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PROGRAM


Welcome
Dear Colleague, Welcome to Tucson and to "Building Community: The Emerging EPO Profession." On behalf of the Board of Directors, the staff, and the members of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), I want to thank you for participating in this important international gathering of astronomy and space science education and outreach professionals. As you may know, the ASP has been holding annual meetings for 117 years. Since our founding in 1889 by Edward Holden, the first director of Lick Observatory, our mission hasn't really changed. The ASP was founded then and exists now to improve the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of astronomy. By sticking to that vision, the ASP has long since grown beyond its regional origins to become what it is today--widely recognized as one of the world's leading organizations dedicated to astronomy education and outreach, while continuing to serve the needs of professional astronomers. Working with, supporting, and serving the community of astronomy/space science EPO professionals is a perfect example of how the ASP can forge collaborations to help advance the cause of astronomy education in particular and science literacy in general. In fact, our next conference for this audience is already scheduled for September 2006 in Baltimore, to be hosted by the Space Telescope Science Institute. In closing, I want to express the ASP's gratitude to our co-hosts at the University of Arizona, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the Planetary Science Institute, as well as the many committee members and volunteers--both in Tucson and around the country--who have planned, organized, and conducted this conference. Elsewhere in this program they are acknowledged individually, but I want to take this opportunity to thank them again. A meeting like this is a huge undertaking and there is no way the ASP could have done it on our own. Enjoy the conference! Cordially,

Dennis Schatz VP for Education, Pacific Science Center President, Astronomical Society of the Pacific

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Table of Contents

Welcome Letter from Dennis Schatz, ASP President .................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 General Daily Schedule ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Detailed Schedule by Day ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Exhibits ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Special Events .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Full Conference Program ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Author Index ............................................................................................................................................................... 54

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Acknowledgements
The ASP thanks the following individuals and institutions for their generous support. Our conference would not be possible without their time and dedication.

Support and Sponsorship
The following organizations have contributed significant support to the success of this conference. NASA Science Mission Directorate
University of Arizona The National Optical Astronomy Observatory operated for the National Science Foundation by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) Planetary Science Institute (Tucson) University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Lab & HiRISE University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Lab & SAMEC University of Arizona, Steward Observatory Meade Instruments Corporation MWT & Associates Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association

Organizing & Program Committee
Katy Garmany, NOAO, co-chair Tim Slater, University of Arizona, co-chair Mike Bennett, ASP Gina Brissenden, University of Arizona Susana Deustua, American Astronomical Society Edna DeVore, SETI Institute Isabel Hawkins, UC Berkeley Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College Dana Lehr, National Science Foundation Doug Lombardi, University of Arizona Lou Mayo, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute Lynn Narasimhan, De Paul University Steve Pompea, NOAO Martin Ratcliffe, Exploration Place Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center

ASP Staff
Mike Bennett Marni Berendsen Suzy Chippindale Joycelin Craig Marilyn Delgado Andy Fraknoi Christina de Leon Dan Zevin

Local Organizing Committee
Elizabeth Alvarez, AdC Consulting (Tucson) Janelle Bailey, University of Arizona, Steward Obs. Kathie Coil, National Optical Astronomy Observatory Tom Fleming, University of Arizona, Steward Obs. Katy Garmany, National Optical Astronomy Observatory Selina Johnson, University of Arizona, LPL & SAMEC Mary Lolos, Planetary Science Institute (Tucson) Ed Olszewski, University of Arizona, Steward Obs. Loretta McKibben, University of Arizona, LPL & HiRISE Diane Taylor, Consultant Connie Walker, National Optical Astronomy Observatory

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General Daily Schedule
7:30 am 7:45 am 8:00 am 8:30 am 9:45 am 10:30 am 11:00 am 11:30 am 1:00 pm 3:00 pm 3:30 pm 4:10 pm 5:15 pm Conference Registration Desk Opens Light Continental Breakfast Served Exhibit Hall Opens and Poster Hall Opens Morning Plenary Session in Salon D Interactive Poster Presentations (1 minute talks) in Salon D Morning Coffee Break in Registration Area, Poster Hall, and Exhibit Hall Parallel Sessions: 30-Minute Professional Development Clinics Lunch (on your own) Parallel Sessions: 2-Hr Interactive Workshops Afternoon Coffee Break in Registration Area, Poster Hall, and Exhibit Hall Parallel Sessions: 30-Minute Professional Development Clinics Afternoon Plenary Session in Salon D Adjourn for the Day and Day's Posters Removed

Special Events and Alterations to General Daily Conference Schedule
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 1:00 - 7:00 pm 5:00 - 6:00 pm Meeting registration desk open Opening Reception with light refreshments and no-host bar

Thursday, September 15, 2005 6:00 - 8:30 pm Steward Mirror Lab and Lunar Planetary Lab Tours (full)

Friday, September 16, 2005 4:30 pm 6:00 - 10:00 pm 6:00 pm 7:00 pm ASP members meeting replaces the last afternoon Plenary Session located in the Cottonwood Room. Awards Banquet with guest speaker Dr. Chris Impey (pre-purchased ticket required for this event) Reception Dinner

Saturday, September 17, 2005

8:30am - 4:00 pm Tour of Kitt Peak Observatory (Sold Out)

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Effective EPO Strategies: A Special Strand
· Are you new to the field of Education and Public Outreach (EPO)? · Are you a scientist or educator interested in learning more about effective EPO strategies? · Are you looking for a sequence of workshops to help you out with fundamental EPO advice? · Would you benefit from participating in a coordinated series of workshops focusing on different aspects of EPO?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, we have just the workshops for you! Please join us for these workshops developed by scientists and educators from the Professional Development Working Group (PD WG) of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) EPO Support Network: You are encouraged to participate in these workshops as a series, although of course you will need to choose between the two Wednesday afternoon sessions. To help you decide on workshop participation, please refer to the abstracts for these four workshops, using the session codes listed below. ­ Lynn Narasimhan and Greg Schultz, Co-Chairs, PD WG Each of these workshops is scheduled from 1:00 ­ 3:00 pm. Title
Effective EPO Strategies in Informal Education & Public Outreach: A Participatory Workshop Effective EPO Strategies in Evaluation: A Participatory Workshop After All, It's One Earth: A Diversity Practicum

Lead facilitators
Mary Kathr Leslie Isabel Dussault (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), yn Guimond (College of Charleston), Lowes (NASA Jet Propulsion Lab), Hawkins (UC Berkeley)

Date
Weds, Sep. 14

Room Session code
Salon F WWF

Susan Cohen and Jenny Gutbezahl (Lesley Univ.) Lynn Narasimhan (DePaul Univ.), Isabel Hawkins (UC Berkeley), Charles McGruder (Western Kentucky Univ.), Phil Sakimoto (Univ. of Notre Dame), Rose Von Thater-Braan (Native American Academy) Greg Schultz and Bryan Mendez (UC Berkeley), Lynn Narasimhan and Bernhard Beck-Winchatz (DePaul Univ.), Lindsay Bartolone and Sue Wagner (Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum)

Weds, Sep. 14 Thurs, Sep. 15

G

WWG

Salon H

WRH

Effective EPO Strategies in Formal Education: A Participatory Workshop

Friday, Sep. 16

Salon H

WFH

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DETAILED SCHEDULE BY DAY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2005 · SESSIONS LISTED BY SENIOR PRESENTER · SEE PROGRAM FOR OTHER LISTINGS & DETAIL
REDWOOD ROOM 7:45 ­ 8:30 8:00 ­ 5:15 8:30 ­ 9:45 Welcome & Plenary Session Jon Miller: The Understanding of Astronomy by Citizens, Policy Leaders & Politicians 1-minute Poster Descriptions (Daily Posters) SALON B SALON C SALON D SALON F SALON G SALON H

s

OTHER Continental Breakfast Registration Area/Poster Hall Exhibits & Posters Open

9:45 ­ 10:30

10:30 ­ 11:00 11:00 ­ 11:30 30-minute Clinics Richwine: In the Hunt for Variable Stars: Authentic Research Opportunities for Middle & High School Students Kang: Furnishing Digital Data from Observatory to Students & the Public Watt: From Promise to Product: Developing Innovative Educational Activities for Today 's Audience Pennypacker: Learning How to Analyze Large Data Sets in the Classroom Laatsch: Astronomy Education & Outreach in Eastern North Carolina Lutz: Working with Your State Science Teachers Organization Needles: Improve Your Astronomy Outreach with STARS Schatz: Why Don't They Get It? I Did! Fedele: Public Outreach on Kitt Peak Berendsen: Trusting Amateur Astronomers as Knowledgeable Informal Educators

Coffee Break Registration Area/Poster Hall Cottonwood Room: Sadler: Measurement of Conceptual Understanding in Astronomy & Space Science

11:30 ­ 1:00 1:00 ­ 3:00 2-hour Interactive Workshops

Gay: How to Run a Weekend Conference for Kids

Dussault: EPO Strategies in Informal Education & Public Outreach

Cohen: Effective EPO Strategies in Evaluation

Noel-Storr: How to Support Inquiry in Informal Education Programs

3:00 ­ 3:30 3:30 ­ 4:00 30-minute Clinics Dokter: The H-R Diagram of Astronomy Education Robinson-Boonstra: Effective Classroom Inquiry Using Professional Science Data Levy: Reach for the Stars: Why We Must Reach Out Porro: Astronomy & Space Science in Out-of-School Time Slater: Stellar Story Time: Enhancing Learning In Astronomy Using Children's Literature Philip Bell: Learning How People Learn Science: Navigating Around Expert Blind Spots, Homogenous Views of Learners & Content Obsessions Fraknoi: Astrology, UFO's & Moon Madness: Addressing Astronomical Pseudoscience with Public Audiences Hemenway: McDonald Observatory: Innovation in Education & Public Outreach

Lunch on Your Own Outside: Jackson: Pipehenge: An Enthralling Approach to Teaching Astronomy Cottonwood Room: Hailey: Engaging Girls & Women in STEM Through Partnership Coffee Break Registration Area/Poster Hall

4:10 ­ 5:10 Plenary Session

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DETAILED SCHEDULE BY DAY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 · SESSIONS LISTED BY SENIOR PRESENTER · SEE PROGRAM FOR OTHER LISTINGS & DETAIL
SALON B SALON C SALON D SALON F SALON G SALON H OTHER Continental Breakfast Registration Area/Poster Hall Exhibits & Posters Open

s

REDWOOD ROOM

7:45 ­ 8:45

8:00 ­ 5:15 8:45 ­ 9:45 Plenary Session

9:45 ­ 10:30

Robert Tinker: Fixing Science Education & the Role of Public Science Activities 1-minute Poster Descriptions (Daily Posters)

10:30-11:00 Buxner: Designing, Evaluating & Facilitating an Online Astronomy Course Chippindale: Family Astronomy: How You Can Connect Community to Your EPO Programs Silva: Modeling the Universe Young: Maximizing the Effectiveness of Astronomy Education Materials Asplund: Working with After-school & Youth Programs Schmitt: The International Shadow Investigation Harold: Evaluating the Web Drobnes: Confessions of A New EPO Lead: If Only I Knew Then What I Know Now Gay: Reaching the Podosphere: Using Podcasting to Spread Science via MP3 Bailey: Project Evaluation Plans that Really Work Brandt: Hammers, Feathers & Interaction in the Planetarium Narasimhan: After All, It's One Earth: A Diversity Practicum

11:00 -11:30 30-minute Clinics

Smith: NASA Earth & Space Science Resources for the Pre-Service Community

11:30 ­ 1:00 1:00 ­ 3:00 2-hour Interactive Workshops

Sim: Astronomy in the Pub

Coffee Break Registration Area/Poster Hall Cottonwood Room: Manning: In Case of Doubt, Attack: The Patton Strategy for Executing EPO Campaigns Lunch on Your Own Cottonwood Room: Willard: A New EPO Collaboration: GEMS Space Science Core Curriculum Sequences

3:00 ­ 3:30 Zevin: Setting Up Partnerships between Astronomers & Teachers: Techniques & Materials from Project ASTRO Carron: Journey to Mars: A 3D Exploration Gibbons: Building Enduring Partnershps: NOVA Origins Series Outreach O'Donoghue: Using Animations to Aid Student Visualization Robson: The IAU Working Group on Communicating Astronomy to the Public Kraft: Bringing Science to the Classroom: Journey through the Universe

3:30 ­ 4:00 30-minute Clinics

Radnofsky: Making Astronomy Memorable with Interdisciplinary Teaching Strategies

Coffee Break Registration Area/Poster Hall Exhibit Hall: Berglund: Teaching Astronomy with a Portable Digital Planetarium Cottonwood Room: Prather: Are You Really Doing EPO if No One is Learning? Lynn Dierking: Lessons without Limit: Astronomy & Space Science Learning Across the Lifespan Optional Tours Steward Mirror Lab (Advance Ticket Required)

4:10 ­ 5:10 Plenary Session

Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program

6:00


DETAILED SCHEDULE BY DAY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2005 · SESSIONS LISTED BY SENIOR PRESENTER · SEE PROGRAM FOR OTHER LISTINGS & DETAIL
REDWOOD ROOM 7:45 ­ 8:45 SALON B SALON C SALON D SALON F SALON G

s
SALON H

8:00 ­ 5:15 8:45 ­ 9:45 Plenary Session 9:45 ­ 10:30 Larry Cooper: NASA Education & Public Outreach: Looking 10 Years Out 1-minute Poster Descriptions (Daily Posters)

OTHER Continental Breakfast Registration Area/Poster Hall Exhibits & Posters Open

10:30 ­ 11:00 11:00 ­ 11:30 30-minute Clinics Bobrowsky: Origins in the Classroom: Professional Development Experiences for Educators Wasilewski: NASA GSFC: History Of Winter (HOW ) Program O'Guinn: Increasing Student Self Confidence in Science, Teacher Product Use & Scientist Involvement Cline: Sun-Earth Day : Approaches to Promoting Thematic Science to a Broad Audience Morrow: The Scientist Communication & Involvement Working Group (SCIWG) Update Connolly: Tapping Interest in Astronomy Education: Tools & Methods from an Informal Setting Gould: Writing a Winning Nasa Mission EPO Proposal Chippindale: Night Sky Network: An Effective Partnershp To Bring Astronomy to the Public

Alonso: Education and Public Outreach Programs at the Arecibo Observatory

Coffee Break Registration Area/Poster Hall Exhibit Hall: Berglund: Teaching Astronomy with a Portable Digital Planetarium

11:30 ­ 1:00 1:00 ­ 3:00 2-hour Interactive Workshops Wilmoth: Nai Astrobiology EPO Lead Town Meeting

Lunch on Your Own Waller: Astronomy & Space Science Education for PreService Teachers Laursen: Scientific Inquiry for Scientists: Professional Development for Scientists Working with Education Mortfield: Making The NASA EPO Product Review Work For You

Schulz: Effective EPO Strategies in Formal Education

3:00 ­ 3:30 3:30 ­ 4:00 30-minute Clnics Hill: Producing Commercial Solar Activiy Kits Hollow: Australia Telescope Syllabus Support for Schools Davis: Integrating Earth & Space Science into Public Programming in National Parks Harman: Designing, Managing & Evaluating a Summer Institute for Science Murphy: Summer Workshops for Teachers: Top Ten Practices for Producing Enduring Change Lebofsky: I've Got the Sun in the Morning & the Moon At Night

Coffee Break Registration Area/Poster Hall

McLain: Congratulations... You're ENGAGED!

4:30 ­ 5:30

Cottonwood Room: ASP Annual Members Business Meeting Awards Reception & Banquet

6:00 ­ 10:00

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2005
8:40 ­ 4:00

Kitt Peak Tour (Advance Ticket Required)

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Exhibits ­ Salon E
The following will be exhibiting during the conference in Salon E. Please be sure to stop by during exhibit hours.

Exhibit Hours:
Tuesday, September 13 Wednesday, September 14 Thursday, September 15 Friday, September 16 5:00pm 8:00am 8:00am 8:00am to to to to 6:00pm reception 5:15pm 5:15pm 1:30pm

Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The ASP provides programs, publications, conferences, resources, and product for both formal and informal educators, EPO professionals, amateur astronomers, and research astronomers. Come visit us to learn about our latest education program, to find out how you can get involved, and to purchase some of our best-selling outreach materials. www.astrosociety.org

DC-3
ACP Observatory Control Software provides total automation and web browser remote imaging for most commercially available telescopes, imagers, domes, and focusers. http://DC3.com

Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc
We are creators of the Digitarium Alpha, the first truly affordable digital planetarium system. A breakthrough in price and performance, the Digitarium Alpha allows you to take the capabilities of a modern fixed planetarium on the road. Portable, affordable, and extremely powerful, the Digitarium Alpha will revolutionize your astronomy program. Come see it in action! http://digitaliseducation.com

HiRISE & Lunar Planetary Lab
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is scheduled to reach Mars in March, 2006. Called "The people's camera," HiRISE will deliver the highest resolution images of Mars ever obtained from orbit, to less than a meter per pixel. Educators and the general public are invited to suggest imaging target sites on the surface of Mars to the HiRISE scientists with HiWeb, a web-based tool that will be demonstrated in this exhibit. HiRISE will help scientists to unlock the secrets and history of water on the Red Planet, its geological processes and atmosphere, and will aid in choosing future landing sites for robotic and human eplorers. Professor Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory is the HiRISE Principal Investigator, and the HiRISE Operations Center (HiROC) is located in UA's C.P. Sonnett Space Sciences building. http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

Mars GRS/DRSRL
We demonstrate an auditory display that allows students to "listen" to water ice data from the Mars Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) instrument aboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. This musical presentation of scientific data, created through collaboration with the Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab (DRSRL) in New Hampshire, is relevant to several current educational topics, including research into multiple intelligences, the integration of science and art, and learning tools for non-sighted students. We also provide several hands-on, inquiry based activities related to water ice at the martian poles. http://grs.lpl.arizona.edu www.quinnarts.com/srl
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Exhibits ­ Salon E
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory
The NOAO booth will feature posters and handouts on the latest outreach programs at the NSF-funded national observatory, including teacher observations with Spitzer Space Telescope, optics engineering activity kits, Spanish Language efforts tied to dark skies observation in two hemispheres, and a new membership group at Kitt Peak Visitor Center. The booth will also distribute information on many upcoming projects in ground-based astronomy, such as the thirty meter telescope and the large Synoptic Survey Telescope. www.noao.edu

SOFIA/USRA
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) will be a remarkable EPO tool, with on-board facilities designed to support educators, journalists and other guests on research flights in close proximity to science as it really happens. Visit our booth to find out more about the program and to see a model of the SOFIA aircraft. www.sofia.usra.edu

Watermark Resources
Printing and Graphic Services Watermark Resources opened in Tucson, Arizona in February of 1998 with the unusual business philosophy of providing our customers with unparalleled high-quality service in the printing industry. Since 1998, our company's growth of wholesale providers has expanded coast to coast with over 50 extremely diversified manufacturers nationwide. A short list of our customers in the Astronomy community are AURA, NOAO, NSO, Kitt Peak National Observatory, LSST, The Phoenix Mars Lander 2007 project, Steward Observatory, and the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. Some of our offerings include Commercial Printing ­ One to Four Color Process. Customer Labels and Tags in over 100 different materials and adhesives including Metals, Plastics, Vinyl, Polyester, and Polypropylene from One to Four Color Process printing and up to 200 Line Screen as well as Customer Embroider y and Silk Screen. For information please contact Bruce A. Wolpa at 520-977-5450

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Special Events
The ASP has lined up some very exciting events during our conference. Here are some reminders for those of you who have purchased tickets or signed up in advance and information if you wish to pass along your ticket to someone else.

Tours of the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab and Sonett Space Sciences Building at the University of Arizona
Thursday September 15, 2005 (Full) 6:00 pm. ­ 8:30 pm. Due to popular demand, we have added two additional tours and extended the original Mirror Lab tour to include a visit to the Sonett Space Sciences Building for a Mars Mania experience. The additional tours now accommodate all of our pre-registered sign ups and most of the wait list. The tour includes an hour at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab and an additional visit to the Lunar and Planetary Lab and Department of Planetary Sciences to see a full-sized model of the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment instrument, HiRISE. Personnel will be available in the image-processing room to show how raw images from the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem instrument become the images and mosaics of images that are released to scientists and to the public. Those who pre-registered will receive tickets with important visitors instructions and transportation instructions in their registration packets. See the Help Desk if you did not receive a confirming email and ticket. If you are not able to attend, we encourage you to share your ticket with someone else. You may use the message board to make an announcement or give your ticket to the Registration Desk.

ASP Members Meeting
Friday, September 16 ­ Cottonwood Room, Doubletree Hotel 4:30 pm. Free to all ASP Members and interested attendees. No registration to the ASP Conference is necessary.

2005 ASP Awards Banquet
Friday, September 16 ­ Salon D 6:00 pm. Reception followed by a Banquet at 7:00 pm. The ASP will present this year's awards at the Society's Annual Meeting Awards Banquet at the Doubletree Hotel, Friday September 16, 2005. The annual ASP awards recognize meritorious work by professional and amateur astronomers, science educators, and those who engage in public outreach. Our special guest speaker will be Dr. Chris Impey, Professor of Astronomy at University of Arizona. Dr. Impey has been the recipient of the NSF Director's Award for distinguished teaching and research, the foundation's highest honor. His talk is titled "Truth and Beauty in Cosmology: Does the Universe Have an Aesthetic?" Tickets are required for this event and are available onsite only until the end of registration day Tuesday, September 13th. If you purchased your ticket in advance, your ticket is included with your registration packet. If your pre-purchased ticket is not in your packet, please visit the Registration Desk. If you wish to transfer your ticket to another registrant, you can use the message board to post your announcement. The ASP cannot accept any refunds to this event.

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Special Events
2005 ASP Award Winners
Amateur Achievement Award For significant observational or technical achievements by an amateur astronomer Tim B. Hunter, MD


Las Cumbres Amateur Outreach Award For outstanding outreach by an amateur astronomer to children and the public Mar y Lou Whitehorne


Thomas J. Brennan Award For exceptional achievement related to the teaching of astronomy at the high school level Steve Rapp, Ed.D.


Klumpke-Roberts Award For outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy Jeff Goldstein


Robert J. Trumpler Award For a recent Ph.D. thesis considered unusually important to astronomy Jennifer Erin Scott Siming Liu


Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award For important research results based upon development of groundbreaking instruments and techniques Robert Lupton


Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal Awarded since 1889 for a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy Robert P. Kraft

"Behind-the-scenes" Tour of Kitt Peak National Observatory
Saturday September 17, 2005 (Sold Out) 8:30 am. ­ 4:30 pm. NOAO scientists will lead this sold-out, exclusive tour including a tour of Mayall 4-M telescope, the WIYN 3.5M telescope, the Solar telescope, and access to areas not available to the public. This tour includes transportation and lunch. Those who signed up in advance will receive tickets with important visitors instructions and transportation instructions in their registration packets. See the Help Desk if you did not receive a confirming email and ticket. If you wish to give up your ticket, you may use the message board to make an announcement or give your ticket to the Registration Desk for someone else to enjoy.

