ/National Geographic Society in Washington D.C. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=906 http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2012/ On June 5, 2012, many observers around the world will see the planet Venus as it moves across the face of the early morning Sun. A variety of organizations are arranging special obsrving events. The Transit of Venus is among the rarest astronomical phenomena and won't happen again until the year 2117. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=884 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss NASA spacecraft will be heading for key locations during the Year of the Solar System from October 2010 until August 2012 - a Martian year that encapsulates almost two Earth years of exciting mission events! These 23 months of exploration by robotic tourists will reveal the familiar objects of our solar system as new worlds through new discoveries. Discover these worlds for yourself through activities highlighting a new topic each month. You can also submit photographs, artwork, music, or words of your YSS experiences! http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=622 http://www.icehunters.org/ The world is invited to help discover a potential new, icy follow-on destination for NASA's New Horizons spacecraft through the IceHunters website. Through this citizen science project, the public can help scientists search through specially-obtained deep telescopic images for currently unknown objects in the Kuiper Belt. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=937 http://bit.ly/2012AO An Earth Ambassador is someone who is committed to the support of a series of nation-wide NASA Climate Day Events hosted at their own institutions using NASA Climate Day Kits containing educational and public outreach resources. In preparation for their Climate Day events, the selected Ambassadors will be trained in the use of Climate Day Kit resources via two-week, virtual workshop, June 4-15, 2012. Application deadline: March 5, 2012. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=927 http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=scholars&sub3=scholars2012 The 2012 Thacher Environmental Research Contest, sponsored by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, challenges high school students (grades 9-12) to conduct innovative research on our changing planet using the latest geospatial tools and data. The best projects will receive cash awards. Entries Due April 16. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=905 http://eo.nso.edu/ret/ The National Solar Observatory seeks middle and high school teachers of science and mathematics who would be interested in participating in the Summer 2012 NSO Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Program. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=883 http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html Registration is open for the 19th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race. High school and college students are challenged to design and build a vehicle that addresses a series of engineering problems similar to those faced by the original lunar-roving vehicle team. The race will take place April 13-14, 2012, in Huntsville, Ala., at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. International teams must register by Jan. 9, 2012. U.S. teams must register by Feb. 10, 2012. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=866 http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/ The American Museum of Natural History Young Naturalist Awards invites students in grades 7-12 to participate in a research-based essay contest. Students are asked to conduct their own scientific investigation in astronomy, Earth science, or biology, and submit an essay based on their work. Contest Deadline is March 9, 2012. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=844 http://missionscience.nasa.gov/sun/index.html This NASA resource online, in print, and with companion videos contains graphic and detailed information about heliophysics: the study of the Sun's influence throughout the solar system and, in particular, its connection to the Earth and the Earth?s extended space environment. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=939 http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/classroom/ComaClusterActivity/ComaCluster.html In this high school activity, students will first learn the basics of galaxy classification and grouping, then they will use actual HST images of a collection of galaxies called the Coma Cluster to discover the ?morphology-density effect? and make hypotheses about its causes. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=938 http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ocean-currents/en/# Using heat and salt as tools, as well as horizontal currents and walls, you set up flow patterns that your little submarine can follow in order to reach the key that will open the treasure chest and get the gold. After playing the game, students are not likely to forget the roles that heat and salinity play on ocean currents. These are important principles to learn in order to understand the potential effects of climate change. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=931 http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/clubhouse/Window_to_Earth.html Move through the pages of Window to Earth and see images taken from space of these geographical features: peninsula, glacier, lake, desert, cape, island, upheaval dome, strait, waterfall, reef and volcano. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=930 http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Comet_Mystery_Boxes.html Introduce students to the physical characteristics of comets by using a tactile learning experience. Using only their hands, students reach into a series of boxes and feel the variety of materials and structures within. Each box contains an object that represents a quality of comets. For grades K-8. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=929 http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/CRaTER.html The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is a spacecraft orbiting the moon. The primary instrument on LRO for analyzing the Moon?s radiation environment is the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation, or CRaTER. This educator guide includes lessons to introduce to students to cosmic rays and their effects on humans. For grades 6-8. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=928 http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/sots/ Astronaut and chemist Dr. Don Pettit does physics demos that are out of this world. Currently on board the International Space Station, Dr. Pettit presents fantastic physics that can only be demonstrated in micro-gravity; the first episode is "Dancing Droplets." http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=926 http://www.universetoday.com/92744/distant-invisible-galaxy-could-be-made-up-entirely-of-dark-matter/ Astronomers can?t see it but they know it?s out there from the distortions caused by its gravity. This dark galaxy is the most distant and lowest-mass object ever detected, and astronomers say it could help them find similar objects and confirm or reject current cosmological theories about the structure of the Universe. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=944 http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1206/ Astronomers have found the strongest link so far between the most powerful bursts of star formation in the early Universe, and the most massive galaxies found today. The galaxies dramatic starbirth was abruptly cut short, leaving them as massive -- but passive -- galaxies of aging stars. The astronomers also have a likely culprit for the sudden end to the starbursts: the emergence of supermassive black holes. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=943 http://www.universetoday.com/93215/new-study-reveals-little-ice-age-triggered-by-volcanism/ Researchers may have possibly found evidence the "Little Ice Age" may have had ties to an unusual era of volcanic activity. Somewhere near the years between 1275 and 1300 A.D., four massive tropical volcanic eruptions caused some very cool summer weather in the northern hemisphere which triggered an expansion of sea ice that weakened Atlantic currents. The eruptions could have triggered a chain reaction, affecting sea ice and ocean currents in a way that lowered temperatures for centuries. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=942 http://www.universetoday.com/93265/potential-goldilocks-planet-found/ A new-found planet is in a "just-right" location around its star where liquid water could possibly exist on the planet?s surface. A team of international astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star in a habitable zone, where it isn?t too hot or too cold for liquid water to exist. The team said this discovery demonstrates that habitable planets could form in a greater variety of environments than previously believed. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=941 http://www.universetoday.com/93301/new-study-shows-how-trace-elements-affect-stars-habitable-zones/ Habitable zones are the regions around stars where conditions are the most favourable for the development of life on any rocky planets that happen to orbit within them. Now, by examining trace elements in the host stars, researchers have found clues as to how the habitable zones evolve, and how those elements also influence them. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=940 http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/11jan_smallestexoplanets/ Astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler mission have discovered the three smallest planets yet detected orbiting a star beyond our Sun. All three are smaller than Earth; the smallest is about the size of Mars. The system is more similar to Jupiter and its moons in scale than any other planetary system. The discovery is further proof of the diversity of planetary systems in our galaxy. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=934 http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/17jan_missingsnow/ Winter seems to have been on hold this year in some parts of the United States. Snowfall has been scarce in places that were overwhelmed at the same time last year, and there were 583 new heat records broken in the first five days of January in the US. NASA scientist identifies two culprits: La Niña and the Arctic Oscillation. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/news/?article=933