HST
CYCLE 11 E/PO GRANTS
This year, the Hubble Space Telescope Cycle 11 Education/Public Outreach Grant Program drew fifteen (15) proposal submissions comprised of twenty-six (26) HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP Programs and two (2) Hubble Fellows, representing ten (10) states. The total amount of requested funding was $278,808.
There were ten (10) proposals awarded funding comprised of seventeen (17) HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP programs and one (1) Hubble Fellow, representing nine (9) states. The total amount of awarded funding was $215,917.
- Reach for the Stars! - Philip Massey, Lowell Observatory
- HST and the Physical Sciences: Training Secondary Teachers Through Inquiry-Based Workshops - Peter G. Wannier, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Developing
Inquiry-Based Tools for the Introductory
Astronomy Education - Nickolay Gnedin, University of Colorado - Stellar Extremes - You-Hua Ch, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- What's New on the Outer Planets - Sanjay S. Limaye, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- A Supernova Made My Sister? - Lawrence Rudnick, University of Minnesota
- Volcano in the Sky - Kris D. Davidson, University of Minnesota
- Education and Public Outreach at Allegheny Observatory - David Turnshek, University of Pittsburgh
- Parallax Park: A Bilingual, Interactive, Family Exhibit about Stellar Distance and Finding Extrasolar Planets - G. Fritz Benedict, University of Texas
- Dark Matter: A Planetarium Show at the Science Museum of Virginia - Trinh X. Thuan, University of Virginia
ABSTRACTS
Reach
for the Stars!
Philip Massey, Lowell Observatory
Funding Amount: $8,738
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP No.: 9412
The goal of the program is to familiarize sixth-grade teachers and students with the Hubble Space Telescope, the life-cycles of stars, and the electromagnetic spectrum (light). The team will design and conduct training sessions for the teachers, who will then implement this unit with their class. This unit will involve our students in an inquiry-based, hands-on, minds-on set of activities using HST images in the classroom, and their own observations with our school's 16-inch CCD-equipped telescope.
HST
and the Physical Sciences: Training Secondary Teachers Through Inquiry-Based
Workshops
Peter G. Wannier, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Funding Amount: $40,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP Nos.: 9505, 9463, 9554, 9424
The program will develop and offer inquiry-based teacher-training workshops to secondary physical science teachers in the Los Angeles area. The workshops will use the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as a motivational backdrop for learning fundamental concepts in the physical sciences. Astronomy will be the vehicle to explore scientific principles, however, it will not be the primary goal. The program is a combination of four Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) HST Cycle 11 projects in order to maximize the impact. The intent in creating these workshops is to increase interest in space science among teachers and students, and to provide teachers with quality educational activities that they can reproduce in their own classrooms. The workshop curriculum will be developed by University of La Verne (ULV) faculty in consultation with JPL scientists. The workshops are planned for the summers of 2003 and 2004 on the ULV campus. The facilities will be provided at no cost by ULV, which is also forfeiting all overhead charges for purposes of this program. ULV physics faculty will have the primary responsibility for instruction of the workshops with JPL scientists providing guest lectures. Dissemination of the workshop content will be assured through the interaction of participating teachers with their students and colleagues. In addition, a newly-developed web site will reach a broader audience. Evaluation of the project will be accomplished via an outcome assessment. Additional funding will be sought from other granting agencies in order to continue these workshops beyond 2004.
Developing
Inquiry-Based Tools for the Introductory Astronomy Education
Nickolay Gnedin, University of Colorado
Funding Amount: $10,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP No: 9516
The program will develop interactive web-based projects for introductory astronomy education. Such projects offer students realistic hands-on experience in astronomical research, increase their interest in the subject through the inquiry-based learning, and raise students' motivation in making studying fun. The team has extended experience with designing such projects, and propose to develop two more projects based on realistic numerical simulations. This development will allow the team to structure a whole semester-long program of interactive projects, which will integrate effectively with the educational experiments currently under way at the University of Colorado.
Stellar
Extremes
You-Hua Ch, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Funding Amount: $10,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP No.: 9371
The William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois, in collaboration with Dr. You-Hua Chu of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will create a new planetarium show, Stellar Extremes. The show will have wide audience appeal and will be distributed to other planetariums to maximize potential audience exposure. The show will be loosely based on the book "Extreme Stars" by Dr. James B. Kaler at the University of Illinois and on the supernova 1961V research of Dr. Chu. The show will cover the largest and smallest stars, the hottest and coolest, and other extremes, showing how each fits into the big picture of the lifecycle of a star. The show will also explain how audience members can find these objects in the sky, what makes stellar astronomy so interesting to people today, and what humans have learned and are continuing to learn from modern observation techniques. The show will feature Dr. Chu as a female scientist and will examine what she does, how she does it, and the scientific process. Teacher's materials will be developed around this topic so that visiting teachers will be able to integrate the program into their classroom curricula.