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PROGRAM

Key to the Session Codes
· First letter is session type (P = poster, O = 30-minute oral clinic, W = 2-hr workshop) · Second letter is day of schedule ( W=Wed; R=Thurs; F=Fri) · Third letter is the assigned room designation A = Redwood Room B = Salon B C = Salon C D = Salon D EH = Salon E (Exhibit Hall) F = Salon F G = Salon G H = Salon H J = Cottonwood Room · Categories of Formal, Informal, Outreach, and Other were self-identified by author Example: WRB = 2-hr workshop on Thursday in Salon B

Please consult the errata sheet enclosed with the program for any changes and additions.
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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · Posters
Wednesday AM Plenary Session
Time: 8:45 a.m. ­ 9:45 a.m. Location: Salon D The Understanding of Astronomy by Citizens, Policy Leaders, and Politicians
Jon Miller, Northwestern University, j-miller8@northwestern.edu, www.biocomm.northwestern.edu
Successful communication about scientific research and knowledge -- including astronomy -- requires an understanding of the multiple audiences that are available to receive astronomy information, the purposes for which they might want it and use it, and the level of scientific vocabulary that they are able to handle. No single message about science or astronomy will serve these different audiences and purposes. This talk will suggest a typology for thinking about the structure of the public and the formulation of public policy and discuss strategies for effectively telling each audience about astronomy.

PW02 Integrating NASA Content into the Mathematics Classroom: A 2-year Study
Kristen Zortman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, zortwoman@hotmail.com Rebecca Knudsen, Art Hammon, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Solar System Exploration Forum has recently completed a 2-year study investigating both the need in the K-12 mathematics education community for NASA education materials and the elements of quality math-science integrated curriculum. The study involved 342 math educators from 42 states and included both surveys and in-depth interviews. Results indicated there is in fact a need within the mathematics education community for NASA content, as it can increase student interest in mathematics, can increase student comprehension (particularly those who typically struggle in math), and can naturally fill a curricular void in the NCTM standards "connections" and "representations". However, barriers inherent to the math classroom may impede the use of these materials, including standardized testing, lack of time needed to execute integrated activities, lack of needed resources for such activities, and teacher comfort level with science. The study found that many NASA math/science integrated lessons do not have a strong enough NCTM standard focus, are too lengthy for short class periods, do not focus on NCTM standards "connections" and "representations", and have a stronger science focus than math. Recommendations for the creation of quality math/science integrated curriculum that meets the needs of math teachers are as follows: Begin with a specific NCTM standard, include primarily math content, make lessons short and concise, provide sufficient science background, provide no-equipment options, include hands-on components, and utilize math teachers in the creation and evaluation process. Recommendations for distribution of this curricula include the following: Allow for searching by NCTM standard, provide workshops that promote cooperation between math and science departments, provide materials that can be downloaded at no cost, work with textbook companies, and have a strong advertising plan.

Wednesday Poster Session
Time: 8:00 a.m. ­ 5:15 p.m. Poster Location: Near Registration 9:45 a.m. Oral Overview: Salon D
Posters presenters are invited to give a 60-second overview of their poster to conference attendees using a single overhead transparency between 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in Salon D. Posters are changed each day and are available from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. north of the registration desk.

PW01 Galaxies: A Tactile Exploration
Wanda L. Diaz, University of Puerto Rico, mercedw@yahoo.com Carmen Pantoja, Gloria Maria Isidro, University of Puerto Rico
Spiral Galaxies are classified based on their optical appearance. The shape of these galaxies have "arms" composed of stars, dust, and gas that extend from the center of the galaxy and wrap around the central part. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe. Neutral Hydrogen emits at a frequency of 1420 MHz which is at radio frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. This poster describes a lesson plan in Spanish to present several basic concepts regarding the study of galaxies to visually impaired students. In the first part of the lesson the student is presented with the concept of spiral galaxies. For this we use the tactile images from the book: "Our Place in Space. A Tactile Exploration". Next we explain the concept of spectra with a tactile graph of an HI spectrum of a galaxy taken at Arecibo Observatory. This spectrum is used to measure the distance to the galaxy using Hubble's law. By calculating the area under the graph an estimate is made of the mass of the galaxy. This work is part of the Shirohisa Ikeda Project at the UPR-Rio Piedras. This is an educational project in Radio Astronomy to motivate students to pursue careers in science. As part of the project, the students have developed techniques to present Astronomy concepts for the visually impaired and the blind.

PW03 "Reading, Writing, and Rings": The Synthesis of Science and Language
Shannon McConnell, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shannon.l.mcconnell@jpl.nasa.gov, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/edu-k4.cfm Ruth Paglierani, University of California, Sally Feldman, Washington Magnet School
Scientific discovery is the impetus for the elementary education program, "Reading, Writing, and Rings." But uniquely, the focus is to engage elementary students in reading and writing to strengthen these basic academic skills through scientific content. As science has been increasingly overtaken by the language arts in elementary classrooms, the Cassini Education Program has taken advantage of a new cross-disciplinary approach to use language arts as a vehicle for increasing scientific content in the classroom. By utilizing the planet Saturn and the Cassini-Huygens mission as a model in both primary reading and writing students in these grade levels, young students can explore science material while at the same time learning these basic academic skills. Developed in collaboration with NASA's Cassini Mission, the Bay Area Writing Project, Project FIRST (Foundations in Reading Through Science and Technology), and the Caltech Pre-College Science Initiative, "Reading, Writing, and Rings" brings the exciting world of space exploration into the classroom. The materials developed for "Reading, Writing, and Rings," are divided into 2 grade level units. One unit is designed for students in grades 1 and 2 while the other unit focuses on students in grades 3 and 4 unit includes a series of lessons that take students on a path of exploration of Saturn using reading and writing prompts.
Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · Posters
PW04 Prospects for Educational Research in Informal Science Settings: A Spectrum of Opportunities at the American Museum of Natural Histor y
Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, Teachers College Columbia University, connolly@amnh.org Meghan Groome, Teachers College Columbia University, Nick Stroud, Teachers College Columbia University
Methods and theories of educational research have infrequently been applied to Astronomy education and public outreach. This is a significant issue that needs to be addressed if we are to construct a professional, scholarly, and robust EPO community. To tackle this issue, we have formed a research group consisting of Columbia University Teachers College students and American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) staff members to conduct and report on original educational research on the immense range of Astronomy programs available at the museum. Programmatically, the spectrum of opportunities for outreach and research includes public programs, educator professional development, school field trips, internship programs, and general visitors. Conceptually, opportunities include collaboration between the museum and schools, universities, scientists, parents and community groups. Such a wide range of opportunities for meaningful interactions with both groups and individuals requires a solid theoretical structure for research, unique and inspirational approaches for implementation, and collaboration among traditionally disparate groups. Our research group hopes to bridge the existing gap by synthesizing theoretical and methodological approaches that can inform both communities. do and when and how. We strongly encourage the use of inquiry-based, hands-on activities to optimize student learning, and to that end, create our own activities and search for more among our NAI colleagues. During the year we provide further support through activities such as stargazing parties, planetarium shows, half-day workshops, and visits to the Pacific Science Center and other members of our supporting Consortium. Project AstroBio began in 1997 as Project ASTRO/Seattle, but since 2002 we have introduced more biology content, especially as it relates to life in the universe. Thus our scientist partners are no longer confined to astronomers and other physical scientists, but include biologists of all types; for example, our UW Astrobiology Program has become a major source of new scientist partners. More information: http://www.astro. washington.edu/projastrobio

PW08 "True learning is all about making the connections" ­ An astrobiology course for educators.
Wesley A. Traub, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, wtraub@cfa.harvard.edu, http://space.mit.edu/EPO/Astrobiology2005.html Irene L. Porro, MIT
We report on a new astrobiology course for Massachusetts secondary school teachers and after-school professionals offered by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in collaboration with the MIT Kavli Institute EPO office. The goal of this program is to increase educators' own understanding of key topics in the field of astrobiology and to provide them with a practical context in which science can be taught with an interdisciplinary approach. A highly integrated science, astrobiology offers a rich venue for life science, physical science, and earth and space science teachers to introduce students to scientific inquiry through intriguing questions and ideas. During the program educators engaged in a variety of inquiry-based activities complemented by interactive lectures by leading experts in several of the research areas related to astrobiology. Through this process, educators progressively uncovered the unifying connections among astrobiology disciplines, and gained a new appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of science. This is an aspect easy to forget when teachers are divided into different disciplines and classrooms and interaction among teachers is limited. Because of its interdisciplinary nature astrobiology allows educators to meet science content learning standards in a variety of subjects. As an integral part of the program, educators worked together to identify the Massachusetts science content learning standards they can address in their curricula and to prepare a plan to introduce astrobiology topics in their classrooms. We report on the results of the work of our educators, and on lessons learned and best practices for future implementation of the astrobiology course.

PW06 Through the Universe in Hawaii
Janice Harvey, Gemini Observatory, jharvey@gemini.edu, www.challenger.org/journey/hilo Laura Kraft, Keck Observatory
Hawaii was accepted as the thirteenth national Journey through the Universe community as a result of a proposal submitted in 2004 by the Gemini and Keck Observatories and the Hawaii State Department of Education. On January 21 - 28, 2005 the first Journey Week was held on the Big Island. A national and local team of astronomers and researchers trained over 120 educators on lessons that brought the universe into the classroom. These scientists visited over 100 classrooms reaching approximately 5,500 students, and held four family science events attended by over 2,700 community members.

PW07 Astrobiology in the Classroom: The Scientist Teacher Partnerships of Project AstroBio
Linda M. Khandro, University of Washington, lindak@astro.washington.edu, www.astro.washington.edu/projastrobio
Project AstroBio, a NASA Astrobiology Institute-supported program that matches scientists and grades 3-12 teachers for year-long partnerships in the classroom, allows volunteer scientists (student, professional, and skilled amateur) to share their excitement of discovery and provide models for what science is and is not. We now support 45 partnerships in the Puget Sound region. Following a two-day summer training workshop for both partners, each scientist visits his or her classroom at least five times in the school year, though many do more. We do not impose a curriculum except that it should broadly bear on some aspect of astrobiology ­ thus each teacher/scientist team chooses their topics and what they want to

PW09 Using Tactile Images to Enhance Learning at Astronomy Public Nights
Dennis W. Dawson, Western Connecticut State University, dawsond@wcsu.edu Noreen A. Grice, You Can Do Astronomy LLC
Tactile images are often associated with informational augmentation for people who are blind or visually impaired. However, tactile images also provide unique resources for a variety of learners as an additional mode of informational input. One of the goals of The Space Exploration Experience Project for the Blind and Visually Impaired (SEE Project) is to explore how tactile images can be used effectively with the sighted public at observatory and planetarium events (Public Nights). In this poster paper,
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we will display sample tactile images used by sighted visitors at the Western Connecticut State University Observatory and Planetarium in Danbury, CT, and provide summaries of their experiences from completed surveys.

PW14 The Australia Telescope Outreach and Education Website
Robert Hollow, Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Robert.Hollow@csiro.au, http://outreach.atnf.csiro.au Christopher Owen, Dr Jessica Chapman, Helen Sim, Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO
The Australia Telescope Outreach and Education website went online in May 2004 as the new public site for Australia's largest astronomical institution. This paper discusses the rationale for developing the site and its target groups of the general public, students and teachers, government and the media. Technical aspects of the site and its government-mandated accessibility requirements are outlined. The need to have a simple, fastloading site was matched by the desire for an attractive, readable and uncluttered look. Website analysis tools allow us to gain useful statistics and feedback on site usage. This has been matched by evaluation and comments from users.

PW10 Student Experiences with a 2-meter Telescope in Hawaii
James Bedient, American Association of Variable Star Observers, bedient@hawaii.edu, http://kilo.ifa.hawaii.edu/ Mary Ann Kadooka, Bill Giebink, University of Hawaii
The Faulkes Telescope-North, the largest operational telescope in the world solely devoted to education, is in routine use by high school students in Hawaii. Some of their experiences and results are described, including observing such diverse objects as near earth asteroids and faint cataclysmic variable stars.

PW11 Family ASTRO: A Report on a Program to Bring Hands-on Astronomy to Families in Seven Sites
Andrew Fraknoi, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu, http://www.astrosociety.org/education/family.html Suzanne Chippindale, Dan Zevin, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center
Surveys show that students whose families are involved in their learning generally do better in school. During the last 5 years, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, with support from the National Science Foundation, has been developing a series of hands-on family astronomy kits and evening and weekend events usable by astronomers and educators at many levels. Nine events have been developed (ranging from Moon Mission to Cosmic Decoders) and have been tested at 7 sites around the country. We will report on the evaluation of the program and on opportunities to get involved.

PW15 Evaluating a Goal-Driven E/PO Program: The Phoenix Mars Scout Mission
Andrew Shaner, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, ashaner@as.arizona.edu, http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu Tim Slater, Doug Lombardi, University of Arizona
Evaluation efforts have four purposes: (1) measure the strengths and weaknesses of a program's activities, (2) assess the extent to which the program's stated goals are met, (3) suggest changes to future efforts, and (4) document unexpected outcomes. The evaluation of NASA's Phoenix Mars Scout Mission Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program began in the fall of 2004. At the heart of the evaluation effort is the evaluation matrix, a detailed summary of objectives, outcomes, and indicators of success. Using this matrix as a guide, a planning evaluation was conducted to assess the design of the program's goals and activity objectives, connection to national science standards, its target audience and the overall value of the program. The evaluation team found all of these aspects of the program design to be well developed. A consensus was reached between the E/PO manager, partners, and evaluation lead that, if carried out as planned, the program activities will ensure program success. In the future, implementation, formative, and summative evaluations will be conducted. Implementation evaluations will be conducted throughout the duration of the program to assess whether the program is being conducted as planned. Formative evaluations will be conducted to assess the progress of activities as well as the overall program. Summative evaluations will be conducted annually, combining data gathered from multiple formative evaluations into a coherent whole. Data collection methods in support of each type of evaluation will include observations, interviews, surveys, and pre and posttesting.

PW12 Night Sky Network: A Case Study of Amateur Astronomy Clubs Expanding Their Outreach
Marni Berendsen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, mberendsen@astrosociety.org, www.astrosociety.org
Utilizing a nationwide program uniquely designed for amateur astronomy clubs doing outreach, how two astronomy clubs re-invented the way they provide exciting and enjoyable astronomy experiences for their communities.

PW13 Astronomy Tourism in Hawaii
Laura K. Kraft, W. M. Keck Observatory, lkraft@keck.hawaii.edu
Astronomy-tourism has become a $2 million industry on the Big Island of Hawaii. A new astronomy center, an inter-island super-ferry and a high-speed highway to Mauna Kea will provide a unique and growing audience for astronomy outreach. This poster will present the programs and activities available to guests at W. M. Keck Observatory headquarters and at the summit of Mauna Kea.

PW16 Astronomy Education Research at SIUE
Thomas Foster, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, tfoster@siue.edu Rebecca Lindell, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Where are EPO professionals trained? As the demand for such professionals grows and the expectations for quality educational products increases, people will need specialized training. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has a master program in Physics and Astronomy Education

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Research which can provide EPO professional with the background and opportunity to learn their craft. Visit the poster for more information.

PW19 Capturing Student Interest in Astrobiology through Dilemmas and Paradoxes
Timothy F. Slater, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, tslater@as.arizona.edu, http://caperteam.as.arizona.edu
Traditionally, many non-science majoring undergraduates readily reveal fairly negative opinions about their introductory science survey courses that serve as general education distribution requirements. Often seen as unimportant and unrelated to helping them acquire knowledge and skills for the workplace, such general education courses carry nicknames such as "Physics for Poets" (PHYSICS101), "Bugs for Thugs" (BIOLOGY101), "Rocks for Jocks" (GEOLOGY101), and "Moons for Goons" or "Scopes for Dopes" (ASTRONOMY101). In response, many faculty are experimenting with more modern science course offerings as general education courses in an effort to improve students' attitudes, values, and interests. One might think that ASTROBIOLOGY has natural curb appeal for students. However, despite the seemingly innate appeal of a course on extraterrestrial life, when it comes right down to it, an astrobiology course is still a natural science course at its core. As such, it can suffer from the same student apathy that afflicts traditional science courses if students can not find some personal relevance or interest in the topics. One approach to more fully engaging students is to couch core course concepts in terms of what Grant Wiggin and Jay McTighe (2004, 2000) call "essential questions." Essential questions are intended create enduring understanding in students and help students find deeply meaningful personal relevance to concepts. In response, we have created a series of probing essential questions that tie central concepts in astrobiology to dilemmas, paradoxes, and moral questions with the goal of intellectually engaging our students in the human-side of the astrobiology enterprise.

PW17 Education & Public Outreach Programs for NASA Astronomy Missions at UC Berkeley
Bryan J. Mendez, University of California at Berkeley, bmendez@ssl.berkeley.edu, http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/segway Nahide Craig, University of California at Berkeley
The Science Education Gateway (SEGway) at UC Berkeley leads the Education & Public Outreach (E/PO) programs for a number of NASA missions. Among those are the astronomy missions CHIPS and WISE. The Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) was launched in 2003 for a 1-year mission to study extreme ultraviolet emission from hot plasma presumed to be present in the Local Bubble. It was a small, UNEXclass mission with a focused science goal. Despite the mission's narrow scope, it was able to have an E/PO program that developed classroom lessons and websites, and contributed to many teacher professional development activities. The CHIPS E/PO program leveraged its efforts with those of other Astrophysics missions in the Structure and Evolution of the Universe (SEU) theme to make a much broader impact than it could have done alone. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is NASA's newest MIDEX-class mission scheduled to be launched in 2008. WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths with greater sensitivity than any previous such investigation. It promises to discover thousands of asteroids, the coolest and nearest stars, and the most luminous galaxies in the Universe. The E/PO program for WISE will draw together a number of national education partners, including other infrared missions such as SOFIA and the Spitzer Space Telescope, to develop coherent and innovative programs for education and public audiences.

PW18 Labs for a Lambda-Dominated Universe
Jatila van der Veen, UC Santa Barbara, jatila@physics.ucsb.edu, www.physics.ucsb.edu/~jatila/lambdalabs/index.html Philip Lubin, UC Santa Barbara
A decade ago the astrophysics community was wracked with the paradox that the Universe appeared to be younger than its oldest stars. In 1995 Krauss and Turner first proposed that Einstein's cosmological constant, "lambda", if non-zero, could solve this dilemma. A variety of independent measurements now suggest that not only is lambda non-zero, but it may account for up to 70% of the mass-energy density of the Universe, as well as the apparent acceleration of the expansion rate. The three most robust measurements that support a lambda-dominated Universe are the power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the ages of globular clusters, and the discrepancy between the distances to type Ia supernovae and their redshifts. We have developed a set of three in-depth, web-based investigations, using sophisticated, yet free, modeling and image processing software, which allow students to work with the real data and understand how such observations are used to develop scientific models to explain the origin of the universe. We will present a brief overview of the data and our curricula, then allow participants to spend an hour or so working with the various aspects of our curriculum package on PCs. We will close with a discussion of how we have used these curricula with college students at UCSB, and invite participants to discuss ways in which they envision using these materials in their educational environments.

PW20 Educational Research Techniques to Explore Student Interest and Prior Knowledge in Astronomy
Nick Stroud, Columbia University TC/AMNH, mpgroome@aol.com Meghan Groome, Columbia University Teachers College, Rachel Connolly, AMNH/Columbia University TC
We introduce preliminary details of recent research in astronomy and space science education. This work focuses on collecting evidence for students' prior knowledge and interest in these topics using a combination of teaching strategies and educational research methods. Knowing where students are coming from and what their interests are give educators and EPO professionals two vital pieces of information that can be leveraged to create highly effective educational experiences. Therefore identifying methods of tapping prior knowledge as well as student interest have become a prime objective for educational research for this research group. The knowledge gained through the use of surveys, question books, participant observation, interviews, questions card decks, and a large database of children's questions have been analyzed and leveraged to increase the effectiveness of specific astronomy programs at the American Museum of Natural History. The preliminary observations presented here focus on 2 separate 10-session courses on astronomy and space science. The first class is comprised of Kindergarteners and 1st graders and their parents and the second class includes 4th, 5th and 6th graders. We report early results from this research program, as well as prospects for future research.

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PW21 Engaging Girls and Women in STEM Through Partnership: NASA+GIRLS+GSUSA = NEXT GENERATION
Michelle Hailey, Girl Scouts of the USA, mhailey@girlscouts.org James Riedel, Girl Scouts Research Institute, Anne Grisham, Frontier Girl Scout Council, Leslie Lowes, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Crucial to advancing science and technology is the engagement of the next generation of female explorers. Traditionally, women have been underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering ­ a 1998 NSF study showed that women constitute 46% of the labor force and 22% of scientists and engineers. Enabling more youth and adults to embrace the value of STEM in society and to enter the STEM workforce is a common goal of both NASA and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). Addressing "do gender differences matter?", we will present research in effective genderspecific youth development programs for girls and young women by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI), including published research specific to informal learning ("The Girl Difference: Short-Circuiting the Myth of the Technophobic Girl" and "Paths to Positive Youth Development)". Examples of the GSUSA / NASA collaborative program best practices will also be included with tips for developing informal learning opportunities for girls utilizing the NASA / GSUSA model. 93 years strong, GSUSA is the leading youth development organization serving girls ages 4-17 in the world today. With nearly 4 million current members, including 986,000 primarily volunteer adults, GSUSA inspires girls and young women with the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism, and service so that they may become happy and resourceful citizens. Supporting continuous improvement and measuring the impact of activities are core to GSUSA's programming. GSRI was formed in 2000. It originates new projects that bolster knowledge about girls, and synthesizes research that exists on girls' healthy development.

PW23 COSM at Hampton University: Physics Education
Kenneth Cecire, Hampton University Center for the study of the Origin and Structure of Matter (a Physics Frontiers Center), ken.cecire@hamptonu.edu, http://www.hamptonu.edu/academics/schools/science/cosm.htm
The Center for the study of the Origin and Structure of Matter (COSM) is a Physics Frontiers Center located at Hampton University in southeast Virginia. As a historically black university, Hampton is in a unique position to fulfill the COSM mission in nuclear and particle physics basic research while connecting to other HBCUs and to underserved communities. COSM has worked to enhance physics education as far away as Africa and as close as Virginia high schools.

PW24 Stars in the Eyes, Birth of a Vocation?
Yael Naze, Institut d'Astrophysique et de Geophysique, ULg, naze@astro.ulg.ac.be
It is generally very difficult to interest people in Science, especially Physics. However, Astronomy has a great power of fascination, and can thus be used to attract people into the scientific world. In Liege, we are trying to develop several different aspects of astro-education. For example, we organize interactive activities for primary schools, and also help secondary students to consider a scientific career. Our undergraduate students also benefit from our experience: for example, they have the possibility to observe at a `real' Observatory, they can train at ESA facilities. The general public is also invited to discover Astronomy and through it, Physics, thanks to several specific events. Finally, media, the links between the public and the researchers, are not forgotten: our ASTRO news service was specifically created for this purpose.

PW25 Two New Stellar Astronomy Outreach Activities
Patrick A. Young, Los Alamos National Laboratory, payoung@lanl.gov Abigail S. Hedden, Karen A. Knierman, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
We have created two outreach activities to introduce children to concepts in stellar astronomy. The first presents nucleosynthesis in a fashion accessible to most school age children. The participants are introduced to the idea that matter is made up of simple building blocks and act out as a group the creation of a helium nucleus from hydrogen nuclei in the sun. The takehome lesson of the activity is that all of the things that the participants touch and interact with, including each other, on a daily basis were created in the heart of a star. This provides children a personal connection to one of the most interesting areas of astrophysics. The second activity introduces stellar classification on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Stars representing a range of types were chosen in Orion, which is one of the most immediately recognizable constellations. Detachable stars were placed on a large poster of Orion, and participants were given information about brightness and temperature necessary to transfer stars to the HR diagram. Participants thus engaged in an activity familiar to professional astronomers, dealing with stars they can view with their own eyes, and gained experience in plotting data on a graph. Both activities are easily adjustable for the age/experience level of both participants and presenters and have minimal costs for materials. These activities were tested at the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council Astronomy Patch Day in March, 2005 and received tremendous positive feedback. One leader plans to incorporate the activities into her 5th grade classroom.

PW22 The Ewen Telescope Remote Observing Project
Jennifer West, University of Manitoba, Jennifer_West@UManitoba.ca, http://www.umanitoba.ca/observatory Ian Cameron, University of Manitoba
In December, 2002, the University of Manitoba Department of Physics and Astronomy in Manitoba, Canada, received a donation of a Meade LX200 16-inch telescope. The astronomy group has since undertaken a project that would see this telescope used for outreach to high school students. The ultimate goal is to have students select appropriate objects to observe and request the observations through a web-based interface. Initially, the observations will be made by a telescope operator and ultimately by the "robotic" observatory. The images will be distributed electronically to the classroom, then used by the students to investigate various astronomical phenomena such as the motion of asteroids, the periodic brightening and fading of variable stars, or the search for supernovae in distant galaxies. This poster gives a progress report on the activities thus far including a teachers' workshop and a youth camp, and discusses the future plans for this remotely operated facility.

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PW26 Astronomy Camps
Don McCarthy, The University of Arizona, dmccarthy@as.arizona.edu, http://www.astronomycamp.org Eric Hooper, The University of Texas - Austin, Craig Kulesa, The University of Arizona, Jeff Regester, Wellesley College
Astronomy Camps are "immersion experiences" sponsored by The University of Arizona Alumni Association and are open by reservation to the general public. Beginning and advanced levels are available to teens, adults, educators, school groups, and Girl Scout adult trainers. Participants become astronomers, spending hands-on nights using two 60-inch diameter telescopes and associated research instrumentation at Mt. Lemmon Observatory (altitude 9200 feet) in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. Nighttime observing projects provide authentic discoveryoriented experiences. Daytime activities include solar observing, hands-on experiments, interactive talks and activities led by astronomers, tours of the University's Mirror Lab, as well as hiking the Solar System and Local Group to scale in the unique "sky island" environment. Since 1988, the Camps have attracted an international audience. Through the generosity of a former Camper, a new telescope (~2.4m and an associated Science Center are under development).

PW28 Improving Existing EPO Efforts with Data Access through the National Virtual Observator y
Jordan Raddick, Johns Hopkins University, raddick@pha.jhu.edu, http://www.virtualobservatory.org Carol Christian, Space Telescope Science Institute
The National Virtual Observatory (NVO) is developing tools to enable astronomy data to be shared seamlessly across the Internet. The goal of the NVO is to allow anyone on the Internet to access all astronomy data ever measured, with any instrument, in any wavelength. The NVO's research efforts focus on allowing scientists to access existing online data, adding value to each dataset by virtue of its connection to others. Similarly, the NVO's Education and Public Outreach (EPO) efforts focus on connecting existing projects with the our seamless access to real, modern astronomy data from thousands of research projects. We hope that this connection will provide countless opportunities to expand and enhance existing EPO projects. Some of the projects currently working with NVO are the CLEA labs at Gettysburg College, Project LITE at Boston University, and Adler Planetarium. In this poster, I will describe the current EPO efforts that incorporate the NVO's data access tools. I will also provide a tutorial for EPO developers, with practical suggestions on how to incorporate NVO tools into existing projects. I will also give contact information for further help.

PW27 AIM/GLOBE Partnership: Providing Remote Sensing Opportunities For Students And Teachers To Study No
Dianne Q. Robinson, Hampton University, dianne.robinson@hamptonu.edu, http://aim.hamptonu.edu AND http://www.globe.gov Barbara H. Maggi, Hampton University, Teresa Kennedy, GLOBE Program
"Aeronomy of Ice In the Mesosphere" (AIM), a NASA satellite-based research mission, recently partnered with the GLOBE program to provide students and teachers with innovative education opportunities that incorporates remote sensing of Noctilucent Clouds. The AIM mission is dedicated to providing a scientific basis for understanding why Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) form and vary. PMCs are sometimes known as Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) or "night shinning" clouds because of their visibility during or just before and after twilight. NLCs may well be the only truly visible atmospheric phenomenon associated with global atmospheric change. These clouds that form ~ 50 above the earth, surface usually poleward of 500 latitude, have been increasing with time, becoming brighter and moving toward the equator. The visible manifestation of NLCs provides an unprecedented and unique opportunity for education and public outreach. AIM is collaborating with the GLOBE program to provide students with opportunities to collect and utilize NLC data images. GLOBE is a network of schools, science centers, and clubs from over 105 countries where students collect scientific data according to precise protocols. The data is then entered into a central database at the GLOBE website, allowing both scientists and students to utilize it. AIM's outreach team and scientists at Hampton University are constructing a specific NLC protocol that will be used by the GLOBE program. The partnership of AIM and GLOBE will allow students worldwide to be involved in collecting and utilizing NLC data images.

PW29 Vision, Olfaction, Hearing, Touch, Learning, Decision Making, and Pattern Recognition
Sarah S. Marcotte, Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering, California Institute of Technology, smarcotte@cnse.caltech.edu
Vision. Olfaction. Hearing. Touch. Learning. Decision making. Pattern recognition. These are all things that even simple biological organisms perform far better and more efficiently than the fastest digital computers. Endowing machines with senses and sensory based behavior has been the mission of the Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering, a National Science Foundation sponsored research center at the California Institute of Technology for the past 10 years. At Caltech, the CNSE has emerged as the leader in education and outreach and has contributed to the institutionalization of sustainable innovative programs that reach a wide range of audiences across the Caltech community. CNSE outreach is organized to introduce a wide cross-section of people to CNSE research, involve them in the work we are doing, and excite them about the prospects of a future in science and engineering. Special emphasis is placed on encouraging individuals from diverse backgrounds to participate in our programs and activities.

PW30 Beyond Einstein
James C. Lochner, USRA & NASA/GSFC, lochner@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Michelle B. Larson, CGWP/Penn State Univ., Barbara Mattson, L-3 Com., UMD & NASA/GSFC
Beyond Einstein is part of NASA's roadmap to explore fundamental questions about the universe: What powered the Big Bang? What happens at the edge of a black hole? and What is the dark energy that is pulling the universe apart? The complexity of the science inherent to these questions, and the cutting-edge technology in the proposed missions to answer them, make connecting these ideas to the classroom a challenge. We report on the results of a teacher focus group convened in the spring of 2005 to explore a meaningful interface between students and the Beyond Einstein science and technology. Through a series of presentations, exercises and
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extended discussion periods, the teachers provided feedback on potential entry points to the classroom, including the topics that would capture their students' interest and topics that would be useful in their teaching. We will discuss the impact of this focus group on our plans to develop curriculum support materials (e.g. web sites, teacher guides, wallsheets, etc.) for topics within Beyond Einstein. These materials will be incorporated into the successful series of curriculum materials which are part of the Imagine the Universe! E/PO program. of the workshop will be to talk about SSTA meetings, Web sites, journals and professional development programs. Each SSTA is different so I'll research in advance what is going on in some other states so I can give examples of the diversity of activities going on in SSTAs and see what additional items participants have to contribute. I'll distribute the urls of SSTA Web sites so session participants have a contact if they want to get involved. I'll also take the contact information of session participants and follow up in six months to see if they have any interaction with their SSTA.

Wednesday AM Clinic Session
Time: 11:00 a.m. ­ 11:30 a.m. Category: Formal Education Location: Redwood Room OW1A In the Hunt for Variable Stars: Authentic Research Opportunities for Middle and High School Students
Pebble Richwine, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, pebbler@email.arizona.edu Erin Dokter, University of Arizona CAPER Team
Astronomical data is widely available via the internet. This session will focus on the manual "In the Hunt for Variable Stars". The manual provides information on how to study variable stars using data mining techniques. The equipment needed for this experience consists of a computer, internet connection, and curiosity. Both the National Research Council (NRC) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) indicate that authentic research opportunities help students learn to reason more scientifically. Astronomy is a popular topic for students to choose to study for science fair like experiences. The problem is that a quick web search only provides a limited amount of primers for the students to build on. In the Hunt for Variable Stars provides the vehicle for students to actively engage in the enterprise of astronomical scientific research. Students can scientifically investigate the behavior of variable stars by data mining. Stardial is the online dataset that is the focus of data. In the near future, the National Virtual Observatory (NVO) will compile astronomical data in a way that is easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This flood of data will provide copious amounts of opportunity for students to `dig in and get their feet wet'.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon C OW1C Astronomy Education and Outreach in Eastern North Carolina
Mr. Shawn Laatsch, East Carolina University and Eastern North Carolina Regional Science Center, laatschs@mail.ecu.edu
Eastern North Carolina is a very rural area with few science resources. Schools have little astronomy in their curriculums, yet there is strong interest in the subject. The Eastern NC Regional Science Center is an institution in the planning stages that will provide formal and informal education, teacher training and public outreach. The first stage of this project has been to engage schools and the general public in a variety of astronomy education and outreach programs. This talk will highlight the successes, challenges, and opportunities in bringing astronomy to Eastern North Carolina.

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon D OW1D Improve your Astronomy Outreach Program with STARS
Madeleine Needles, MIT Haystack Observatory, mneedles@haystack.mit.edu Preethi Pratap, MIT Haystack Observatory.
In 2003, the outreach team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory won an MIT Excellence Award for their work to enrich the science knowledge of students and the public in their local area. A small research community, their success at communicating difficult scientific concepts in the fields of radio astronomy, atmospheric science, and geodesy is due to five simple strategies that they have refined through the years. This presentation will focus on these strategies, how they have improved Haystack's outreach efforts, and how they can work for you. They will also demonstrate some of the outreach materials that have been developed by observatory staff and by high school teachers (through the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Teachers program) to use with students in school age programs. The five simple steps are easily repeatable and will help other groups improve their outreach capabilities. From setting outreach as a priority to recognizing the accomplishments of the outreach team, the STARS program is an effective tool. The five steps include: Set Education Outreach as a priority, Target enthusiastic volunteers, Assemble a good collection of materials, Research opportunities for outreach that match your capabilities, and Salute your volunteers. The presentation will give examples of each step with anecdotal comments to illustrate the program.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon B OW1B Working with Your State Science Teachers Organization
Julie Lutz, University of Washington, nasaerc@u.washington.edu
This will be a highly interactive discussion session. Over the past 15 years I have done a lot with the Washington Science Teachers Association (presenting at meetings, writing for their journal, running professional developments through their infrastructure) and I would like to see more E/PO professionals involved with these groups. One point about the state science teachers associations (SSTAs) is that you have a group of educators who are particularly enthusiastic about their craft and subject matter. From the viewpoint of the E/PO professional, you get lots of information about "how things are going" in the schools, e.g., the impact of high stakes tests, efforts to do "science across the curriculum" and other trends and new developments of that sort, by keeping in touch with the SSTA. The format

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Other Location: Salon F OW1F Why Don't They Get It? I Did!
Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center, schatz@pacsci.org
One of the biggest challenges that education outreach professionals face is making scientists and other colleagues understand how people learn -- especially that people don't learn in the same way many scientists think they (the scientists) deal with new information. This session provides several experiences that can be used with scientists to put them in position of revealing their own preconceptions and difficulties dealing with novel information. beliefs of learners as answer choices. We have constructed an item bank and gathered data from a national sample of 8,000 students and their teachers in based upon the K-12 NRC Standards and AAAS Benchmarks dealing with astronomy. We will characterize the content knowledge of participants, student gains from instruction, and examine the attributes of effective test items. We have identified concepts that are age-appropriate and those which appear very difficult for the targeted students. There are many strengths of teachers at all levels and several weaknesses; knowledge of which can help formulate effective professional development experiences. Our test instruments are available to researchers who wish to measure the impact of their programs.

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon G OW1G Public Outreach on Kitt Peak
Richard Fedele, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, rfedele@noao.edu, www.noao.edu
For over 40 years the Kitt Peak visitor Center has been engaged in providing public programs for visitors. Join us as we provide you with some of the details of our most popular programs which make Kitt Peak unique.

Wednesday Workshops
Time: 1:00 p.m. ­ 3:00 p.m. Category: Other Location: Redwood Room WWA Furnishing Digital Data from Observator y to Students and Public
Rick Kang (and panel), Electronic Universe-Friends of Pine Mtn. Observatory, rkang@efn.org
As educators we strongly advocate that students learn to collect and analyze data. There has been a recent growth of small observatories that are willing to furnish digital data to clients beyond the formal research arena, primarily to students. From our experiences over the past decade including discussions with colleagues from other such facilities, we face challenges getting word to teachers and to students that we offer data acquisition/downloading opportunities and to motivate these potential users to create and execute projects. When students submit projects, often the projects are grandiose and do not recognize a realistic time frame for completion. Data distribution can be a challenge with network, software, and hardware incompatibilities, and we are always pressed for funding and for staffing. A discussion by several of the "players" in the remote imaging/ data supply field at the September E/PO conference would provide an opportunity to examine problems and put forth solutions to improve the efficacy of the numerous smaller observatories now open for student and public access. Panelists tentatively agreed to participate include: James Bedient, Preethi Pratap, David Levy, Mel Blake, Michael Schwartz, Robert Mutel, Terry Mann, and Mary Kay Hemenway.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon H OW1H Trusting Amateur Astronomers as Knowledgeable Informal Educators
Marni Berendsen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, mberendsen@astrosociety.org, www.astrosociety.org
Amateur astronomers regularly volunteer as informal astronomy educators for their communities in schools, community and youth organizations, science centers, parks, and a variety of other venues. How knowledgeable are amateur astronomers who regularly do this outreach? How can community groups and educators quickly determine that the amateur astronomers volunteering for their organizations are likely to be knowledgeable about astronomy or if they might require additional training? What are effective avenues for amateur astronomers interested in enhancing their knowledge of basic astronomy concepts? Research is reported that inquires into the level of knowledge of basic astronomy concepts among amateur astronomers and examines factors related to amateur astronomy that affect that knowledge.

Category: Formal Education Location: Cottonwood Room OW1J Measurement of Conceptual Understanding in Astronomy and Space Science: Using MisconceptionBased, Standards-based Multiple-Choice Tests
Philip Sadler, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, psadler@cfa.harvard.edu
The weak link in instruction and professional development in astronomy is assessment that accurately gauges understanding of science concepts. Our efforts have focused on development of misconception-driven diagnostic tests that draw upon advances in cognitive science while utilizing a simple, multiple-choice format; they include the most common non-scientific

Category: Other Location: Salon B WWB From Promise to Product: Developing Innovative Educational Activities for Today's Audience
Keith Watt, ASU Mars Education Program, k.watt@asu.edu, Sheri Klug, ASU Mars Education Program
This engaging, fast-paced workshop will give participants the tools they need to create, plan, design, and execute an educational activity that achieves the twin goals of satisfying national, state, or local educational standards while engaging students in learning that excites and motivates them. Keith Watt, creator of the critically-acclaimed Marsbound Mission to the Red Planet collectable card game format engineering design activity, will lead participants through all of the steps that were taken in the development of this popular product, from initial conception, to design and planning, and to implementation and testing. Working

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
in teams, participants will use checklists and outlines created by the author to lay out a full project plan for an activity of their own creation which satisfies the National Science Education Standards or the Standards for Technological Literacy (as appropriate). After an introduction to the activity, parallels to Marsbound and its development will be made throughout the workshop. Upon completion of the workshop, participant teams who go on to fully develop their activity will have it featured on the Arizona State University Mars Education Program website. The author has served as a reviewer of educational products for NASA and will outline procedures for submitting products for review (and insider tips for satisfying the reviewers) at the close of the workshop. This workshop will be an introduction to today's educational landscape for product developers of all experience levels, from those just getting started to seasoned professionals. part of the program, we will go through the nitty-gritty of going from an idea to a conference, including timelines, core organizing committee positions, liability issues, assessment tools, and how to get free stuff to give away. Example handouts and forms will be provided and participants will discuss how to find the sweet spot in their own academic and business calendars to put on a conference.

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon F WWF Effective EPO Strategies in Informal Education and Public Outreach: A Participator y Workshop
Mar y Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Kathr yn Guimond, College of Charleston, Leslie Lowes, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Isabel Hawkins, UC Berkeley
This participatory workshop on effective strategies for informal education and public outreach is being developed by the Professional Development Working Group (PD WG) of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Our workshop will answer the question: "How do audiences young and old pursue their interests in earth and space science beyond the classroom?" Members of the EPO Support Network will facilitate interactive small group experiences, where participants will be exposed to a wide range of exemplary projects and programs from the `out of school' education realm. The primary purposes of the session are: · To develop awareness of the range of learning experiences that comprise informal science education and public outreach, · To build knowledge and understanding of some of the key features of informal education and public outreach that support powerful learning, and the research base that informs this work · To give participants opportunities to reflect on ways this new knowledge can be applied to a specific aspect of their own work The workshop will feature professionals representing diverse perspectives and experiences in informal education and public outreach. Effective strategies and emerging best practices will be discussed, and audience participation will be enabled through sufficient time for both Q&A as well as small-group discussions. The session will also feature a discussion of some of the recent research on science learning in informal environments.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon C WWC Learning How to Analyze Large Data Sets in the Classroom
Carl Pennypacker, UC Berkeley, pennypacker@lbl.gov, http://hou.lbl.gov/participant/asteroid/ Alan Gould, Kate Meredith, UC Berkeley, Vivian Hoette, Yerkes Observatory
Over the past decade, Hands-On Universe has developed methods for students and teachers to measure images from survey data. Such surveys include the BTC camera at Cerro Tololo and Supernova Cosmology Project, the Deep Lensing Survey, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. HOU and collaborating projects, including the START Collaboratory centered at Northwestern University, have developed both detailed and somewhat formulaic training exercises, which ten enable students and other learners to pursue a spectrum of activities with a wide variety of open-endedness. Students have discovered asteroids, Active Galaxies, and other transient objects of profound interest and relevance to children. The LSST and other NVO/IVO survey swill provide a huge well-spring of great data for use by students of all math and scientific interests and abilities, and we want to begin getting ready and perfecting our methods to use LSST data now.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon D WWD How to Run a Weekend Conference for Kids
Pamela L. Gay, Harvard University Science Center, pgay@fas.harvard.edu
Three major components go into getting kids into science: getting them interested, giving them interested peers, and providing them with role models. One effective way of doing all of this at once is to sponsor a weekend program geared at a specific target audience. In this workshop we will go over the details of planning a conference using three existing conference programs as case studies: MIT's Educational Studies Program's "Splash," which is a hodge-podge enrichment program; the Gifted Conference Planners' "Beyond IQ" for gifted and talented kids; and the Austin area "Expanding Your Horizons" program for girls. This workshop will be divided into three sections. In the first part we will review existing models for conferences. Based on these models, participants will discuss how to define their own target audiences. The second part of this workshop will focus on how to define your starting point. Working in groups, participants will brainstorm what resources exist in their areas, what existing programs they can partner with or lean on, volunteer pools, how to define their programs, and advertising strategies. During the third
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Category: Other Location: Salon G WWG Effective E/PO Strategies in Evaluation: A Participator y Workshop
Susan Cohen, Lesley University, suecohen@mail.lesley.edu Jenny Gutbezahl, Lesley University
The Program Evaluation and Research Group at Lesley University, which has been conducting a long-term evaluation of the NASA/SMD EPO program, will share some results and findings with the participants. Evaluators will help participants understand how to use evaluation as a problem solving tool to identify and address issues of quality and success. Drawing from evaluations of related science programs, evaluators will facilitate small and large group discussions that address the participant's needs and questions.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Category: Formal Education Location: Salon H WWH How to Support Inquir y in Informal Education Programs
Jacob Noel-Storr, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, jnoelstorr@as.arizona.edu Melissa Williams, Flandrau Science Center, Thomas Foster, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
To develop deeper understanding while learning, science requires participants to be actively involved in asking questions, making observations, reviewing evidence and communicating with others. Informal education settings can provide an ideal environment to engage learners in these inquiry-based investigations. This workshop will use research-based strategies to assist you with designing, supporting and facilitating programs and environments that encourage inquiry. Your participation will involve developing and trialing inquiry-based activities suitable for informal environments, brainstorming ways to increase the level of inquiry available at your site(s), and practicing exemplary program facilitation. Institute (GSRI) will present published research regarding successful youth development principles in informal learning ("The Girl Difference: ShortCircuiting the Myth of the Technophobic Girl" and "Paths to Positive Youth Development)". GSUSA representatives will describe best practices in GSUSA/NASA programs. Participants will develop collaborative E/PO programs utilizing the NASA-GSUSA model. 93 years strong, GSUSA is the leading youth development organization serving girls ages 4-17 in the world today. With nearly 4 million current members, including 986,000 primarily volunteer adults, GSUSA inspires girls and young women with the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism, and service so that they may become happy and resourceful citizens. Supporting continuous improvement and measuring the impact of activities are core to GSUSA's programming. GSRI was formed in 2000. It originates new projects that bolster knowledge about girls, and synthesizes research that exists on girls' healthy development.

Wednesday PM Clinic Session
Time: 3:30 p.m. ­ 4:00 p.m. Category: Formal Education Location: Redwood Room OW2A The H-R Diagram of Astronomy Education
Erin Dokter, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, edokter@email.arizona.edu Pebble Richwine, University of Arizona
The current state of astronomy education and public outreach includes an H-R Diagram of various efforts, from kindergarten through college education to science museum public outreach, from astronomy education research to public star party programs. In this session we will explore the variety of programs, opportunities, and resources that are available to help you start or supplement your current EPO efforts.

Category: Formal Education Location: Outside WWI Pipehenge, an Enthralling Approach to Teaching Astronomy.
Eric Jackson, Stardome Planetarium, Auckland, New Zealand, jacksone.j@xtra.co.nz, www.stardome.org.nz Larry Rand, STANYS
Pipehenge is an outstandingly successful interactive student-based, handson program developed in New Zealand. It teaches the fundamentals of astronomy during the day when students are at school or camp in preparation for night-time observations. Participants in the workshop will go through a comprehensive range of daytime astronomy activities that give a better understanding of how the interaction of the nearest star, nearest planet and nearest moon affect the seasons, tides, eclipses and identifies the paths of the planets and constellations

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon B OW2B Effective Classroom Inquir y Using Professional Science Data
Donald Robinson-Boonstra, SP Systems, Inc, drboonstra@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov, http://son.nasa.gov
One successful education model, the Student Observation Network (SON), was developed by educators in collaboration with dozens of scientists. SON provides on-line, inquiry-based learning modules that help teachers to integrate science data into the school curriculum to meet educational goals. Each SON module provides a theme that promotes inquiry. Each module is organized around an essential question tied to critical NASA research and national educational standards. Each SON module provides a theme that unites many classroom objectives that are often taught in isolation. Concepts that are essential to understanding the content of the essential question are linked to the central curriculum. Each module shows students how to make their own observations and compare it with professional science data. The modules provide tutorials to help students and teachers to understand the scientific data and step-by-step guides to using the data. In addition, there is background information to help students and teachers understand these essential scientific questions. SON

Category: Other Location: Cottonwood Room WWJ Engaging Girls and Women in STEM Through Partnership: NASA + GIRLS + GSUSA = Next Generation
Michelle Hailey, Girl Scouts of the USA, mhailey@girlscouts.org James Riedel, Girl Scout Research Institute, Anne Grisham, Frontier Girls Scout Council, Leslie Lowes, NASA JPL
Crucial to advancing science and technology is the engagement of the next generation of female explorers. Traditionally, women have been underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering -- a 1998 NSF study showed that women constitute 46% of the labor force and 22% of scientists and engineers. Enabling more youth and adults to embrace the value of STEM in society and to enter the STEM workforce is a common goal of both NASA and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). Through experiential learning and planning, participants will actively apply research in effective gender-specific youth development programs for girls and young women. Addressing "do gender differences matter?", the Girl Scout Research

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
is supported by NASA Explorer Schools as an effective way to bring NASA mission science to middle schools. During this session we will explore the structure of one SON module, "Tracking a Solar Storm", to understand why this is a very successful design to bring NASA data into the classroom.