What's
New on the Outer Planets
Sanjay S. Limaye, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Funding Amount: $47,180
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP Nos.: 9393, 9355, 9354, 9055, 9385
The program will focus on outer planets of five individual parent Hubble Space Telescope Cycle 11 GO proposals to conduct a comparative and effective Education and Public Outreach program in small museums. The parent proposals' focus on improving our knowledge of the atmospheric circulation and cloud structure (Neptune), global atmospheric/cloud structure (Uranus, Saturn and Titan), and overcoming the limitations of the observing system by focusing on Jupiter. With substantial previous knowledge acquired by prior space mission and HST observations, the new observations present an excellent opportunity to present an update in a comparative manner on the outer planets by pooling the resources. The team will (i) develop small exhibits/displays appropriate for small museums and planetariums that can be shared among different interested sites over time, (ii) present lectures for the general public at the sites hosting the outer planets display by one or more of the team members, and (iii) present these materials through other collaborative programs at teacher workshops and school visits. The program partners the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Science Center of Iowa (Des Moines), both of which include a substantial number of school age underrepresented and underserved visitors and have targeted programs for school age students and teachers. Geology Museum (Madison, WI) and the Native American Lac Courte Orreilles College (Hayward, WI) will also host the displays and programs.
A
Supernova Made My Sister?
Lawrence Rudnick, University of Minnesota
Funding Amount: $10,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP No.: 9537
The program will create a fun science presentation called A Supernova Made My Sister? The program will follow the path of atoms cooked in supernova explosions to their residence in the human body. It will be a one-person program where the educator takes on the persona of Professor Pulsar. The Professor will involve teachers and students from the audience. The presentation will use tantalizing Hubble pictures and animations of supernova remnants, including new optical pictures of Cassiopeia A. There will also be sidebar demonstrations called "super physics" conducted during the presentation. The demonstrations will follow science curriculum standards in physical science in grades 5-8, including a) properties and changes of properties in matter, b) motions and forces, and c) transfer of energy. The presentation will be done in the Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to reach more minority and underserved populations.
Volcano
in the Sky
Kris D. Davidson, University of Minnesota
Funding Amount: $20,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP Nos.: 9337, 9420
The program will create a dynamic short 10-15 minute film called Volcano in the Sky. It will tell the story of the star Eta Carinae. Perhaps no other star in our galaxy possesses such enigmatic and compelling characteristics. Its titanic 20-year eruption, starting in 1837, is a fascinating story that needs to be told. Hubble images and compelling graphics will bring the star to life. The film will have multiple uses. It can be a continuous short video to inspire and spark interest in stellar evolution as well as a museum or classroom tutorial where automatic stops will display multiple-choice questions and a companion activity. The film will also serve as a foundation for a feature planetarium show at the new Minnesota Planetarium & Space Discovery Center, scheduled to open in early 2006.
Education
and Public Outreach at Allegheny Observatory
David Turnshek, University of Pittsburgh
Funding Amount: $44,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP Nos.: 9439, 9382, 9488, 9367
Hubble Fellow: Andrew Hopkins
For nearly a century the University of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory has been predominantly operated to conduct research, with only a limited tour program two nights per week during about half the year. However, the size and location of the Observatory make it clear that it could be transformed into an excellent facility for education and public outreach. The spacious and well-maintained Observatory is conveniently located just north of the city of Pittsburgh in Riverview Park. For this program, educators and astronomers from the Pittsburgh community, including four HST Cycle 11 PIs and a Hubble Fellow, will create a diverse education and public outreach program at Allegheny Observatory. The program will include the following: (1) demonstrations of our HST research, (2) a monthly public lecture series, (3) day tours for K-12 school students, (4) teacher training workshops that target high school, which will allow teachers to fulfill their Pennsylvania Act 48 continuing education requirements and leverage our efforts, and (5) summer evening astronomy workshops for high school students.
Parallax
Park: A Bilingual, Interactive, Family Exhibit about Stellar Distance
and Finding Extrasolar Planets
G. Fritz Benedict, University of Texas
Funding Amount: $16,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP Nos.: 9347, 9407
Parallax Park will be an outdoor exhibit sited at the new McDonald Observatory Visitor Center in west Texas. The goal of this Project is to design an interactive family oriented exhibit that explains the basic principles of astrometry, concentrating on distance determination and extra-solar planet detection. The Park will contain objects representing the sun, stars at various distances and directions, devices suitable for children's use, and a path around which the visitor moves to mimic the Earth's orbit about the sun. The exhibit text labels and printed exhibit guides, in English and Spanish, will detail how the park is used to explore the uses of astrometry in modern science. The PI has spearheaded efforts in astrometry with HST and has served as the lead scientific consultant for exhibits in the Visitor Center. The Co-I's provide extensive experience in astronomy education and public outreach. Additional support for design, production of ancillary education materials, and evaluation will be provided by staff of the McDonald Observatory Public Information Office and outside consultants on museum design and children's safety.
Dark
Matter: A Planetarium Show at the Science Museum of Virginia
Trinh X. Thuan, University of Virginia
Funding Amount: $10,000
HST Cycle 11 GO/AR/SNAP No.: 9400
The goal of the program
is to introduce the concept of dark matter to the general public and students
through the development and production of a planetarium show at the Science
Museum of Virginia. The show will examine the evidence for dark matter,
compare the properties of dark matter to those of normal matter, and will
examine its influence on the structure and evolution of galaxies and the
universe. In addition to the planetarium show, the staff will develop
a study guide and classroom exercises that link the show to the Virginia
Standards of Learning.
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