Category: Other Location: Salon F OW2F Stellar Stor y Time: Enhancing Learning in Astronomy Using Children's Literature
Kelle H. Slater, Marana Middle School Library, Marana, AZ, desertpenguin@earthlink.net
One of the longstanding challenges of successful astronomy and space science teaching surrounds how to move beyond the "gee whiz" factor and meaningfully engage students in the content. One of the best strategies for grounding such a "far out" subject is to introduce or reinforce astronomical ideas using children's literature books. This 30-minute, rapid-fire clinic will introduce participants to some of the best books available to capture students' attention in the context of earth and space science and seamlessly integrate them with your curriculum materials. We will also demonstrate how, as a classroom visitor, you can "read a story" to children and lead a discussion about it to help bridge the ideas in the story to the earth and space science topics you are helping them learn.

Category: Other Location: Salon C OW2C Reach for the Stars: Why We Must Reach Out
David H. Levy, ASP/Jarnac Observatory, david@jarnac.org, david@jarnac.org
The most important aspect in Education and Public Outreach, I think, is to share the passion that we have for astronomy. In this lecture I describe Project Skywatcher, which is the umbrella project for all the outreach I do. Among its highlights are remote site telescopes whose data is accessible by teachers and students, public lectures, a radio show, working with teachers through the ASP's Project Astro, -- all different types of things designed to reach different audiences and to spread our passion for astronomy to as wide a public as possible. This will be a personal talk, illustrated with experiences that have given me some insight on how best to reach the public, and the next generation.

Category: Other Location: Salon G OW2G Astrology, UFO's, and Moon Madness: Addressing Astronomical Pseudoscience with Public Audiences
Andrew Fraknoi, Astronomical Society of the Pacific & Foothill College, fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu,
Whether we work in the formal or informal arena, all of us are bound to encounter audiences with strong beliefs in or curiosity about pseudoscience. In this session, we will practice techniques and learn about resources for dealing with such topics as astrology, faces on other worlds, young universe creationism, etc. We will also discuss ways to turn such questions into tutorials on the scientific method. Participants will receive a resource guide to the best written and web materials to help them address pseudoscience with confidence.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon D OW2D Astronomy and Space Science in Out-of-School Time
Irene L. Porro, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, iporro@space.mit.edu, http://space.mit.edu/EPO/ASAP2005; http://space.mit.edu/EPO/CAI2005
The MIT Kavli Institute EPO office implements a two fold strategy to build the capacity of urban after-school centers to deliver innovative sciencebased out-of-school programming to their youth. We design project-based programs to reinforce learning in astronomy and develop an understanding of science as inquiry, through activities that also develop youth's computer skills. We also promote a self-sustainable implementation of these programs by supporting the professional development of qualified afterschool professionals. The overall goal is to generate large scale interest for astronomy and science among urban youth and to support the most motivated among them in the pursuit of STEM related careers. To this end we developed two complementary programs: the After-School Astronomy Project (ASAP) and the Chandra Astrophysics Institute (CAI). ASAP consists of a combination of hands-on activities and explorations of the night sky using MicroObservatory, a network of educational telescopes that can be controlled over the Internet. ASAP is intended to generate interest and curiosity of both middle and high school audiences, and to create a cadre of after-school professionals to implement it. CAI was developed to meet the strong need for affordable, advanced science programs of motivated urban youth whose opportunity to pursue careers in science and technology is jeopardized by the lack of appropriate educational infrastructures and programs. CAI consists of a summer institute and an after-school research program during which high school students and their teachers are introduced to physics and astrophysics and to the use of software tools for the analysis of x-ray data.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon H OW2H McDonald Observator y: Innovation in Education and Public Outreach
Mar y Kay Hemenway, University of Texas at Austin, marykay@astro.as.utexas.edu, http://mcdonaldobservatory.org Sandra L. Preston, University of Texas at Austin
McDonald Observatory is well known for its nationally broadcast radio programs (StarDate with approximately 350 affiliates across the United States and its Spanish-language sister program Universo with 180 affiliates). McDonald Observatory also offers innovative outreach programs through the Internet on several sites, e.g.,"What Are Astronomers Doing?" that weekly details the activities of astronomers at the telescopes. The observatory hosts dozens of teachers through Teacher Professional Development Workshops that provide a variety of standards-based astronomy educational materials and activities. Hundreds of K-12 students each year participate in Student Field Experience programs, including tours, activities, and star parties. Pre-visit materials are available to increase students' curiosity and prior knowledge before their visit. Post-visit materials encourage student reflection on their experience in order to connect it to their school science

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
and to their everyday life. Many of the elements of the Student Field Experience program are being expanded in the form of individual classroom videoconferences. We gratefully acknowledge the support of NSF 0227870 "What Are Astronomers Doing?: A Project for MPS Internships in Public Science Education;" support for the "NASA Astronomer of the Week" profile by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under an Education and Public Outreach supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement No. NAG5-13057 issued through the Office of Space Science; NASA IDEAS HST-ED-90234-.01 "Enriching the Experience at McDonald Observatory: Pre/Post Visit Materials for Teachers and Students;" and videoconferencing support from the Amon Carter Foundation.

Wednesday PM Plenary Session
Time: 4:10 p.m. ­ 5:10 p.m. Location: Salon D Understanding How People Learn Science: On the Importance of Navigating Around Expert Blind Spots, Homogenous Views of Learners, and Content Obsessions
Philip Bell, Cognitive Studies in Education, University of Washington, pbell@u.washington.edu, www.isls.org
How do people come to understand science across the settings, activities, and timescales of their lives? How is it that mundane, everyday moments can add up to sophisticated, integrated understanding under the right conditions? Over the past few decades, research in the learning sciences has documented specifically how children and adults can develop the thinking practices and kinds of knowledge found in the natural sciences. Using a case study of how children learn about light, I will present research that highlights the nature of science learning, the conditions under which it can occur (or fails to occur), and the complications that arise in the midst of contemporary society. I will also highlight aspects of what we do not know and describe some active areas of learning sciences research. (As background for the talk, please see www.isls.org for detailed information on learning sciences research.)

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · Posters
Thursday AM Plenary Session
Time: 8:30 a.m. ­ 9:45 a.m. Location: Salon D Fixing Science Education and the Role of Public Science Activities.
Robert Tinker, Concord Consortium, bob@concord.org
Science education in the United States is in a free fall that undermines our security. Our radically decentralized system of education is not working for math and science education. The idea that market forces will drive innovation and change is farcical because the potential profits cannot support the needed investment. As a nation, we need a coordinated national initiative to increase the quality of teaching and teachers, increase resources for teachers, and support innovation in instruction and professional development. Technology provides an advantage that we should exploit fully to amplify these efforts. We do not need additional educational theoretical research, more specialized content, or more student tests. NCLB, while having the right overall goals, has too much emphasis on change through evaluation and withholding funds and too little on creating the materials and conditions needed for improved math and science education. Dr. Tinker will argue that a new alliance of schools, scientists, and informal educators must come together to supply the needed resources. over the years. There are unique challenges of working in an instrument E/PO program that is part of a bigger NASA Mission with many instrument suites and many PIs and we will address these challenges with respect to the STEREO mission. In addition we will elaborate on the challenges we have with the shifting priorities in the nationwide educational trends and NASA E/PO guidelines as well as making complex science concepts relevant and applicable for the classroom settings. The importance of partnerships and coordination will be emphasized in their role in leveraging funds and disseminating materials.

PR02 ORION: Bringing Inquir y into the Classroom
Larr y A. Lebofsky, University of Arizona, lebofsky@lpl.arizona.edu Bill Schmitt, Nancy R. Lebofsky, Science Center of Inquiry, Chris Andersen, Ohio State University
ORION (Organizing Research, Inquiry, and Observing Nights) is an effort to bring both science inquiry as well as Space Science content into upper elementary and middle school classrooms in Arizona and Ohio. This 2year project, supported by an IDEAS grant, trained 18 teachers this past summer and will train an additional 22 teachers next summer. ORION has created standards-driven and inquiry-based investigations for developing significant understanding of Space Science content that extends across the curriculum. Teachers are given a 6-inch reflecting telescope that they assemble, align, and learn how to use for nighttime observations. They are then expected to take these telescopes back to their classrooms and use them with their students, as well as to share their experiences with other teachers in their schools. The impetus for ORION is the recently-released Arizona and Ohio science standards that emphasize scientific inquiry as well as science content. ORION provides an innovative approach that was developed from the premise that regular and systemic observations of the day and night sky are an important component in the pursuit of personal observations, questions, and inquiry for constructing standards-based understandings. Thus the central purpose guiding the implementation and evaluation of ORION is to infuse regular sky watching by students into the curriculum in ways that lead to full student inquiry into Astronomy and Planetary questions that are developed by students themselves.

Thursday Poster Session
Time: 8:00 a.m. ­ 5:15 p.m. Poster Location: Near Registration 9:45 a.m. Oral Overview: Salon D
Posters presenters are invited to give a 60-second overview of their poster to conference attendees using a single overhead transparency between 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in Salon D. Posters are changed each day and are available from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. north of the registration desk.

PR01 Education & Pubic Outreach (E/PO) programs for NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Mission -- RHESSI and STER
Nahide Craig, UC Berkeley , Space Sciences Lab, ncraig@ssl. berkeley.edu, http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/segway/index.html Laura M. Peticolas, Bryan J.Mendez, Roberto M. Manzanares, UC Berkeley
Our dynamic Sun offers exciting opportunities to share research discoveries of NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Missions for the pre-college education and public outreach communities. We will discuss two E/PO programs that are driven by Sun Earth Connection Science; The RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) and The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) Missions. RHESSI was launched in 2002 to study the active Sun and energetic solar flares. It is one of the first NASA Missions that had a funded E/PO program and we will discuss the lessons learned from this seven year journey. We will highlight RHESSI and STEREO E/PO formal education resources developed at UC Berkeley in partnership with the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) E/PO group. We will also present the informal education program efforts with close partnership with SECEF, Exploratorium, Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, and discuss the challenges we encountered and overcame
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PR03 Observational Radio Astronomy in Science Education: A Hands-on Experience for Teachers
Robyn Harrison, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, rharriso@nrao.edu, www.nrao.edu Mark Claussen, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Lisa Young, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Dan Klinglesmith, Magdalena Ridge Observatory
In early summer, 2004, eight teachers gathered at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico, for "Doing Dishes: Observational Radio Astronomy for Science Education." The four-and-ahalf day crash course, funded by a STScI/NASA Ideas grant, provided the curriculum design for a similar 2-week course offered later in the summer through the New Mexico Tech Master of Science Teaching program. Both classes are described in detail, including observation activities, instrument use, assignments, attention to national standards and assessment and evaluation procedures.

Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program


Thursday, September 15, 2005 · Posters
PR04 Educational Programs at MIT Haystack Observator y
Preethi Pratap, MIT Haystack Observatory, ppratap@haystack.mit.edu, http://web.haystack.mit.edu/education/education.html Madeleine Needles, MIT Haystack Observatory
MIT Haystack Observatory has been involved in bringing radio astronomy to the undergraduate and high school classrooms over the last 10 years. The Observatory also has had a long history of outreach to the public through talks to student groups, visits to local museums and libraries and student mentoring. At the undergraduate level, the Observatory has developed a small radio telescope kit (SRT) that is available commercially. This telescope provides a hands-on introduction to radio astronomical observing techniques. Students who are interested in more serious research then go on to use the 37-m research-grade telescope at the Observatory. This telescope is available remotely for students all across the country and the world. Projects have been developed for students and faculty who are interested in incorporating radio astronomy into their classes. Faculty training workshops are held once a year. The SRT has been successfully used at the high school level through the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program. Teachers have spent their summers at Haystack developing lesson plans to use in their classrooms. These curriculum units conform to the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks and are available for use on the Haystack web site. A sample of these lessons will be provided. The undergraduate research programs and the RET program are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation.

PR06 Their Classroom ­ Your Data: Effective Classroom Inquir y Using Professional Science Data
Donald Robinson-Boonstra, SP Systems, Inc, drboonstra@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov, http://son.nasa.gov Jim Thieman, NASA GSFC
A partnership of professional educators and scientists is required to develop educational programs that teachers can really use. One model, the Student Observation Network SON), was developed by educators in collaboration with dozens of scientists. SON provides on-line, inquirybased learning modules that help teachers to integrate science data into the school curriculum to meet educational goals. Each SON module provides a theme that promotes inquiry. Each module is organized around an essential question tied to critical NASA research and national educational standards. Each SON module provides a theme that unites many classroom objectives that are often taught in isolation. Concepts that are essential to understanding the content of the essential question are linked to the central curriculum. Each module shows students how to make their own observations and compare it with professional science data. The modules provide tutorials to help students and teachers to understand the scientific data and step-by-step guides to using the data. In addition, there is background information to help students and teachers understand these essential scientific questions. SON is supported by NASA Explorer Schools as an effective way to bring NASA mission science to middle schools. During this session we will explore the structure of one SON module, "Tracking a Solar Storm", to understand why this is a very successful design to bring NASA data into the classroom.

PR05 On the Road: Spitzer Space Telescope K-12 Teacher Workshops and Short Courses
Brad Armosky, The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, bja@astro.as.utexas.edu, http://peggysue.as.utexas.edu/SIRTF/ Neal J. Evans II, Mary Kay Hemenway, The University of Texas at Austin Astronomy Department, Sandra Preston, The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory
The Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy teams are gathering data that excites both astronomers and K-12 students. The science education team at McDonald Observatory produced a colorful poster and activities about the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) for students in grades K ­ 8. Three inquiry based activities aligned with the National Science Education Standards focus on the properties of dust for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Each of the activities guides students through a scientific investigation of dust that they collect using simple tools. Students conclude each activity with a grade appropriate extension into SST based research to help them understand how and why astronomers investigate space dust. To ensure that teachers understand the nature of the SST and use the activities, the Co-I facilitates teacher professional development workshops across Texas and nationally. A NASA EP/O grant related to the Cores to Disks Legacy group lead by the PI, Neal J. Evans II at The University of Texas at Austin, funds the workshops. As of February 2005, we have conducted four workshops for 58 teachers. The PI's Legacy project website includes an education page for teachers. 21,000 teachers received the poster as an insert in the October 2004 issue of Science & Children, a National Science Teachers Association journal. We gratefully acknowledge NASA E/PO funding from grant NNG04GG24G, related to "Initial Conditions and Early Evolution from Molecular Cores to Protoplanetary Disks." The poster and activities were produced in conjunction with JPL contract number 1249231.

PR07 Implementing Voyages Through Time in High School Science Classes
Edna DeVore, SETI Institute, edevore@seti.org, www.voyagesthroughtime.org Pamela Harman, SETI Institute
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary science investigating life in the universe. Where did life come from? What is its future? Are we alone in the universe? These major questions drive astrobiology research, are investigated through understanding evolution in its broadest sense, and are stimulating questions for the classroom. Voyages Through Time (VTT) is a tested and effective astrobiology curriculum, emphasizing evidence and the nature of science. VTT is a standards-based, integrated high school science curriculum, developed by the SETI Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, San Francisco State University, and California Academy of Sciences. VTT consists of six modules: Cosmic Evolution, Planetary Evolution, Origin of Life, Evolution of Life, Hominid Evolution, and Evolution of Technology. It is delivered on CDROMs, accompanied by printed readers. Each module includes a database activity, an image library, videos, detailed lessons plans, and assessment materials. The magazine-style student readers bring current science articles to the classroom. Field tests were conducted in more than 80 high schools classrooms in 24 States. Student engagement and learning, component usefulness,ease of preparation,assessment tools,each activity,and lesson groups were examined and evaluated. We offer a week-long summer astrobiology institute for teachers including a field study, ASSET. Rice University offered a NASA-funded Astrobiology course for teachers that featured VTT. VTT was published in August 2003. Development of VTT was competed with major support for NASA Astrobiology Institute and fundamental Biology, Hewlett Packard Company, Foundation for Microbiology, Educate America, SETI Institute, and the NSF (Grant IMD # 9730693).

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PR08 The Impact of Studying Variable Stars on Students' Attitudes of the Nature of Science
Pebble Richwine, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, pebbler@email.arizona.edu
Both the National Research Council (NRC)and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) indicate that authentic research opportunities help students learn to reason more scientifically. Astronomy is a popular topic for students to choose to study for science fair like experiences. The problem is that a quick web search only provides a limited amount of primers for the students to build on. In the Hunt for Variable Stars provides the vehicle for students to actively engage in the enterprise of astronomical scientific research. Students can scientifically investigate the behavior of variable stars by data mining. Stardial is the online dataset that is the focus of data. In the near future, the National Virtual Observatory (NVO) will compile astronomical data in a way that is easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This flood of data will provide copious amounts of opportunity for students to `dig in and get their feet wet'. Reports of a research pilot study using the manual "In the Hunt for Variable Stars" to investigate students' attitudes and understanding of the Nature of Science and Astronomy. Thirty five students participated in the study. Participants completed or were involved in pre- and post- surveys of attitudes and content followed by interviews. The results of the pilot study are reported.

PR11 Building Community, West Texas Style
Patrice M. Fay, Museum of Texas Tech University, patrice.m.fay@ttu.edu
The emerging profession of education and public outreach builds community among its various constituents in various ways. This poster session explores how the Museum of Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, responds to the challenge of "building community" through its education and public outreach efforts. This West Texas city offers various opportunities to build community through the collaborative efforts of the Museum, the campus community, the city and surrounding West Texas region, as well as the entire state. Many themes within recent education and public outreach research can be identified. Three such themes covered in recent research focus on: educational collaboration within formal education settings (Kunselman, 2003; Prescott & Eriksson, 2004; Hawkins & Thieman, 2004); the education collaborator's personal experiences ( Jackson & Thomas, 2002; Morrow, 2004; Craig, 2004); and description of collaborative programs (Childers, et al. 2001; Cox & Denson, 2004; McCreedy, et al. 1996). This poster session will expand beyond these areas to look at building community within the broader context of informal education, namely within the museum environment. A case study of the particular community-building efforts of the Museum of Texas Tech University will be presented using a qualitative research perspective. Challenges and rewards unique to the Museum's experiences will emerge from the narrative style of presentation and provide a distinctive view of the community-building efforts within the informal education museum environment.

PR09 Radio Astronomer for a Day
Sue Ann Heatherly, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, sheather@nrao.edu, http://www.gb.nrao.edu/epo/
Students enjoy informal science experiences, but teachers often question their educational value. Typical field trips include visits to zoos, natural areas, museums, planetariums, and science centers. Aside from the interactive science centers, most field trips offer only passive learning experiences. With this in mind, NRAO developed an authentic science field experience to middle ­ high school students in which the central activity is using a 40 Foot diameter radio telescope to investigate an astronomical question. Over a 24-hour period, students practice the work of a research astronomer as they work in small teams to operate the telescope, collect data, analyze those data and present their findings to their peers. Approximately 1500 students participate in the Radio Astronomer program each year. The Radio Astronomer for a Day program will be described in detail, and ideas will be presented for adapting the program for use at other observatories.

PR12 Outdoor Astronomy Exhibits
Helen Sim, CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility, Helen.Sim@csiro.au, www.atnf.csiro.au John Smith, Bob Sault, Jessica Chapman, CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility
The CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility recently redeveloped the Visitors Centre attached to its observatory near Narrabri in eastern Australia. The observatory is home to the CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array, one of the world's major synthesis radio telescopes. In conjunction with an Australian design company, Convergence, the ATNF created a series of exhibits for the exterior of the centre and the grounds immediately around it. The exhibits introduced in sequence the ideas of: observing the sky with instruments; the characteristics of radio waves; the use of the radio spectrum as an observing tool; the Australia Telescope Compact Array and how it operates; and a number of the phenomena the telescope studies. Some of these phenomena were depicted by large, three-dimensional sculptures. The challenge was to achieve a low-cost, low-maintenance installation able to withstand the summer heat and occasional flooding rains of the Narrabri area.

PR10 ViewSpace: A Continually Updated Astronomy Display
John Stoke, Space Telescope Science Institute, stoke@stsci.edu, http://hubblesource.stsci.edu
Planetarium lobbies, museum-based astronomy halls, observatory visitor centers and dark sky sites in parks and nature centers are among the venues that have adopted ViewSpace, a low-cost internet-fed multimedia display service that delivers the latest images and discoveries from Hubble and a growing list of other missions and observatories. This poster will explain and demonstrate ViewSpace, describe our current impact and potential for more, and explain how interested parties in the E/PO community can benefit from an established, expanding network of over 60 exhibit installations by contributing to the creation of new programming.

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PR13 STate of the ARt Telescope Educational Collaboration (STARTEC): Welcoming New Members
Sandra Preston, The University of Texas McDonald Observatory, sandi@stardate.org, http://startec-intl.org Mary Kay Hemenway, Frank Cianciolo, The University of Texas McDonald Observatory, J. L. Alonso, D. Altschuler, D. G. Finley, D. Isbell, P. Michaud, I. Morison, C. Rijsdjk, NAIC/Arecibo Observatory, NRAO, NOAO, Gemini Obs., Jodrell Bank Obs/ PPARC, SAAO/SALT
The State of the Art Telescope Educational Collaboration (STARTEC) was founded in February 2001 at a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. The founding members included Arecibo Observatory, the European Southern Observatory, Gemini Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias and Gran Telescopio Canarias, Jodrell Bank Observatory/PPARC, McDonald Observatory and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the South African Astronomical Observatory/Southern Africa Large Telescope. STARTEC's mission is to serve as a forum for the world's stateof-the-art astronomical research facilities to share resources and expertise, to enhance astronomy education and public outreach, and to better deliver the excitement of astronomy to the world. Since the first meeting, STARTEC has met at the Arecibo Observatory in 2001, the McDonald Observatory in 2002, the Gemini Observatory in 2003, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in 2005 (pending). A STARTEC Web site is available at startec-intl.org/. At the 2003 meeting in Hilo, Hawaii, the STARTEC board decided not to restrict membership by telescope size (or even having a physical telescope). To be eligible for membership, astronomical institutions are required to have at least one full-time public information, outreach, or education employee. The STARTEC membership has doubled in size since 2001 and continues to welcome new members. We gratefully acknowledge support by NSF Grant 0084618, "U.S.-South Africa Workshop: Educational Outreach for Observatories with State-ofthe-Art Telescopes, Cape Town, South Africa, Feb. 2-6, 2001." programs but it began an E/PO program as E/PO became part of NASA requirements. Its most recent achievement with small funds was to provide the Northern Lights Planetarium Show free to 40 small planetariums across the country disseminated by Learning Technology, the creators of the portable STARLAB planetarium. We will discuss the success of this program. The THEMIS mission was selected for funding in spring of 2003 and is scheduled to be launched in the fall of 2006. The highlight of this much larger E/PO program is Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS), in which 10 schools are receiving research-grade magnetometers at their schools to be used by teachers and students in these schools and also by even more teachers and students via the web. The teachers involved in GEONS have become "Magnetometer Ambassadors," sharing their knowledge of space physics and the magnetometers with their communities (e.g. hunters viewing the aurora), other teachers (e.g. Michigan Science Teacher Association Conferences), and other schools (e.g. high school students teaching elementary students about the magnetometer and space weather in the same town). We will discuss how we create and maintain a relationship with these teachers while teaching them aurora science content and pedagogical knowledge.

PR16 K-12 Formal Ed, Informal Ed, & Outreach
Randy M. Russell, Univ. Corp. for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), rrussell@ucar.edu, http://www.windows.ucar.edu Roberta Johnson, Elizabeth Gardiner, Jennifer Bergman, UCAR
The "Windows to the Universe" project (W2U) combines a comprehensive Earth and space science web site, numerous hands-on activities for classroom and home use, and professional development workshops for teachers. We will share insights into the "best practices" that have been most successful for the project over its 11-year history, with an emphasis on those that seem most amenable to adoption by other projects (outlined below). · An English/Spanish toggle button on each web page allows viewers to quickly switch between parallel versions in two languages. Second language learners are using W2U as a language-learning tool, helping us carve out a niche for science content in the context of literacy education. · The web site presents roughly 90 hands-on activities with themes closely tied to content on web pages. This supplies teachers with a one-stopshopping capability to acquire content references (for themselves and/or students) and related activities. · We present W2U activities and web-based materials at numerous teacher professional development venues, including on-site workshops at our host institution (NCAR in Boulder, Colorado) and at conferences (NSTA, AGU, etc.). · Web pages are presented at three levels -- Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced -- to reach students across a broad range of the K-12 spectrum as well as teachers and an adult outreach audience. · We coordinate efforts with our Public Visitors Program to NCAR facilities to expose visitors to W2U materials. We emphasize humanities topics, especially mythology, as well as science.

PR14 Building an EPO Program at Gemini Observator y
Peter Michaud, Gemini Observatory, pmichaud@gemini.edu, www.gemini.edu
Gemini Observatory has built a multi-faceted EPO program that has grown in five years from a staff of 1 to 6.5 FTE's and incorporates programs that range from local community outreach to international media relations. Many innovative techniques and products have been established that include multi-media content development and a new public relations imaging campaign. This poster will highlight many of the key activities that form the core of the existing Gemini EPO program and provide a glimpse of Gemini's EPO plans for the future.

PR15 Highlights of the Education and Public Outreach Programs of NASA Aurora Missions, THEMIS and FAST
L. M. Peticolas, Space Sciences Laboratory at UCB, laura@sunearth.ssl.berkeley.edu, http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/segway N. Craig, Space Sciences Laboratory at UCB
We will present the highlights of the Education and Public Outreach (E/ PO) Programs of two NASA aurora missions: Fast Auroral SnapshotT (FAST) and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS). FAST was launched in 1996 prior to NASA E/PO

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PR17 Bringing Space into the Math and Science Classrooms
Michael Fauerbach, Whitaker Center, Florida Gulf Coast University, dmccarthy@as.arizona.edu Manuel J. Mon, Whitaker Center, Florida Gulf Coast University
One of the biggest challenges facing the U.S. economy -- and NASA and the aerospace industry in particular -- is the lack of an adequate workforce that is highly trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. During the summer of 2005, we developed and taught a novel course, which utilizes `space' as the overarching theme to provide inquiry based, hands-on activities, which combine mathematics and science content, and is targeted primarily at pre-service teachers. The inquiry based delivery method of the class models good teaching practices and the content is aligned with Florida's Sunshine State Standards, and can easily be aligned with the associated National Standards. The course is unique in the State of Florida. The course is associated with the highly successful Project LAUNCH, a grant funded K-12 (in-service) teacher professional development program, which was developed jointly by the Whitaker Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education at Florida Gulf Coast University and the Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI). We will present highlights of the course material, as well as student feedback, and ideas on how to engage both pre- and in-service teachers in space science activities and research.

PR19 Astronomy Patch Day: An Interactive Astronomy Experience for Girl Scouts
Karen Knierman, Steward Observatory, kknierman@as.arizona.edu, http://thorn.as.arizona.edu/~kak/GirlScouts/ Don McCarthy, Steward Observatory, Kathi Schutz, Sahuaro Girl Scout Council
To help encourage a new generation of women in science, we have created Astronomy Patch Day for the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council in Tucson, Arizona. This all-day event is an interactive experience for Girl Scouts ages 5-18 to learn about astronomical concepts and women in astronomy. Our first Astronomy Patch Day, held on March 19, 2005, in conjunction with the Sahuaro Council's annual Science, Math, and Related Technologies (SMART) program, was very successful, reaching about 150-200 girls and their leaders. Individual troops rotated every half hour among our six activity booths -- Earth/Moon, Solar System, Stars, Galaxies, Universe, and Ask an Astronomer -- which were staffed by trained Girl Scout Leaders as well as faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate students from Steward Observatory. To earn a patch, younger girls (ages 5-12) had to complete activities at three booths and older girls had to complete all six activities. Positive feedback for this event was received from both the girls and leaders. We plan to hold Astronomy Patch Day annually, possibly with different and/or additional activities in future years.

PR18 Linking Girls to the Sky: NIRCam/JWST's National Outreach to the Girl Scouts
Don McCarthy, The University of Arizona, dmccarthy@as.arizona.edu, http://www.astronomycamp.org
Astronomical images can inspire a new generation. The clarity of the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST), combined with the near-infrared camera's (NIRCam) ability to see farther back in time and through murky regions of space, may unveil the "First Light" from a newborn Universe and the origins of planetary systems. The NIRCam science team, led by Dr. Marcia Rieke unites scientists from around the world and Lockheed Martin with prominent science educators. The E/PO program especially targets K-14 girls to combat the misconceptions that women can't do or enjoy physical science. We have partnered with the Girl Scouts of the USA, to address such specific needs as (1) the review of existing badge programs for younger girls, (2) new, community-based activities and research experiences for older girls, (3) interaction experiences in person and on-line with inspiring mentors and role-models, and (4) leadership and training experiences for adult trainers. The new activities are inquirybased and appropriate in both formal and informal settings; they will also used for training future teachers of science. Topics such as "Light pollution" can be related thematically to such NGST concepts as a "low thermal background". The Astronomy Camp facilities on historic Mt. Lemmon are used to "train the trainers" by providing Girl Scouts and their adult leaders hands-on experiences with 60-inch telescopes, CCD and infrared cameras, and image processing techniques. NIRCam scientists are involved in developing authentic research-based activities using NIRCam datasets for in-class use by middle and high school teachers.

PR20 E/PO in a Rural Setting: Project ASTRO Appaloosa
Michael L Allen, Washington State University, mlfa@wsu.edu, astro.wsu.edu/appaloosa/ Guy Worthey, Washington State University, Paul Allan, Palouse Discovery Science Center
Washington State University hosts one of only two rural locations for Project ASTRO. We will discuss the challenges of recruiting and operating in a low population density region and the strategies we use to overcome them: use of email, lettermail, taking our show on the road, and personal contact (i.e., "pressing the flesh"). We will stress the importance of developing personal contacts and of connecting with pre-existing community organizations.

PR21 The Dominion Astrophysical Observator y
Steve Ewald, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Steve.Ewald@nrc.gc.ca.
Once the largest telescope in the world, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory has a rich history of discovery and is still an important research telescope.

PR22 The School of Galactic Radio Astronomy at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
Mel Blake, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, mblake@pari.edu Michael Castelaz, Robert Hayward, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) was founded in 1998 as a not-for-profit public foundation dedicated to conducting research, education and public outreach (EPO)programs. Located in western North Carolina at a former NASA tracking station, PARI is uniquely positioned to offer EPO programs in both radio and optical astronomy and gives students and the public a chance to learn about both sub-disciplines of astronomy. PARI education and outreach programs reach students at all grade levels from K-12, colleges and the general public. We describe the
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programming PARI offers including the Starlab Planetarium, the Sensing the Radio Universe Project, visitors programs, the Duke University TIP programs, and the School of Galactic Radio Astronomy (SGRA). We will conclude with a discussion of planned programs such as Science Zone and the Space Science Lab. PARI acknowledges support for its EPO initiatives from NASA IDEAS program, Progress Energy, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and the STScI EPO program and the National Science Foundation. "traditional astronomy" is still favored), use a broad array of resources to conduct their educational outreach, and generally believe that additional resources and support would be helpful and likely lead to increased level of educational outreach. Amateur astronomers are a highly committed group, many of whom consider educational outreach part of their "sparetime" activities, and who are eager to serve society as informal science educators. Almost half of the amateur astronomers not currently engaged in educational outreach are planning to do educational outreach in the future. We will present detailed results of the survey (which is one of the most comprehensive on amateur astronomers) and make recommendation for including amateur astronomers in educational and public outreach. The results of this study holds the potential to inform not just the field of educational and public outreach in astronomy, but also the field of science education in general about the potential of amateur science educators as agents for free-choice and formal learning.

PR23 Teachers, Research, and the Spitzer Space Telescope
Stephen M. Pompea, NOAO, spompea@noao.edu Doris Daou, Michelle Thaller, NASA Spitzer Science Center
The Spitzer Science Center (SSC) and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) have designed a prototype program for teacher and student research using observing time on the Spitzer Space Telescope. This program allows a group of 12 teachers and their students to team with Spitzer and NOAO scientists to conduct research. In this program approximately 3 hours of the director's discretionary observing time on the Spitzer Space Telescope has been allocated for research proposals from these teachers. The participating teachers attended a fall 2004 workshop at NOAO to become familiar with the Spitzer Space Telescope archives, and to receive training in infrared astronomy and observational techniques. The teachers attended a workshop offered by the Spitzer Science Center Observing Support Team to learn about the observation planning process, and telescope and instrument capabilities. At the AAS meeting in San Diego, the teachers divided themselves into subgroups to develop six astronomical research projects using Spitzer, and began preparing proposals, which were completed about a month later. Each teacher research group includes scientists from the SSC/IPAC and the NOAO. All data taken during this program will be non-proprietary, and publicly available through the Spitzer Archive immediately after processing. The Spitzer teachers also serve as educational "Ambassadors" in providing professional development to other teachers using the infrared kits "Active Astronomy Classroom Activities for Learning about Infrared Light", developed by NASA and distributed by the ASP. As part of their work in the Spitzer Research Program, the Spitzer teachers have obligations to provide 3 workshops for teachers in their district or neighboring school districts. After their observations are analyzed it is expected that the teachers will present the results at an AAS meeting. The observations are being taken during the spring and summer of 2005 and many of the research groups are currently analyzing their data.

PR25 Public Impact of Cosmology Short Course -- 1 Year After
Randall H. Landsberg, University of Chicago/Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics, randy@oddjob.uchicago.edu, http://cfcp.uchicago.edu/education/courses/2003-origin
This poster examines the impacts of a three-day intensive cosmology short course for planetarium staff as assessed by a follow-up survey conducted one year after the course. In 2003 the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics (KICP) offered a historic cosmology short course designed to help incorporate modern cosmology into planetarium programming. Forty-six planetarians attended "Origin of Structure in the Universe.", and a followup survey was conducted to probe the effect of the course on their public programming and teaching. Results of the follow-up survey were very positive and indicate the direct and long lasting impact such professional development can have. Highlights Include: · 71% Reported Direct Impact on Planetarium Shows · 40% Reported MAJOR Change in Public Programming or Teaching · 31% Reported New Collaborations · 29% Created New Shows Based on Information Received in Short Course. · Within one year 82,155 Visitors and 3,245 Students "Experienced Cosmology Content Directly Influenced by the 2003 Short Course". In addition to the course impacts, the survey also asked the participants to reflect on why the course was or was not successful. These findings are also presented.

PR24 Amateur Astronomers as Informal Science Ambassadors: Results of the Online Survey
Martin Storksdieck, Institute for Learning Innovation, storksdieck@ilinet.org Michael Bennett, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Lynn D. Dierking, Mika Cohen Jones, Institute for Learning Innovation
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, in collaboration with the Astronomical League and the Institute for Learning Innovation, initiated a large-scale, web-based survey of amateur astronomers' current educational outreach practice, and their perceived needs for conducting more and/or improved educational outreach. Survey questions were based on openended interviews with amateur astronomers and pilot-tested. 1,142 amateur astronomers started the survey. Of those, 63% were engaged in educational outreach. The survey results indicated that amateur astronomers serve a large segment of society, cover a wide range of astronomy topics (though

PR26 Educational Research in Informal Science Settings: A Spectrum of Opportunities at the AMNH
Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History/Columbia Univ. TC, connolly@amnh.org Nick Stroud, Meghan Groome, Columbia University TC
Methods and theories of educational research have infrequently been applied to Astronomy education and public outreach. This is a significant issue that needs to be addressed if we are to construct a professional, scholarly, and robust EPO community. To tackle this issue, we have formed a research group consisting of Columbia University Teachers College students and American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) staff members to conduct and report on original educational research on the immense range of Astronomy programs available at the museum. Programmatically, the spectrum of opportunities for outreach and

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research includes public programs, educator professional development, school field trips, internship programs, and general visitors. Conceptually, opportunities include collaboration between the museum and schools, universities, scientists, parents and community groups. Such a wide range of opportunities for meaningful interactions with both groups and individuals requires a solid theoretical structure for research, unique and inspirational approaches for implementation, and collaboration among traditionally disparate groups. Our research group hopes to bridge the existing gap by synthesizing theoretical and methodological approaches that can inform both communities. of space scientists in education. Our activities have included convening and experimenting with a variety of sessions, talks, and workshops at several scientific professional society meetings, including the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the Astronomical Society (AAS), the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences, the AAS Solar Physics Division, and the AAS High Energy Division. We have also supported the development of resources for EPO leaders to aid in communicating with scientists about education. In addition, we have recently begun a campaign to build community among the scientists who apply for small EPO grants as supplements to their research awards.

PR27 The NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE): Building a Community of Practice
G. Brissenden, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu, http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov E. E. Prather, T. F. Slater, CAPER Team, Univ. of Arizona, W. M. Greene, Navigator, JPL, Michelle Thaller, Spitzer
The NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) is devoted to the professional development of introductory astronomy instructors, with the primary goal of building a "community of practice." This community of practice model has been effective in improving instructional practices in settings where instructors feel isolated from their professional peers. Particular emphasis is being given to community college instructors by the CAE. The Center's major effort is to provide professional development through "Teaching Excellence Workshops," offered at national and regional venues through a partnership with the University of Arizona's Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team. Ongoing support is offered through the CAE website where visitors can learn about, and register for, upcoming workshops. In addition, instructors can engage in discussions about educational issues and share best practices with their peers as part of a moderated discussion group. The CAE website also provides an updated "Teaching Strategy of the Month." CAE also offers advanced workshops designed for those instructors who have already participated in an introductory Teaching Excellence Workshop. The advanced workshops will focus more deeply on single issues from the introductory workshop such as curriculum design, implementation, or assessment. The Center for Astronomy Education is supported by the NASA/JPL Navigator Program (and its planet-finding missions, including SIM PlanetQuest, the Terrestrial Planet Finder, the Keck Interferometer, and the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer), and also by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

PR29 Public Outreach at Appalachian State's Dark Sky Observator y
Dan Caton, Appalachian State University, catondb@appstate.edu, http://www.dancaton.physics.appstate.edu/Observatories/DSO/index.htm
Appalachian State University's Dark Sky Observatory is ideally located to provide public outreach programs. At an elevation of a kilometer in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina, the facility is only 1.5 miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway, a multi-season tourist travel route. We are developing a public program that will offer regular public nights, drop-in opportunities on science nights, and a telescope for lease by small groups. Our Visitor Center, attached to the 32-inch telescope's dome, is almost complete. We anticipate opening in 2006.

PR30 Borrowing Techniques from Educational Research to Explore Student Interest and Prior Knowledge in Astronomy
Nick Stroud, Teachers College Columbia University, Meghan Groome, Teachers College Columbia University, Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, Teachers College Columbia University
We introduce preliminary details of recent research in astronomy and space science education. This work focuses on collecting evidence for students' prior knowledge and interest in these topics using a combination of teaching strategies and educational research methods. Knowing where students are coming from and what their interests are give educators and EPO professionals two vital pieces of information that can be leveraged to create highly effective educational experiences. Therefore identifying methods of tapping prior knowledge as well as student interest have become a prime objective for educational research for this research group. The knowledge gained through the use of surveys, question books, participant observation, interviews, questions card decks, and a large database of children's questions have been analyzed and leveraged to increase the effectiveness of specific astronomy programs at the American Museum of Natural History. The preliminary observations presented here focus on 2 separate 10-session courses on astronomy and space science. The first class is comprised of Kindergarteners and 1st graders and their parents and the second class includes 4th, 5th and 6th graders. We report early results from this research program, as well as prospects for future research.

PR28 The Scientist Communication & Involvement Working Group (SCIWG)
Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute, morrow@spacescience.org Jennifer Grier, NASA
This poster will document the lessons learned via the endeavors of the longest-standing working group of the NASA Space Science education & public outreach (EPO) effort -- the Scientist Communication & Involvement Working Group (SCIWG, known as "SIGH-wig"). An essential dimension of the NASA space science EPO strategy has been to engage scientists more actively and effectively in EPO. SCIWG members include science and EPO professionals from institutions around the country who are leaders in supporting and engaging scientists in education in various capacities. SCIWG members have worked diligently for several years on identifying and implementing ways to the meet the needs and challenges
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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Thursday AM Clinic Session
Time: 11:00 a.m. ­ 11:30 a.m. Category: Formal Education Location: Redwood Room OR1A NASA Earth and Space Science Resources for the Pre-Service Community
Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute, dsmith@stsci.edu
Stephanie Shipp, Lunar Planetary Institute, Laurie Ruberg, Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker, Tim Slater, Many scientists and EPO program managers receive requests from local educators or education faculty asking for earth and space science resources that can be used in their classrooms. This interactive community discussion will focus on pro-active and flexible responses to requests from the pre-service community. In particular, the NASA Education Support Network's Pre-Service Educator Working Group will overview a selection of NASA earth and space science resources that are compatible with the needs of pre-service educators and discuss how these resources can be integrated into a coherent professional development experience. Strategies for assisting the pre-service community in locating materials and resources within and beyond NASA's offerings will also be explored. instructional design research and resources that were interpreted and used for our project. Insights and feedback from course designers, instructors, teaching assistants, and students will be shared.

Category: Other Location: Salon C OR1C The International Shadow Investigation
Bill Schmitt, The Science Center of Inquiry, bill@thesciencecenter.org, www.thesciencecenter.org Larr y Lebofsky, University of Arizona
During the December 2004 solstice, as a part of an IDEAS grant, we invited students to measure and investigate shadows from sunlight at local noon. Optionally, we also encouraged students to measure shadows made by moonlight from a full moon during transit. Students measured the length shadows from a vertical 1-meter stick. Participants included students from Alaska to Australia. This project is part of a larger goal to help students learn by more actively making, recording, and finding meaning from authentic observations of objects in the "real" sky. We have found that accurate observations made by the students themselves have great power the help students create their own models for explaining the daily, monthly, and yearly motions of the Earth/Sun/Moon system. In creating their own models, as opposed to mostly learning from existing models made by others, students seem to demonstrate improved understanding. We are continuing this project during the equinoxes and solstices in 2005. This project can easily be replicated in a variety of settings. We will share our procedures and findings that include reporting student responses, interpreting data, making predictions, and discussing the most important aspects of doing this investigation. In your city, what is the difference in length of shadows made by a vertical 1-meter stick at local noon on December 21 and June 21? How much does the shadow length change each day?

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon B OR1B Designing, Evaluating, and Facilitating on Online Astronomy Course
Sanlyn Buxner, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, sbuxner@as.arizona.edu Adrienne Gauthier, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, John Keller, Lunar Planetary Lab, University of Arizona
Distance learning courses have become popular methods of delivering learning experiences and disseminating content to the increasing nontraditional population of learners. Specifically, online distance learning courses have become a major part of science teacher professional development at the master's degree and certification levels through a variety of university programs. Some EPO programs have looked toward online teacher programs as a viable way to have a geographically broader impact on the K-12 science teacher population. One such project is an online master's level astronomy course for K-12 science teachers sponsored and supported by the SPITZER and SOFIA EPO programs. The "Invisible Universe Online for Teachers: The Search for Astronomical Origins" is delivered via the National Teachers Enhancement Network (scienceteacher.org) project at Montana State University. This course was designed using current research findings and case studies from the online instructional design and technology community as well as the science education research and educational psychology communities. The course is continually being evaluated and redesigned as the instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers reflect on feedback provided by the course participants. The ultimate goal is to provide an interactive, engaging experience that stimulates community learning, professional development, and increased content understanding. In this session we will share lessons learned from seven semesters of designing, evaluating, and facilitating the Invisible Universe Online course. We will cover the online

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon D OR1D Evaluating the Web
James Harold, Space Science Institute, harold@spacescience.org, www.spacescience.org
Web projects have become a staple of education programs, but they face particular challenges when it comes to evaluating their success. Outcomes are often not defined, and the audiences for web sites are in many ways inaccessible. Nevertheless, if web sites are to be taken seriously as informal learning environments, it is necessary for the community to set standards for their evaluation. This clinic will use example sites to illustrate some different approaches that can be taken when evaluating interactive web sites, including focus group interviews, online surveys, and automated, database-driven online data collection. Each approach provides an incomplete picture by itself, and comes with its own benefits and pitfalls. However in combination they provide some hope for assessing the success of these sites.

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Other Location: Salon F OR1F Confessions of a New Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Lead: If Only I Knew Then What I Know Now.
Emilie Drobnes, NASA, emilie@ihy.gsfc.nasa.gov
Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) plays an increasingly important role in the NASA environment, where flight missions are required to spend 1 - 2% of their cost (including launch vehicle) on E/PO efforts. As pioneers in an entirely new discipline, E/PO leads often find themselves faced with constantly evolving requirements, criteria, and expectations... all without a clear support network. This session aims to make the experience less painful, with tip, tools, and lessons learned which will make all the difference when putting together your E/PO plan. Come find out what all new E/PO leads should know before starting out. methods for re-framing mistaken notions that audience members have regarding basic space science concepts, such as gravity, will be presented. Three activities will be featured that will use simple demonstrations and an Apollo archive video clip to show one set of methods to re-inform audience notions for gravity, and to extend this onto a latticework of ideas for celestial mechanics. A discussion among participants will follow, in which we share `best practices' for extinguishing misconceptions and assessing successful integration of the new concept into the audience member's way of thinking about how the universe works.

Category: Other Location: Cottonwood Room OR1J "In Case of Doubt, Attack": The General George S. Patton Strategy for Executing E/PO Campaigns
Jim Manning, Office of Public Outreach, Space Telescope Science Institute, jmanning@stsci.edu. http://hubblesite.org
Reaching the public and achieving your E/PO objectives isn't exactly like taking a bridge or a beachhead -- but it's not exactly unlike those efforts, either. Both depend on how you attack the challenges you face, how you plan the campaign and deploy your resources, and how you apply your firepower to achieve maximum impact. The star troopers in the Office of Public Outreach (OPO) at the Space Telescope Science Institute (veterans of many an E/PO campaign) regularly employ a coordinated one-two punch of news ("cavalry") and education ("infantry") to first, clear a path and get the public's attention, and second, consolidate the gains thus made by following up with a barrage of products and services designed to capitalize on the interest generated and to create permanent changes in the landscape of science literacy and career choices. This strategy also creates opportunities for pooling resources and the mutual leveraging of news and education to get maximum bang for the buck. This briefing will outline the OPO battle plan and how it might be adopted for other campaigns. Be there at 0700--fatigues optional.

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon G OR1G Reaching the Podosphere: Using Podcasting to Spread Science via MP3
Pamela L. Gay, Harvard University Science Center / The Slacker Astronomy Podcast, pgay@fas.harvard.edu
A new form of communications, called podcasting, began to sweep across the Internet in the fall of 2004. Quickly gaining several million listeners, these MP3 based Internet radio shows range over all conceivable topics. As of July 22, 2005, the iPodder.org podcast directory listed 32 science podcasts, ten specifically on astronomy. Presented by professional and amateur astronomers as well as by professional and amateur broadcasters, these astronomy-based podcasts successfully work to bring the skies to the masses. Podcasts possess several benefits over other forms of media. They are free. They are timely. Once downloaded, podcasts can be listened to anywhere while on or off line. Listeners can select the specific content they want. Podcast creators are free from normal time and content constraints. Podcasts are extremely cheap to produce if you have a webserver, requiring a typical investment of less than $100 for basic equipment. The magic of podcasting is that anyone can do it and everyone can listen. A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found 1 in 10 individuals between 18 and 28 have listened to podcasts, and there is no gender bias among podcast listeners. In this talk, we overview: what astronomy podcasts exist and how to listen; how you can partner with existing podcasts; how you can create your own podcast; and the best methods for getting your content to the masses. Examples of the best free software will be shown, and resources on where to get help will be presented.

Thursday Workshops
Time: 1:00 p.m. ­ 3:00 p.m. Category: Informal Education Location: Redwood Room WRA Astronomy in the Pub
Helen Sim, CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility, Helen.Sim@csiro.au Rob Hollow, CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility
Informal learning takes place in a variety of settings. One exercise in informal learning, "Science in the Pub", was initiated by the Australian Science Communicators in Sydney, Australia, in 1998. The evening meetings, originally held in the public bar of a Sydney hotel, are run with a compere and two to four participants. Each session has a specific topic. The events has tended to follow a set format: the speakers present their points of view, and are quizzed by the compere; following a break, the floor is thrown open for questions from the audience and an `open mic' session. The event is enlivened by jokes, raffles, poems composed by the participants, and the odd spot of guitar playing. The audience eats and drinks throughout the event, and normal pub activities go on in the background. Many of the sessions have been recorded and then broadcast, in edited form, by Australia's national radio broadcaster. "Science in the
Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon H OR1H Hammers, Feathers and Interaction in the Planetarium
Ken Brandt, Robeson Planetarium and Science Center, brandtk.psrc@robeson.k12.nc.us, www.robesonsky.com
Misconceptions abound in space science, and finding simple, effective and memorable tools that vanquish these errant ideas can change how people relate to space science and astronomy. A survey of instructional

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Pub" and its offshoots, such as "CafÈ Scientifique", spread rapidly to both cities and country areas throughout Australia. They are now run both as regular sessions and for special occasions such as science meetings. Astronomers have played a prominent role in regular sessions of Science in the Pub, and special sessions were organized for the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly held in Sydney in 2003. This workshop will show participants how "Science in the Pub" works and cover how they could apply its structure to various settings. discussions. We will use lots of post-it notes and bring in a couple of small "tasks" (Example: Give each small group a NASA-developed "product" like Search for a Habitable World" (copies provided to the group). Could it be used in AYP? Why or why not? If yes, would it need adaptation or further explanation?) We want to produce a very lively and active workshop that will give everyone some fresh knowledge and ideas.

Category: Other Location: Salon B WRB Family Astronomy: How You Can Connect Community to Your EPO Programs
Suzanne Chippindale, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, schippindale@astrosociety.org, http://www.astrosociety.org/education/family.html Andrew Fraknoi, Dan Zevin, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center, Janice Harvey, Gemini Observatory
In this hands-on session, participants will learn techniques for doing hands-on astronomy activities with families in a variety of evening and weekend settings, including schools, clubs, community groups, museums, planetaria, and nature centers. The Family ASTRO program at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has developed five kits and four takehome packages that help families with children of ages 8 and up to learn basic astronomical ideas. Having been tested at 7 sites around the country, these materials and training manuals are now available for anyone who wants to work with families and community groups. Many are also useable in after-school settings and camps. Kits include: Night Sky Adventure, Race to the Planets, Moon Mission, Cosmic Decoders, and Stars-PlanetsLife. You will come away from this session with practical ideas for bringing astronomy and space science into your own home and the homes of the audiences you work with.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon D WRD Modeling the Universe
Sarah Silva, NASA E/PO ­ Sonoma State University, sarah@universe.sonoma.edu, http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/seuforum/mtu/ Mar y Dussault, Jennifer Grier, Harvard-Smithsonian Universe Education Forum, CfA, Lindsay Bartolone, WMAP E/PO Team and Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
A team of E/PO leads, scientists and educators from NASA's Universe Education Forum and missions has developed a targeted set of activities, presentations, and assessments that immerse teachers in learning about two key themes from the National Science Education Standards: origin and evolution of the universe, and the unifying concept of models, evidence, and explanation in science. Students of all ages come to the astronomy classroom with their own ideas and internal models of how the universe works. Our strategy for addressing these prior notions is to elicit ideas up front, prompt a discussion of the nature of models in astronomy, and then illustrate how models change as new evidence and ideas are brought to bear. Our ``Modeling the Universe" investigations provide a context and motivation for learning about NASA's Structure and Evolution of the Universe space science missions as tools for testing astronomical models and theories. Participants in this session will explore the educational materials and resources we have developed, and have an opportunity to discuss how these can be adapted or enhanced in various classroom environments. This work was funded under the NASA Office of Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon C WRC Working with After-school and Youth Programs
Shari Asplund, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Discovery Missions, shari.e.asplund@jpl.nasa.gov, Leslie Lowes, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Julie Lutz, University of Washington, Gretchen Walker, American Museum of Natural History
Between the ages of 5 and 14, most children spend many hours in various after-school and youth programs. These programs typically have more flexibility than K-12 classrooms and many of them are interested in science activities. The topics covered in the After-school and Youth Programs (AYP) will be: 1. Introduction to AYP -- characteristics, participants, specific examples (Lutz); 2. Major issues in AYP -- stability of programs, backgrounds of providers, conflicts about goals and program philosophies) (Walker); 3. How should materials developed for AYP differ from those developed for K-12 formal education? (Lowes); 4. The AMNH AYP study -- major results and lessons (Walker); 5. Major professional organizations for AYP -- NIOST and NAA (Asplund); 6. Lessons learned and next steps (Lutz). Participants in the After-school/Youth (A/Y) programs workshop will work in groups of 4-5 for discussions and tasks related to each element of the workshop. Participants will get handouts to inform their group

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon F WRF Maximizing the Effectiveness of Astronomy Educational Materials
Donna L Young, Chandra X-Ray Center EPO Office, donna.young@tufts.edu
Effective standards-based classroom materials and resources need to establish a clear instructional plan for all students by identifying learning outcomes and guiding decisions about assessing student progress. Teachers need flexible materials that are designed to provide instruction that allows students to engage in learning in ways that may be more suited to their individual learning styles than traditional modes of instruction. Technology is a key component in standards-based education, and research suggests that technology tools can inspire projects that increase enthusiasm for learning, as well as teach students teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking. Designing and planning classroom materials must integrate the key elements of content standards, learning objectives, activities, technology resources and assessments. To be most useful for classroom teachers, these materials should: · Improve their understanding of science content, processes and/or models

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
· Clarify a hierarchy of content and skills from national and state standards · Define assessment goals and strategies · Incorporate multiple learning styles · Allow flexibility to easily incorporate materials into individual classrooms · Address misconceptions · Increase opportunities for diverse students to achieve science literacy The Chandra X-Ray Center educational materials systematically address adult science and mathematics literacy, instructional implications, specific concepts and ideas within national and state standards, research on student learning and misconceptions, technology, and connections among ideas. Specific examples of the integration of technology, science, mathematics and art will be presented in the content areas of the electromagnetic spectrum and stellar evolution.

Category: Other Location: Salon H WRH After All, It's One Earth: A Diversity Practicum
Lynn Narasimhan, DePaul University, cnarasim@depaul.edu Charles McGruder, Western Kentucky University, Phil Sakimoto, University of Notre Dame, Isabel Hawkins, UC Berkeley, Rose Von Thater-Braan, The Native American Academy and Silver Buffalo Consulting
Diversity. What is it? Why do we care? What do we do about it? For the past decade (or more!) we have been experimenting with a wide variety of approaches to fostering diversity within the sciences. At times we have worked individually on issues within our home institutions. At other times we have worked together on behalf of NASA's space science program. From these experiences, a growing sense of what really seems to matter is slowly emerging. This ASP conference session will be yet another experiment in diversity. In two brief hours, we will attempt to model some approaches to fostering diversity that, to us, seem to have merit. We will take a fresh look at why we are so concerned about diversity in the sciences, with a particular emphasis on astronomy. We will explore alternative approaches to building relationships. We will glean insights from recent diversity initiatives in which we have been involved. And we will do all this together: audience participation will be required. Join us for this new adventure.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon G WRG Project Evaluation Plans that Really Work
Janelle M. Bailey, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, jbailey@as.arizona.edu Andrew J. Shaner, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, Doug Lombardi, UA Phoenix Mars Mission
All federal agencies now require meaningful evaluation of funded education and public outreach (E/PO) activities. The purposes of the evaluation effort are to document the strengths and weaknesses of the E/PO activities, assess the extent to which the program's stated goals are being met, suggest actionable changes to future efforts, and highlight unexpected outcomes. But, how is an evaluation effectively implemented? In this interactive workshop, participants will learn how to create an evaluation matrix to tie together E/PO program goals, data collection and analysis strategies, and indicators of success. Well designed matrices are a particularly powerful keystone to any evaluation effort because they are scaleable from individual activities to large programmatic processes. In a highly active and cooperative learning environment, participants will (1) develop and analyze programmatic goals for a simulated E/PO effort, (2) use these goals and a given set of activities to determine what data is needed, (3) brainstorm various meaningful data collection analysis methods, (4) synthesize these three components to form an evaluation matrix, (5) and create an action plan for participants' own projects. Throughout the workshop, the leaders will provide authentic examples, both strong and weak, of goals, data collection and analysis, and constructed evaluation matrices. Workshop leaders will candidly discuss their own evaluation experiences, providing resources and handouts that address, "What I wish I knew before..."

Category: Formal Education Location: Cottonwood Room WRJ A New E/PO Collaboration: GEMS Space Science Core Curriculum Sequences
Carolyn Willard and Kevin Beals, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, cwillard@berkeley.edu
Hear how five E/PO and NASA Forum teams and Lawrence Hall of Science GEMS curriculum developers have partnered to develop a Space Science Core Curriculum Sequence. This new sequence, comprised of new and existing educational materials, will support the goals of the NASA Space Science Framework and help teachers build coherent conceptual pathways in their space science curriculum at grades three through eight. An overview of the project, the methods used in its development, and progress to date will be presented in the first 20 minutes of the session. Participants will experience sample activities from the sequence, including hands-on investigations using models, student readings, components of the assessment system, and other special "activity structures" that repeat throughout the sequence. Using these sample activities from the sequence, we will share our approaches and lessons learned, and participants will have time to discuss issues in small groups. Groups will report, and the whole group will have an opportunity to comment and exchange ideas.

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday PM Clinic Session
Time: 3:30 p.m. ­ 4:00 p.m. Category: Formal Education Location: Redwood Room OR2A Making Astronomy Memorable with Interdisciplinar y Teaching Strategies
Mary L. Radnofsky, The Socrates Institute, mary@socratesinstitute.org
The goal of this interdisciplinary clinic is to demonstrate how to actively engage learners in the contextualization of astronomy information, to find relationships between seemingly unrelated fields of study, and thereby to help these learners gain a greater understanding of astronomy. Participants will experience and discuss effective interdisciplinary strategies used in "Prismaticum," an innovative system to train teachers using information from several disciplines (e.g. Math, Science, History, Literature, Art, Music) to better "anchor" instruction in any given field -- in this case, astronomy for non-specialists. Interdisciplinary teaching often involves using learners' existing knowledge and interests -- valuable tools for future learning. For example, amateur astronomers are interested in subjects ranging from art to engineering to oriental languages, and everything in between. It is therefore incumbent upon us to respect and to make use of their experience across other disciplines when teaching them new astronomical concepts. To learn any concept, our brains seek to make sense of fragments of information and create patterns we can understand. When we recognize a pattern using prior knowledge, the new learning is said to be "anchored." Prismaticum facilitates this process using both conceptual and practical tools adaptable by teachers in any environment. Prismaticum works metaphorically like a prism, but not in the usual sense of separating white light into colors. Instead the Prismaticum prism is used "backwards," combining the colors (representing different school subjects) into the white light of knowledge, providing a much broader conceptual basis for any lesson than would otherwise be possible.

Category: Other Location: Salon C OR2C Journey to Mars: A 3D Exploration
Alice Carron, ArtReach International alicecarron1@msn.com, www.ArtReachStudios.com Daniel Tillman, ArtReach International, Daniella Scalice, NASA, Ames, Jennifer Trosper, NASA JPL
Experience a 3-D stereoscopic adventure to Mars, utilizing a combination of digital animation and authentic NASA imagery taken on the surface of the red planet. Learn about the search for water-based life on Mars wearing 3-D glasses! Narrated by Jennifer Trosper, NASA JPL, "Spirit" Mission Manager. This combination of digital animation and authentic NASA imagery taken on the red planet's surface is set to an all-original soundtrack, by "HERMES". The 3D program demonstrates best practices in utilizing NASA content for education and public outreach. We will provide participants an overview of how similar research programs can be adapted into broadcast-quality formats that reach the broadest possible audience bases using best-cost strategies.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon D OR2D Building Enduring Partnerships: NOVA Origins Series Outreach
Heather Gibbons, Pacific Science Center, Heather_Gibbons@pacsci.org Len Adams, Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center, Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute
Building lasting relationships between education and public outreach programs provides one mechanism for extending and sustaining the impact of these programs. This 30-minute clinic will examine the NOVA Origins Television Series national outreach program for the lessons learned regarding developing enduring partnerships involving science centers and museums, community-based organizations, and NASA and NSF-funded programs. The Pacific Science Center national outreach program involves ten museums across the country, chosen based on their ability to reach diverse audiences and ability to partner with local community organizations. A lasting relationship with the NASA Origins Education Forum provides the museums with ViewSpace, a continually-updated series of multimedia presentations about astronomy fed directly to museum exhibit halls and planetarium audience queues via the Internet, as well as access to NASA scientific expertise and science communicators. Group discussion will focus on best practices emerging from this continuing relationship, as well as related experiences in the emerging education and public outreach community.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon B OR2B Setting Up Partnerships between Astronomers and Teachers: Techniques/Materials from Project ASTRO
Dan Zevin, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, dzevin@astrosociety.org, http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astro/project_astro.html Andrew Fraknoi, Suzanne Chippindale, Christina de Leon, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Project ASTRO has been training volunteer astronomers to partner with 4th - 9th grade teachers in their communities since 1994. Now operating in over a dozen sites around the country, the program provides participants with an array of hands-on activities that help students act like scientists, drawing conclusions from their own data. In this clinic, we will demonstrate the Project ASTRO approach to partnerships and provide you with a number of sample materials and approaches for doing the kinds of basic astronomy that state and national standards require. Whether you just want to volunteer in your own children's classroom or you want to help scientists in your project partner with teachers, you will find this 30 minutes a useful introduction to what to do and what not to do to help K-12 education.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon E (Exhibit Hall) OR2EH Teaching Astronomy with a Portable Digital Planetarium
Karrie Berglund and Rob Spearman, Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc., karrie@DigitalisEducation.com, http://DigitalisEducation.com
Digital portable planetarium projectors provide far greater flexibility of subject matter than analog portable projectors. This tremendous flexibility
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Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
makes digital portable projectors relevant for a much wider age range than portable analog projectors. This workshop will introduce you to some common features of digital portable planetarium systems which can be used with secondary and college students. We will demonstrate using a digital portable planetarium projector to teach about: annual motion; precession of the equinoxes; moon and planet phasing; and more, as time allows. Seating is limited to the first 25 attendees. Session will be conducted in a 16 ft (5m) inflatable dome with a Digitarium Alpha projector. wish to be involved -- amateur astronomers, planetarium staff, PIO staff from observatories, etc. This is precisely the focus of this meeting. We would like to engage participants in a two-way process: we would like to know what they require most (in terms of assistance in communicating), what resources could be provided on the web, what could they provide, where to find out a local planetarium etc. The attendees will gain realization that there are people who are trying to help in terms of the big picture and provide an additional resource. It is also an opportunity for keen people to become members of the Working Group as we are always anxiously seeking people who are prepared to do real work as opposed to just being on a committee for prestige purposes. We wish to collate the information for presentation to the IAU in 2006 with the aim of focusing attention on the key issues.

Category: Other Location: Salon F OR2F Using Animations to Aid Student Visualization
Aileen A. O'Donoghue, aodonoghue@stlawu.edu, it.stlawu.edu/~aodo
A student once commented that she couldn't keep up with where I was standing as I explained the motions of the celestial sphere and phases of the moon. Also, a colleague from the Geology Department with whom I team teach remarked after I taught about the seasons that I seem to really live in the heliocentric reference frame. These comments helped me realize that not only do I live in a different reference frame than my students, but I change reference frames from heliocentric to geocentric to "Cantoncentric" more quickly and easily than they can. This motivated me to use the computing facilities I have to help students change reference frames and connect high resolution images to the actual sky. The advancing speed of computers and their graphic capability afford the opportunity to show students the changes in reference frames required to understand the seasons, the phases of the moon, motions of the planets and other spatial topics with which they struggle. Animation is also a way to help students connect images from the HST and other telescopes to the sky they can observe. Yet we are only beginning to utilize the capacity for computers to make things move in ways chalkboard diagrams can't. In this 30-minute presentation I will show the animations I have found to aid student understanding and demonstrate creation of animations with PowerPoint and Fireworks software. My goal is to engage others in the creation, sharing, and testing of animations in teaching introductory astronomy to students and the public.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon H OR2H Bringing Science to the Classroom: Journey through the Universe
Laura K. Kraft, W. M. Keck Observatory, lkraft@keck.hawaii.edu, http://64.78.10.206/journey/hilojourney/ Janice Harvey, Gemini Observatory
The inaugural year of the "Journey through the Universe" program in Hawaii brought a greater appreciation and understanding of science to more than 130 teachers and 5,000 students. Teacher curriculum workshops and a 15hour professional development course provided deeper understanding of science principals. Several Mauna Kea scientists participated in their first outreach workshop and joined classroom visits. This session will present practical ideas for bringing scientists and educators together for an outreach program that reaches both formal and informal settings.

Category: Formal Education Location: Cottonwood Room OR2J Are You Really Doing E/PO if No One is Learning? Intellectually Engaging Learners Using NASA Materials
Ed Prather, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, eprather@as.arizona.edu, http://caperteam.as.arizona.edu Michelle Thaller, Spitzer Cal Tech
All too often, a critical teachable moment can be lost when students are presented visually captivating scientific results from Astronomy, not because the interests is lacking in those that are present but because their intellectual curiosities are not triggered profoundly. Why? Perhaps the best way to encapsulate the problem is provided by the teaching axiom "We are not in the business of giving people answers that don't yet have questions." Nowhere is this more common then when we provide information about our field of science without first creating a desire for the information we intend to impart. The opportunity to truly reach the learner is also missed when we provide information that is so far beyond the intellectual ability of our audience that we may as well be speaking in a foreign language about a nonsensical universe. We can unintentionally create educational environments where naturally interested learners are quickly turned into un-engaged recipients of facts, figures and intellectual unattainable concepts. Core to this problem is that we focus on content that students simply cannot integrate into their existing mental landscapes. So can you REALLY reach your audience? It turns out that if we turn to the results of

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon G OR2G The IAU Working Group on Communicating Astronomy with the Public
Ian Robson, UK ATC (Royal Observatory Edinburgh UK eir@roe.ac.uk Dennis Crabtree, HIA-NRC (Canada), Lars Lindberg Christensen, ESO Germany
The October 2003 Washington outreach meeting had three important outcomes: setting up an IAU Working Group to co-ordinate activity; the so-called `Washington Charter' that sets out what should be best practice and goals for communicating astronomy with the public; the need for some form of `image/information repository'. The IAU Working Group was successfully set up and has a web-site located at http://www. communicatingastronomy.org. A further meeting in the communicating astronomy with the public series (CAP2005) has now been organized (see web). The Washington Charter has now been endorsed by a number of agencies and bodies, but there is still much more work to be done. One of the prime areas that the IAU Working Group wishes to foster is to encourage and assist those keen and competent non-professional astronomers who
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Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program


Thursday, September 15, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
research into cognition and instruction we find solutions that appeal to our usual modes of operation and desired outcomes. In this how to clinic, we will use an interactive approach in showing how to use visually captivating E/PO materials in a pedagogically rich manner. Audience members should be prepared to participate.

Thursday PM Plenary Session
Time: 4:10 p.m. ­ 5:10 p.m. Location: Salon D Lessons without Limit: Astronomy & Space Science Learning Across the Lifespan
Lynn Dierking, Institute for Learning Innovation, dierking@ILINET.ORG
There is a quiet revolution in education worldwide. The centers of this revolution are not the traditional educational establishment of schools and universities though, but a vast network of organizations and media (museums, libraries, television, books, and increasingly the Internet) supporting an ever-growing demand for free-choice learning, learning guided by a person's needs and interests. People engage in such learning every day--at home, at work, and out in the world; much of this learning is free-choice. This is an important way that people learn about astronomy and space science. For example, in any given week a person might read an article in a newspaper about the latest satellite launch, visit a local planetarium, watch a television special on Mars exploration or build a model rocket with her child. As EPO professionals strive to develop interest, knowledge and understanding in astronomy and space science, it is important to be aware of the vast number of ways, ages and places in which a person learns about these topics across their lifetime. In the 21st Century, free-choice learning institutions such as museums, the Internet and broadcast media are assuming a prominent role as educational institutions, important places and ways that we learn and most importantly, contextualize our science knowledge and understanding. This presentation will describe the nature of free-choice learning and discuss ways that the EPO community can meet the challenge, better positioning itself to address stakeholder needs, improve the quality of products and services, and increase the effectiveness of dissemination efforts. Dr. Lynn D. Dierking is Associate Director of the Institute for Learning Innovation, a not-for-profit learning research and development organization, international leaders in understanding, facilitating and advocating for free-choice learning. Dr. Dierking is internationally recognized for her research on the behavior and learning of children, families and adults in free-choice learning settings and has published extensively in these areas. She and a colleague at the Franklin Institute Science Museum have just received funding for a research project which will investigate the long-term impact of gender-focused freechoice science learning experiences on girls' interest, engagement, and involvement in science communities and science careers. She received her Ph.D. in Science Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and has worked in a variety of science learning settings, including museums, schools and as Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University of Maryland, College Park.

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · Posters
Friday AM Plenary Session
Time: 8:45 a.m. ­ 9:45 a.m. Location: Salon D NASA Education and Public Outreach ­ Looking Ten Years Out
Larry Cooper, NASA, Larry.P.Cooper@nasa.gov

PF02 On Engaging and Networking College Astronomy Educators
Erin Dokter, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, edokter@email.arizona.edu Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College & ASP, William Waller, Tufts University & NESSIE
In July 2004, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the New England Space Science Initiative in Education hosted the "Cosmos in the Classroom" conference on teaching introductory astronomy to nonscience majors. Discussions of several critical issues from that conference were continued at "ASTRO 101 -- A Continuing Dialogue" and the various astronomy education sessions during the January 2005 AAS meeting. This poster summarizes these recent events and based on these dialogues, gives an overview of where the field is heading, including the emergence of a variety of networks serving college astronomy educators.

Friday Poster Session
Time: 8:00 a.m. ­ 5:15 p.m. Poster Location: Near Registration 9:45 a.m. Oral Overview: Salon D
Posters presenters are invited to give a 60-second overview of their poster to conference attendees using a single overhead transparency between 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in Salon D. Posters are changed each day and are available from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. north of the registration desk.

PF03 Astro-Venture: Using Astrobiology Missions and Inquir y to Meet Standards-Based Concepts
Christina O'Guinn, NASA Ames Research Center, Education Office, Christina.m.oguinn@nasa.gov, http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov Liza Coe, NASA Ames Research Center
A challenge we often face when developing E/PO products based on NASA's missions, is the integration of concepts that are far too advanced for K-8 students to grasp and do not always align well with standardsbased curriculum. Furthermore, teachers' instructional time is already so limited that they do not have time to cover the additional content covered in NASA curriculum supplements if it doesn't teach standards. Thus, the challenge to curriculum developers is to develop standards-based curriculum supplements that are truly useful to educators, while still integrating NASA's missions. Astro-Venture is one example of an approach that achieves this. Astro-Venture is an educational, interactive, multimedia Web environment in which students in grades 5-8 role play NASA careers as they search for and design a planet that would be habitable to humans. Astro-Venture includes modules in the areas of astronomy, geology, atmosphere and biology. Astro-Venture uses multimedia activities and classroom explorations to engage students in guided inquiry aligned with the 5 E inquiry model. Students engage in interactive multimedia modules in which they make observations and draw conclusions about human survival needs and methods for searching for habitable planets. Students further engage in classroom, hands-on activities that teach them core standards-based concepts including: states of matter, flow of energy, chemical properties, planetary geology, plate tectonics, human health and systems. By meeting education standards, teachers can easily integrate this product into their classroom curriculum.

PF01 Mars Student-Teacher Advisor y Roundtable
Catherine D. Bowman, Raytheon ITSS/NASA ARC, cbowman@mail.arc.nasa.gov Emily L. Haynes, Centaurus High School, Michelle A. Viotti, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Effective education and public outreach must rely on inputs from students, teachers, and the public, rather than on internal assumptions of what is interesting and desirable. To address this need, NASA's Mars Public Engagement Program has developed the Mars Student-Teacher Advisory Roundtable (Mars STAR) made up of former members of the Athena Student Interns Program who competed for an opportunity to work directly on the Mars Exploration Rover mission. The Mars STAR model acknowledges the singular contribution previous participants in NASA programs can make in recommendations for current and future improvements. Rooted in classrooms and communities, they provide a "real life" perspective, while also drawing on their unique insider knowledge of NASA's missions, goals, and programs. In essence, they can serve as highly knowledgeable liaisons between the general public and NASA on issues related to communications and education. Mars STAR members benefit from participating in the program. Through monthly teleconferences and frequent emails they share their experiences of bringing NASA and Mars to their communities and classrooms. In this collaborative environment, teachers learn of upcoming Mars educational opportunities and work with colleagues to find new ways to excite students and the public about space exploration. Students benefit from a continuing connection to NASA and a cohort of like-minded peers providing support as they make their way to college and career. NASA's Mars STAR program provides a model for tapping the substantial knowledge and experience of its program participants, while keeping "star" players involved in NASA, space science, and exploration.

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · Posters
PF04 Infrared Astronomy Education for the Museum Public: Accessible Science for All Ages
Jessie Antonellis, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, jantonellis@as.arizona.edu, http://caperteam.as.arizona.edu Matthew Wenger, Sarah Streb, Camille Easley, Katie StraubLopez, Ted Gerstle, University of Arizona
The unique versatility of infrared technology provides an accessible entry-point into astronomy education for museum visitors of all ages and knowledge levels. Student interns from the University of Arizona worked at the Flandrau Science Center to develop a program intended for middle school students, as well as an exhibit appropriate for visitors of all ages. The program utilizes infrared technology as a conduit between the science of infrared and its applications in astronomy and other fields. Program. One of the findings that emerged from the Amazing Space Formal Education Program Impact Study is the use of Amazing Space materials in the K-14 pre- and in-service education communities. This finding prompted the team to conduct a needs assessment within these communities. The information collected from the needs assessment proved invaluable in determining the similarities and differences between the pre- and in-service communities including how they use Amazing Space education materials and what professional development needs they have. In response, the team has designed professional development trainings that are tailored to the specific communities, whether it is professors of preservice teachers, pre-service education students, or in-service teachers.

PF07 Measuring the Impact of the Hubble Space Telescope's Amazing Space Formal Education Program
J. Daniel McCallister, Space Telescope Science Institute, mccallis@stsci.edu, http://amazing-space.stsci.edu
The Amazing Space Program began at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. in 1996 as an education website that focused on communicating useful and creative ways for classroom teachers to integrate the latest Hubble Space Telescope science discoveries into the classroom. It has since expanded to become a program that reaches a broader audience within the education outreach community, as well as the general public. Over the past few years, the Formal Education Team has been conducting an impact study to evaluate the effectiveness of its online K-12 Amazing Space Education Program. Using program evaluation methods, the team has collected information as to where Amazing Space is being used and who is using it. In an initial sample of data, we have identified over 1,000 users across all 50 states, including state departments of education, school districts, colleges and universities, and public outreach venues. We are now focusing on identifying specific audiences, such as schools/colleges of education, pre- and in-service teachers, and outreach education, to further understand how they are using Amazing Space education materials in their community. This poster will address how the impact study was designed as well as some of these findings.

PF05 Ideas for Including Pre-Service Science Educators in Education and Public Outreach Efforts
Stephanie Shipp, South Central Organization of Researchers and Educators Broker Facilitator Program, Lunar and Planetary Institute, shipp@lpi.usra.edu http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/score/pre_service.shtml Denise Smith, Origins Education Forum, Space Telescope Science Institute, Laurie Ruberg, Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker, Center for Educational Technologies, Wheeling Jesuit University, NASA Science Mission Directorate Support Network Pre-Service Educator Working Group
Educators share with their students the content with which they are most familiar and comfortable ­ and they often share it in the manner in which they were instructed. For many science educators, this means that only limited first-hand Earth and space science exploration occurs in their classrooms. The Pre-Service Educator Working Group of NASA's Science Mission Directorate includes scientists and educational specialists who are working to develop an understanding of space science education needs within pre-service programs and to identify ways to meet those needs through partnerships between scientists, faculty, education specialists, and educators. What can these partnerships look like? How can an individual scientist become involved in preparing future educators? What experiences are needed by pre-service educators to prepare them for bringing space science into the classroom? The poster presents the results of a workshop that explored the role of Earth and Space scientists in the preparation of preservice educators in March 2005. The workshop, attended by scientists, preservice faculty, educators, and education specialists, included presentation of existing pre-service programs and models of scientist involvement. The workshop culminated in a series of community recommendations for effective scientist involvement in teacher preparation.

PF08 Telescopes from the Ground Up: Producing a Histor y of Science Lesson in a Technology-Rich Environment
Linda Knisely, Space Telescope Science Institute, lknisely@stsci.edu, http://amazing-space.stsci.edu Jon Eisenhamer, Kathy Cordes, Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute
The production process for the newest Amazing Space Online Exploration, "Telescopes from the Ground Up," required a team of professionals, including educators, scientists, graphic artists, writers, and programmers, to blend science, history, and technology into a story rich with people and their discoveries. Using the original Amazing Space lesson, "Galileo to Hubble," as a basis, the team began identifying national science and technology standards that could be addressed by the activity. Research was then conducted to span the history of telescope development from Galileo's small refractor to NASA's Great Observatories. Capitalizing on the expertise of each team member, the lesson evolved to reflect the many components of telescope development. The poster provides a detailed look at how the production team intermingled the concepts of science understanding, technological advancements, astronomical discoveries, and the people who made them into a comprehensive look at telescope history.

PF06 Professional Development for Pre- and In-Service Educators
Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, bonnie@stsci.edu, http://amazing-space.stsci.edu J. Daniel McCallister, Space Telescope Science Institute
Over the past few years, the Formal Education Team at Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. has been conducting an impact study to evaluate the effectiveness of its online K-12 Amazing Space Education

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · Posters
PF09 Earth to Sky Professional Development Institutes: An Innovative Partnership Between NASA and NPS
Ruth Paglierani, UC Berkeley, ruthp@ssl.berkeley.edu Anita Davis, SSAI-NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Space and Earth Science disciplines and the National Park Service (NPS) Interpretation Training Program collaborated to offer the Earth to Sky Institutes in professional development for NPS Interpreters. NASA scientists, education specialists and NPS trainers infused NASA content, resources, and programs in the Institutes. Over the course of five days, interpreters explored NASA's cutting-edge science, visited NASA Centers, and interacted with many NASA scientists and education and public outreach professionals. Five themes--the Night Sky, Comparative Planetology, Astrobiology, the Sun-Earth Connection/Space Weather and Earth Systems Science--provided exciting NASA content that the rangers developed into interpretive products and programs that will enrich the experiences of millions of park visitors throughout America. The Institutes were highly successful, and serve as an example of effective methodology for teaching NASA's Earth and Space science to informal educators. This poster will outline the best practices from the Institutes, and share examples of the innovative informal education products the participants created. Upon entering the Skymobile, a modified tractor-trailer, students find themselves on board a research station on the planet Mars, where they have been recruited to help explore and gather information about the planet. From within the protected environment of a dome-like "research lab", students investigate the Martian terrain and various rock samples contained within the dome. During this one-hour program, students are introduced to clues that might suggest the presence of water, past or present, and begin to understand why the search for water is an important goal for Mars exploration. Students participating in the Skymobile also engage in classroom activities that introduce them to the concept of microorganisms and the importance of water for living things. In the classroom, students will begin to discover why a search for life on the red planet might involve a search for these tiny life forms and evidence of water. The Skymobile program seeks to emphasize students' understanding of scientific investigation and basic process skills including data collection, classification and drawing conclusions while teaching students that by studying the geology of planet, including rocks and landforms, we can discover important clues that reveal its history. In addition to geology concepts, students also investigate life science concepts by categorizing living things on Earth and comparing those to what we might expect to find on Mars.

PF10 Prospects for Educational Research in Informal Science Settings: A Spectrum of Opportunities at the
Nick Stroud, Teachers College ­ Columbia University; American Museum of Natural History, nss2112@columbia.edu Meghan Groome, Teachers College ­ Columbia University, Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History; Teachers College ­ Columbia University
Methods and theories of educational research have infrequently been applied to Astronomy education and public outreach. This is a significant issue that needs to be addressed if we are to construct a professional, scholarly, and robust EPO community. To tackle this issue, we have formed a research group at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to conduct and report on original research on the immense range of Astronomy programs available at the museum. Programmatically, the spectrum of opportunities for outreach and research includes public programs, educators, school field trips, internship programs, and general visitors. Conceptually, opportunities include collaboration between the museum and schools, universities, scientists, and community groups. Such a wide range of opportunities for meaningful interactions with both groups and individuals requires a solid theoretical structure for research, unique and inspirational approaches for implementation, and collaboration among traditionally disparate groups. Our research group hopes to bridge the existing gap by synthesizing theoretical and methodological approaches that can inform both communities. We report preliminary results from this research program as well as prospects for future research.

PF12 Public Outreach at the National Radio Astronomy Observator y
Mark T. Adams, NRAO, mtadams@nrao.edu David G. Finley, NRAO
The NRAO education and public outreach (EPO) program includes new and continuing initiatives at the Observatory's facilities in West Virginia, New Mexico, Virginia, and Chile. NRAO staff have begun a Legacy Imagery Project, developing techniques to process radio astronomy data into compelling visual imagery. The NRAO also is producing programs about radio astronomy that incorporate high resolution imagery, movies, animations, captions, and music. Through a collaborative agreement with the Space Telescope Science Institute, these will be distributed to science museums and planetariums via the multimedia exhibit program ViewSpace. As construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) progresses, the NRAO is collaborating with the European Southern Observatory to generate a vision for ALMA EPO. Communication with the professional astronomical community is maintained through the World Wide Web, and through exhibit and pressroom participation at American Astronomical Society, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and International Astronomical Union meetings. Participation in consortia such as the Southwest Consortium of Observatories for Public Education (SCOPE) maintains close ties with EPO staff at other astronomical facilities. The Observatory supports a vigorous education program for the public, K-12 science teachers, and university educators. Programs and exhibits at the Green Bank Science Center and the VLA Visitor Center promote public awareness and support for astronomy; and a proposal for an expanded New Mexico Visitor Center has been completed. Excellent media relations are key, and NRAO's Public Information Officers widely disseminate research results through international electronic and print media.

PF11 Taking Mars on the Road: The Skymobile Program
Sarah Marcotte, Independent Museum Education Consultant, maltmaiden@sbcglobal.net, http://www.nhm.org/education/outreach/mobile/mobile_sky.html Cindy Busche, Carl Carranza, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Skymobile is a free science outreach program for 4th and 5th graders provided by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · Posters
PF13 Engaging Audiences in the Search for New Worlds Through Interactive Multimedia
Randal Jackson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, randal.k.jackson@jpl.nasa.gov, http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov
Emerging new media technologies have created opportunities to engage the public in science through interactive presentations that are inherently attractive and absorbing. NASA's PlanetQuest program has leveraged online 3D modeling, virtual reality, and video game aesthetics to develop an ongoing series of highly popular interactive presentations. This approach has proved particularly effective in the field of extrasolar planet studies, which currently lacks compelling science imagery. These products channel touchstones of popular culture, such as science fiction, video games and humor, to create immersive non-linear experiences that invite users to have fun and "forget" they are being educated. These self-contained modules are primarily disseminated through the award-winning PlanetQuest website, the thematic home page for NASA's planet-finding projects. They are further distributed across a broad spectrum of outreach activities, including museum exhibits, outreach kits, and shopping mall kiosks. allow many endeavors, such as the Mars Exploration Rover mission, to provide constantly changing information, high quality imagery, and upto-the-minute findings to a wide range of users. After the excitement of a mission's initial activities, however, the number of visitors to a website tends to decline and many people fail to continue to follow the mission's course. The use of dynamically updating screen savers can help mitigate this problem by removing the requirement to repeatedly visit a website, providing users with the option to bring the mission directly to their desktops. By automatically retrieving the latest content, dynamically updating screen savers transform short-term initial interest into extended involvement and transition the user to effortless, sustainable, long-term participation. For the Mars Exploration Rover mission, a screen saver was created that downloads daily status and image updates for each of the rovers. The screen saver also displays predetermined content including a chronology of Mars exploration, images documenting the development of the rovers, and selected comments from members of the mission staff. This screen saver was linked from the main Mars Exploration Rover website and has been downloaded by approximately 100,000 users. Follow-on screen savers for the Cassini-Huygens mission and the NASA Planetary Photojournal provide additional points of entry into NASA exploration and a model for future mission public outreach.

PR14 Public Outreach & A New Bilingual, Outdoor, Interactive Family Exhibit at the McDonald Observator y
Frank Cianciolo, The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, frankc@astro.as.utexas.edu, http://www.mcdonaldobservatory.org/ Sandra Preston, Mary Kay Hemenway, Fritz Benedict, Marc Wetzel, Brad Armosky, The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory
Each year McDonald Observatory's Visitors Center hosts nearly 100,000 visitors, who participate in one or more of the Center's extensive public outreach programs. These programs offer the general public an opportunity to glimpse the daily workings of a research observatory and experience, for many visitors perhaps for the first time, a truly dark nighttime sky. Recent upgrades in telescope and video equipment now allow comfortable viewing of live video of the Sun, Moon, and a wide variety of deep space objects in the Center's large screen theater. Digital video recordings of these video feeds allow the Center's viewing programs to be nearly weatherproof. Currently in design phase, Parallax Park, a bilingual (English & Spanish), outdoor, interactive exhibit, will bring the quest for learning about extrasolar planets and the astronomical distance ladder down to Earth. Teaching the basic principles of astrometry through an interactive trail mimicking the Earth's orbit, the Park will concentrate on distance determination and extra-solar planet detection, and emphasize the advantages of spacebased astrometry measurements. The design for Parallax Park was made possible through funding from the Hubble Space Telescope Cycle 11 and 12 Education and Public Outreach Grant Programs. Support from the NASA/JPL Space Interferometry Mission ( JPL contract #1227563) is also gratefully acknowledged.

PF16 IDEAS Grant Program Retrospective Findings
Heather Bradbur y, Space Telescope Science Institute, hbradbur@stsci.edu, http://ideas.stsci.edu Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute
Since it's inception in 1993, the Initiative to Develop Education through Astronomy and Space Science (IDEAS) has funded many creative and innovative programs. In 2002, there was a consensus among NASA OSS and Space Telescope Science Institute staff that it was an appropriate time to conduct a retrospective of the grant program and a two-phased retrospective was developed in response. In Phase 1, an external panel of scientists, NASA staff, and education professionals examined the programs' procedures and evaluated the program's impact and significance in the changing E/PO landscape. In Phase II, IDEAS program staff began the groundwork for a long-term impact study. Follow up interviews were conducted with a random sample of funded program Principal Investigators. This poster will summarize some of the findings from the retrospective as well as future directions of the grant program.

PF17 Delivering Current Hubble Space Telescope (HST) News to the Classroom
Ray Villard, Space Telescope Science Institute, villard@stsci.edu, http://amazing-space.stsci.edu Bonnie Eisenhamer, Donna Weaver, Linda Knisely, Space Telescope Science Institute
Today's classrooms are significantly influenced by current news events, delivered instantly into the classroom via the Internet. Educators are challenged daily to transform these events into student learning opportunities. In the case of space science, current news events may be the only chance for educators and students to explore the marvels of the universe. Inspired by these circumstances, the Formal Education and News Divisions at STScI's Office of Public Outreach joined forces to deliver current Hubble Space Telescope (HST) news events that have an educational backbone. Starting with the momentum of HST scientific discoveries, the team blends their skill for producing timely news pieces with educational expertise to maximize the potential learning impact of an

PF15 Dynamically Updating Screen Savers Bring NASA Missions to the Desktop
Judd D. Bowman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, jdbowman@mit.edu, http://robotics.nasa.gov/mer/screensaver.htm
NASA's use of the Internet to highlight planetary exploration has allowed an unprecedented number of people worldwide to experience its missions in more authentic and intense ways than ever before. Websites

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · Posters
HST news event. The partnership also allows the Office of Public Outreach to maximize cost effectiveness and efficiency of staff resources for a stellar product that brings the universe a little closer into view for the classroom. This poster will demonstrate how the two divisions draw on their talents to create their unique educational material as well as the various types of educational material produced by the partnership. colleges teach astronomy? What do they call it? Who is doing the teaching? Initial results identified over 1000 U. S. public, 2-year, degree granting institutions. Of these, over 700 offer courses in astronomy. These courses are taught under the headings of astronomy, physics, geology, Earth science, and natural science (to name a few), by more than 1300 instructors. With these data, CAE has created an Interactive Map of 2Year Colleges that provides institutional information for all U. S. public, 2-year, degree granting institutions offering courses in astronomy. The Center for Astronomy Education is supported by the NASA/JPL Navigator Program (and its planet-finding missions, including SIM PlanetQuest, the Terrestrial Planet Finder, the Keck Interferometer, and the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer), and also by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

PF18 A New E/PO Collaboration: GEMS Space Science Core Curriculum Sequences
Carolyn Willard, Lawrence Hall of Science/GEMS, cwillard@berkeley.edu
We propose to present a poster paper about how five E/PO and NASA Forum teams and Lawrence Hall of Science GEMS curriculum developers have partnered to develop a Space Science Core Curriculum Sequence. This new sequence, comprised of new and existing educational materials, will support the goals of the NASA Space Science Framework and help teachers build coherent conceptual pathways in their space science curriculum at grades three through eight. An overview of the sequence, the methods used in its development, and progress to date will be presented. We will provide graphic representations of the learning trajectory of the sequence and a description of the assessment system. We will include selected sample activities and student readings, plus photos and student work from the classroom field tests.

PF21 An International Perspective on EPO
Gamze H. Menali, American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), gamze@aavso.org Aaron Price, American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), Dr. Matthew Templeton, American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
The AAVSO has 1850 observers in over 45 countries. As a result, international cooperation is very important to the AAVSO. We have an active program to build connections with amateur astronomy groups and educational organizations in countries like Argentina, Turkey, Philippines and more. In addition, we are using this grassroots network of enthusiastic amateur astronomers to translate our EPO materials into other languages. Working across international barriers has its challenges as well. We present results from both successful and unsuccessful international outreach programs. In general, we found that models that work well in the United States also work well internationally with just minor adjustments.

PF19 From ART to SCIENCE: Igniting Stellar Imaginations
Suzanne M. Coshow, Univ. of Notre Dame, scoshow@nd.edu, http://www.jinaweb.org/outreach/JINAs%20ART%20to%20SCIEN CE%20Project1.pdf
An outreach project by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics ( JINA), "From ART to SCIENCE" is an innovative program intended to ignite stellar imaginations and point young children toward the wonders of the heavens. Combining art and science with a bit of literacy on top, JINA provides content specific age appropriate books to the children and financial support for art supplies to elementary school teachers, who direct their students to create art for JINA on the theme "made of star stuff." We exhibit and publish the artwork. The project has received local press both in Indiana and Michigan, and unwavering enthusiasm from participating teachers.

PF22 COSMUS - 3D Visualizations that Immerse the Public in Current Astrophysical Research
Randall H. Landsberg, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics/ University of Chicago, randy@oddjob.uchicago.edu, http://astro.uchicago.edu/cosmus Mark SubbaRao, Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Dinjo Surendran, University of Chicago, Computer Science Department
COSMUS is a group of scientists and science communicators interested in bringing current science to the public by providing visualizations that explain scientific concepts and data. This poster describes COSMUS's work with interactive 3-D visualizations. Such visualizations are a compelling tool for connecting museum visitors and students with evolving scientific research (e.g., the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe being mapped by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey). Immersive electronic media allows people to experience scientific discoveries as they unfold and to visit otherwise invisible or inaccessible worlds such as ultra high energy cosmic ray showers or telescopes in Antarctica. Electronic exhibits are flexible and adaptable on timescales of days compared to years for physical displays. Until recently, interactive immersive technology was prohibitively expensive and complex (e.g. the CAVE). However, it is now possible to create inexpensive (<10K) robust, commodity hardware based, visualization systems (e.g., the stereoscopic projection system know as the Geowall see www.geowall. org). This poster will describe the hardware, the creation process, and the successes associated with COSMUS's 3D visualizations of real astrophysical data (SDSS, WMAP, etc), observatories, and the topology of the surface of Mars. Many of these visualizations can be viewed in 2D at the COSMUS web site: http://astro.uchicago.edu/cosmus.
Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program

PF20 The NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE): Describing the Landscape of Astronomy Instruction in U. S. Community Colleges
Gina Brissenden, University of Arizona Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu, http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov Erik Brogt (CAPER Team, Univ. of Arizona), W. W. Michael Greene, Rhonda. Jones (Navigator, JPL), Michelle L. Thaller (Spitzer, Cal Tech)
The NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) is devoted to the professional development of introductory astronomy instructors, with the primary goal of building a "community of practice." Prior to building a community of practice, however, one must try to understand the landscape in which the community is being built. To help accomplish this, CAE set out to answer the following questions: Which U. S. community

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PF23 Light and Color as an Informal Avenue to Reach Underserved Students
Stephen M. Pompea, NOAO, spompea@noao.edu Constance Walker, NOAO
Hands-On Optics: Making an Impact with Light (HOO) is a collaborative NSF-funded three-year informal science education program to excite students about science by actively engaging them in optics activities. It reaches underrepresented middle school cohorts in science and technology, and also connects with their parents, teachers, school districts, and communities. Key partners in the project are NOAO, SPIE ­ The International Society for Optical Engineering, and the Optical Society of America (OSA). Dissemination of the materials is through science centers nationwide and through the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Program (MESA) of California. NOAO is developing six modules and associated kits as well as competitions that have broad appeal to 12-year olds (especially girls). This program began as a follow-up to the 2001 NSF planning grant "Optics Education -- A Blueprint for the 21st Century", which identified the value of informal science programs to address the disconnect between the ubiquity of optics in everyday life and the noticeable absence of optics education in K-12 curricula and in informal science education. A key component of the project will be the involvement (modeled after Project ASTRO) of optics professionals currently engaged in outreach activities and programs. Optics professionals will serve as resource agents teamed with MESA and science center educators in implementing the program. These hands-on, high-interest, standards-connected activities and materials provide 6, three-hour-long optics activity modules that can be used in a variety of settings. We will describe the techniques used at NOAO to train educators, parents, and optics professionals who will work with the HOO activities as well as the different approaches needed for different informal education programs, ranging from after-school programs, to Saturday program, and various science center programs. La Serena, Chile), the necessity for education and public outreach on the topic is amplified. The education and public outreach efforts of NOAO in Tucson have also used dark-sky education in a variety of public outreach programs including Project ASTRO-Tucson, Family ASTRO-Tucson. The educational materials from the International Dark Sky Association and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific are used in both of these programs.

PF25 Best Practices: Making Earth and Space Science Educational Materials Accessible
Cassandra Runyon, NASA SMD Broker/Facilitator Southeast Regional Clearinghouse (SERCH), serch@cofc.edu, http://serch.cofc.edu/special/overview.htm Kathr yn Guimond, NASA SMD Broker/Facilitator SERCH
Students with special needs are held to the same National and State science, math and technology education standards as their peers. However, current NASA materials are often not designed with the deaf/hard of hearing, blind/visually impaired, orthopedic, multi-disabled, or learning disabled user in mind. The Southeast Regional Clearinghouse (SERCH), along with the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Support Network, has been working with educators and experts from these exceptional classroom settings and organizations to identify what kinds of educational materials they need and what educational products will work best for their students. From our discussions and work with these educators and experts, it is clear that there is a need to modify and/or adapt existing educational materials and to encourage NASA product developers to include educational methods for involving the exceptional student population. To answer this dilemma the NASA SMD EPO Support Network has been working closely with special needs educators, experts and NASA education product developers to implement more effective ways for ALL students to share in the excitement of NASA space science missions. We will present a "top 10" list of lesson learned and best practices for working with audiences with special needs that you can immediately implement in your EPO program.

PF24 Tucson/Chilean Light Pollution Education Efforts: The Video Connection
Constance Walker, NOAO, cwalker@noao.edu David Orellana, RedLaSer/CTIO, Stephen M. Pompea, NOAO, Dara Norman, CTIO
Over the past several years, NOAO-North (Tucson) has been working with NOAO-South (La Serena, Chile) on joint education programs. These programs began with the use of the ASP "Universe at Your Fingertips" astronomy education resource book in Tucson and the corresponding Spanish language book "El Universo a Sus Pies". These workshops exploring activities in the books, delivered over a videoconferencing link have become a regular educational occurrence involved dozens of teachers and hundreds of students. As the groups worked together, they began to discuss doing joint educational projects. Of particular educational value to both groups is the study of light pollution in Tucson and La Serena. Light pollution education appeals to the general public as well as science students, making it an ideal topic for education and public outreach activities. It also has wide applicability to environmental, economic, social, political, and technological studies. Because of its wide educational relevance, we have been able to use light trespass and sky brightness study programs equally well in formal and informal educational environments in both the USA and Chile. Considering the importance of addressing light pollution issues of observatories at close proximity to city lights (such as the AURA observatories located near Tucson, Arizona, USA, and

PF26 AstroDay -- Bridging Culture and Science on Mauna Kea
Gar y Fujihara, University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, fujihara@ifa.hawaii.edu, http://astroday.net
AstroDay is Hilo, Hawaii's version of the National Astronomy Day event. Created in 2002, AstroDay (http://astroday.net) has grown to become one of the largest events of its kind in the world and has earned national recognition each year including the Astronomy Day of the Year award in its inaugural year. AstroDay is a celebration of astronomy and Hawaiian culture, as it aspires to educate the public on the cultural significance and scientific endeavors of Mauna Kea, a political hotbed -- and to help bridge the two through commonality such as Polynesian wayfinding.

PF27 Giving Back -- Service Learning for Astronomy Students
Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State University, larsen@ccsu.edu
Service learning is becoming an increasingly important part of the college curriculum. In keeping with this new tradition, the capstone experience in ESCI 278 Observational Astronomy has become the creation, advertisement, and execution of a series of public observing nights held on campus. This poster will discuss the experiences of the class of 2004, and chart the successes and pitfalls of student-run observing sessions.
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Friday, September 16, 2005 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
PF28 Astronomy Education Review: A Journal/Magazine on Astronomy Education and Outreach
Sidney Wolff, NOAO, swolff@noao.edu, http://aer.noao.edu Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College
Astronomy Education Review (AER) is a web-based journal/magazine for everyone working in astronomy and space-science education and outreach. AER covers all levels and aspects of education, from K-12 teaching to graduate training, from formal classroom work to learning in planetaria, museums, the web, and the media. We now receive over 200,000 hits each month. While subscriptions are free, regular readers are asked to register to be notified of new issues. All papers and major contributions are refereed and there is a Board of Editors and Council of Advisors drawn from leaders in the fields of astronomy education and outreach. Unlike printed journals, papers in AER are posted as soon as they are accepted, so the site is frequently updated. Back issues can be searched and articles can be printed out one by one. The web site is: http://aer.noao.edu. The sections of the journal include: Research and Applications; Innovations; Resources; News, Reviews, Opinion and Commentary; and Opportunities (Announcements). AER welcomes papers and discussion from this conference and about the work being discussed. Contact information and instructions for submitting contributions are available on the web site.

Friday AM Clinic Session
Time: 11:00 a.m. ­ 11:30 a.m. Category: Formal Education Location: Redwood Room OF1A Origins in the Classroom: Professional Development Experiences for Educators
Matt Bobrowsky, Space Telescope Science Institute, mattb@stsci.edu Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute, Krisstina Wilmoth, NASA Astrobiology Institute
The Origins Education Forum and its member missions have worked together to develop coherent, in-depth professional development experiences for middle/high school level educators. Offerings include four- to eight-hour NSTA short courses and "room for a day" experiences that integrate content from multiple space science missions and research programs searching for the origins of galaxies, stars, planets, and life. These formats provide opportunities for educators to experience science content within a larger context, strengthening understanding of the relationships between science topics and building a framework for future learning. The workshops are modular in nature, allowing them to be tailored to the needs of each audience and easily combined with workshops covering a wider range of earth and space science topics. This clinic will overview the strategies Forum members have developed for presenting integrated experiences for educators, including methods for selecting and weaving together science content and activities, involving scientists in teacher professional development, and selecting venues accessible to a range of educators. Group discussion will focus on best practices from these experiences, as well as those of session attendees.

PF29 Our Solar Connection: A Themed Set of Activities for Grades 5-12
Wil van der Veen, New Jersey Astronomy Center for Education (NJACE), wvanderv@raritanval.edu, http://www.raritanval.edu/planetarium/ Dale Gary, NJ Institute of Technology, Amie Gallagher and Jerr y Vinski, New Jersey Astronomy Center for Education (NJACE)
The project is a partnership between the Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and the New Jersey Astronomy Center for Education (NJACE) at Raritan Valley Community College. It was supported by a NASA Education/Public Outreach grant from the Office of Space Science. The project involved the development of a set of seven activities connected by the theme of solar magnetism and designed to meet the New Jersey Science Process Standards and the Science Core Curriculum Content Standards in Physics and Astronomy. The products include a 70-page teacher guide and an integrated CDROM with video clips, internet links, image sets used in the activities, and worksheets. The activities were presented at a series of teacher workshops. The teachers: · performed the activities themselves, · learned additional background information on the Sun, solar magnetism, and the Sun-Earth connection, · and were trained to use several items of equipment, which were made available in two "resource centers," one at NJIT and one at NJACE. In all, 81 teachers have been exposed to some or all of the activities. After the training, the teachers took the activities back to their classrooms, and 15% borrowed equipment to use with their students. Some teachers had access to, or had their schools purchase, sunspotters and spectrometers rather than borrow the equipment. The success of the teacher training was assessed by questionnaires at the end of the workshops, by evaluation forms that the teachers filled out on returning the borrowed equipment.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon B OF1B Increasing Student Self-Confidence in Science, Teacher Product Use and Scientist Involvement
Christina O'Guinn, NASA Ames Research Center, Education Office, Christina.m.oguinn@nasa.gov, http://quest.nasa.gov Liza Coe, NASA Ames Research Center
NASA Ames Educational Technology Team (AETT) develops interactive, educational technology products and R&D technology tools with an expertise in interactive multimedia. The team has developed four CDROMs, six interactive educational Web sites and produces an average of two online Web challenges each year. In developing these products over the past 10 years, the team has established effective methods for impacting K-12 students while meeting formal classroom needs. The team has also developed effective processes for working with subject matter experts. We propose to share some of these lessons learned with others conducting similar E/PO efforts by focusing on effective strategies used via NASA Quest Web challenges and our interactive multimedia product focused on astrobiology entitled Astro-Venture. In particular, we will share the effective evaluation results that have come out of both products. NASA Quest challenges have resulted in statistically significant increase in science self-confidence. Astro-Venture pilot test results received high ratings from educators in all categories including 100% of teachers who indicated they were likely to use Astro-Venture in their classroom in the future. Finally, we will share our highly successful collaboration with the Virtual Planet

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Laboratory scientists in developing the interactive, multimedia AstroVenture module, Design a Planet. For all three examples, we will highlight the methods and processes that we believe are directly related to these results. of our use of the tools at the American Museum of Natural History. We have found success with these tools across numerous age groups and throughout the scope of the programs offered at the museum including: one-time field trip workshops, multiple-class after school courses, and a high school internship. Clinic participants will leave with a description of the tools and of the types of settings where they can be applied.

Category: Other Location: Salon C OF1C NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -- Histor y of Winter (HOW) Program
Peter Wasilewski, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, peterw@blueiceonline.com, http://howexcite.gsfc.nasa.gov, http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/how2005 Robert Gabrys, Katherine Bender, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Scientists, supported by the science program at Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, use the weather and stratigraphy in the ice and snow, which are the consequences of the weather, as "teachers" in a team study of the winter record. The model for the HOW event is simply to have scientists and technologists provide the basis for engagement, frame the supportive content, facilitate the hands-on activity of the teachers, and elicit the explanation and evaluation from them about their experience culminating in a final day focusing on the content learned and incorporating the data acquired into a science report. The actual event is a Teacher as Scientist (TAS) Program ­a science research camp similar to actual science working group assemblies to focus and apply real time "science exploration". The content structure is formulated as sets of protocols that could serve as inserts into lesson plans and inquiry guidelines. Protocols focus on using: (a) stratigraphic records in ice and snow related to weather records, and (b) calibration and tools that are used to evaluate stratigraphic records. HOW enables teachers who are required to use inquiry-based facilitation in the classroom to experience inquiry themselves. Teachers leave HOW with the intellectual and physical tools to make it happen in their schools. Pre-HOW and Post-HOW web based frameworks encompass NASA Space and Earth Science Exploration objectives and National Science Education Standards while reinforcing and expanding beyond the concepts acquired through the HOW onsite experience to create an interdisciplinary science model for inquiry-based learning.

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon E (Exhibit Hall) OF1EH Teaching Astronomy with a Portable Digital Planetarium
Karrie Berglund and Rob Spearman, Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc., karrie@DigitalisEducation.com, http://DigitalisEducation.com
Digital portable planetarium projectors provide far greater flexibility of subject matter than analog portable projectors. This tremendous flexibility makes digital portable projectors relevant for a much wider age range than portable analog projectors. This workshop will introduce you to some common features of digital portable planetarium systems which can be used with secondary and college students. We will demonstrate using a digital portable planetarium projector to teach about: annual motion; precession of the equinoxes; moon and planet phasing; and more, as time allows. Seating is limited to the first 25 attendees. Session will be conducted in a 16 ft (5m) inflatable dome with a Digitarium Alpha projector.

Category: Other Location: Salon F OF1F Writing a Winning NASA Mission EPO Proposal
Alan Gould, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley, agould@berkeley.edu, http://kepler.nasa.gov Edna DeVore, Pamela Harman, SETI Institute
The Kepler Mission EPO has been noted as an exemplary EPO program. In this session, key leaders of the Kepler EPO explain the strategies and reasoning behind this successfully funded project, from overarching principles of balance in audiences served to details of specific components and high leverage partnerships. We'll also address how the everchanging administrative landscapes affect EPO proposals and plans.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon D OF1D Tapping Interest in Astronomy Education: Tools and Methods from an Informal Setting
Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History and Teachers College, Columbia University, connolly@amnh.org Meghan Groome, Nick Stroud, Teachers College, Columbia University and American Museum of Natural History
This session will focus on specific tools and methods you can use to gauge student interest and prior knowledge in astronomy education. We have found these methods to be extremely useful in quickly and efficiently discovering topics of interest to the audience and the scope of their prior knowledge on the subject. While we have primarily used these methods in informal settings, they can be easily adapted to a more diverse range of settings and to address this issue, our session will involve a discussion of effectively applying these tools to the various settings where astronomy education takes place. During the discussion, we will provide examples

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon G OF1G Night Sky Network: An Effective Partnership To Bring Astronomy to the Public
Suzanne Chippindale, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, schippindale@astrosociety.org, www.astrosociety.org Marni Berendsen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
A significant proportion of amateur astronomers are eager to share their knowledge, time, and telescopes with their communities. The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs dedicated to outreach originally founded by NASA/JPL Navigator EPO Program and the ASP. The ASP, in collaboration and partnership with various NASA education forums, provides the Network with materials, activities, and training for effective and enjoyable outreach. EPO professionals can partner with the ASP and the Night Sky Network to tailor materials and activities to
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Friday, September 16, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
be what amateur astronomers want and need to be effective, entertaining, and accurate. Regular reporting on the use of the materials provides feedback to allow sponsors to know how the materials are being used and enjoyed, and to communicate with other clubs innovative ways to use materials. This session will discuss: (i) How EPO professionals can utilize astronomy clubs to complement their programs and (ii) How amateur astronomy clubs can enhance and strengthen the programs they offer.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon B WFB Sun-Earth Day. Approaches to Promoting Thematic Science to a Broad Audience
Troy Cline, Raytheon, Inc., james.r.thieman@nasa.gov, http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/ Isabel Hawkins, University of California Berkeley, Elaine Lewis, SP Systems, Inc., Jim Thieman, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
As a collaborative idea among Sun-Earth Connection Education and Outreach Scientists and Educators, Sun-Earth Day was begun in 2001. The intent was to emphasize Sun-Earth Connection science in a variety of events coordinated to occur annually usually centered around the Spring Equinox. Various themes, materials, and types of events have been developed through the years and it has grown to a major happening affecting millions. We have utilized natural phenomena such as solar eclipses, aurora, and Venus transit as well as cultural interests such as Native American traditions of the Sun and ancient solar observatories as hooks for attracting public attention. We aim for both the formal education and the informal education communities and try to involve Sun-Earth Connection missions and individual scientists in the effort. We have a number of lessons learned through the years and will emphasize these experiences.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon H OF1H Education and Public Outreach programs at the Arecibo Observator y
Jose L. Alonso, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center ­ Arecibo Observatory, jalonso@naic.edu, www.naic.edu Daniel R. Altschuler, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center ­ Arecibo Observatory
As the site of the world's largest radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory attracts over 120,000 visitors every year. The inception of the Angel Ramos Foundation Visitor Center in 1997 led to the development of new outreach initiatives and to the enhancement of exciting efforts. In this presentation we will review our Education and Public Outreach program and discuss issues related to its operation and funding. Our EPO programs impact a large and diverse audience that includes K-12 students, undergraduates, science teachers, and the general public. Current initiatives include: Teacher workshops, school group visits, summer internships for teachers, research experience for undergraduates, lectures, public events, and presentations to the media. Our teacher workshops offer a professional development opportunity for science teachers in the fields of astronomy and earth science. Topics include basic astronomy, radio astronomy, space weather, and meteorology. Participants design hands-on activities and integrate technology in their classrooms through the use of graphing calculators, weather stations, and computers. The Visitor Center is self-supported from admission fees and store sales. Grants and gifts help support our Public Outreach programs. The operation of the Visitor Center has been used as a model for similar initiatives at the NRAO and LIGO observatories.

Category: Public Outreach Location: Salon C WFC The Scientist Communication & Involvement Working Group (SCIWG) Update
Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute, morrow@spacescience.org Jennifer Grier, NASA
Join members and friends of the longest-standing working group of the NASA Space Science education & public outreach (EPO) effort -- the Scientist Communication & Involvement Working Group (SCIWG, known as "SIGH-wig") to explore some of the challenging issues surrounding engaging scientists in EPO. An essential dimension of the NASA space science EPO strategy has been to engage scientists more actively and effectively in EPO. SCIWG members include science and EPO professionals from institutions around the country who are leaders in supporting and engaging scientists in education in various capacities. SCIWG members have worked diligently for several years on identifying and implementing ways to the meet the needs and challenges of space scientists in education. Our activities have included convening and experimenting with a variety of sessions, talks, and workshops at several scientific professional society meetings, including the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the Astronomical Society (AAS), the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences, the AAS Solar Physics Division, and the AAS High Energy Division. We have also supported the development of resources for EPO leaders to aid in communicating with scientists about education. In addition, we have recently begun a campaign to build community among the scientists who apply for small EPO grants as supplements to their research awards. Come meet with professional peers to build your awareness of critical issues surrounding the meaningful engagement of scientists in education and public outreach.

Friday Workshops
Time: 1:00 p.m. ­ 3:00 p.m. Category: Other Location: Redwood Room WFA NAI Astrobiology EPO Lead Town Meeting
Krisstina Wilmoth, NAI Central ­ NASA Ames, krisstina.l.wilmoth@nasa.gov
Professional Development Session for EPO Leads for the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Formal Education Location: Salon D WFD Astronomy and Space Science Education for PreService Teachers
William H. Waller, Tufts University and NASA/NESSIE, william.waller@tufts.edu, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/score/pre_service.shtml#members Stephanie Shipp, Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA/ SCORE, Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute and NASA/Origins, Laurie Ruberg, Wheeling Jesuit University and NASA/MARSSB
Preparing the next generation of science teachers is one of the most important educational challenges that we face in the 21st Century. NASA's Pre-Service Educator Working Group has been compiling and synthesizing the various approaches to training pre-service teachers in space science. We have also identified the key professional organizations that are involved in pre-service science education. This workshop will highlight some of the most successful approaches and effective organizations that we have encountered.

Category: Other Location: Salon G WFG Making The NASA E/PO Product Review Work For You
Paul Mortfield, Industrial Stars, paul@backyardastronomer.com John Beck, Stanford University, Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Elaine Lewis, NASA/GSFC SunEarth Connection Education Forum
The NASA Space Science education product review is an important annual process conducted by panels of scientists and educators to formally critique EPO products for quality, consistency and usability. Passing this review is now an agency requirement for space science education products to be printed and/or distributed through the NASA education network (NASA CORE, NASA Aerospace Specialist's Program, NASA Educator Resource Centers, NASA Explorer Schools in every state) and at national educator conferences such as NSTA. Success in the review process can yield great returns as products recommended for distribution annually reach thousands of educators across the country. We plan to share tips and techniques from years of experience on both sides of the review process. Participants will engage in several hands on exercises that include mock product reviews and techniques for product refinement. From this workshop, participants will learn how to evaluate their own EPO products to improve quality and achieve success in the annual NASA review. If you develop space science EPO products, this is a "do not miss" event!

Category: Other Location: Salon F WFF Scientific Inquir y for Scientists: Professional Development for Scientists Working with Education
Sandra Laursen, CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder, sandra.laursen@colorado.edu, http://cires.colorado.edu/education/k12/rescipe/ Lesley K. Smith, CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder, Carol McLaren, Karen Hyde, Edgerly Science Discovery, University of Colorado at Boulder
Many EPO programs involve scientists in their work with children and teachers in the K-12 schools or through informal education programs. For scientists to work successfully in such education roles, they need effective professional development to understand issues such as the content and pedagogy of school science, child development, and the nature of school systems. We argue that inquiry, as a central element of national science education goals, is an appropriate topic of focus for an initial professional development experience for scientists undertaking education work. According to the National Science Education Standards, inquiry is both an effective strategy for learning and teaching scientific concepts, and a content area in its own right, with the aim that students understand the process of science and can conduct their own scientific investigations. Because scientists have rich experience in doing scientific inquiry, they quickly grasp examples of how inquiry looks in the classroom and begin to apply their deep knowledge of the scientific process to their education and outreach activities. For many, approaching science as inquiry also relieves concerns about how to present research content that may not be well aligned with K-12 education goals. We will share our model for a halfday, introductory, workshop for scientists on inquiry in the classroom. Participants will experience sample activities from our workshop, examine the resource collection we are building (the ReSciPE Book), explore other professional development models, and begin to develop their own ideas for professional development of their scientist colleagues.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon H WFH Effective EPO Strategies in Formal Education: A Participator y Workshop
Greg Schultz, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, schultz@ssl.berkeley.edu Br yan Mendez, UC Berkeley, Lynn Narasimhan and Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, DePaul Univ., Lindsay Bartolone and Sue Wagner, Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum This participatory workshop on effective strategies for formal education is being developed by the Professional Development Working Group (PD WG) of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) EPO Support Network. Our primary target audience is scientists and educators who are engaged full- or part-time with K-16 educators and students in facilitating learning experiences in astronomy & space science. The primary purposes of the session are: · To develop stronger awareness of resources and the breadth of formal education domains in which EPO professionals often become involved; for instance, teacher professional development, preservice teacher education, and curriculum selection. · To build knowledge and understanding of emergent practices that support powerful learning in formal education, and the research base that informs such work. · To give participants opportunities to reflect on ways this new knowledge can be applied to a specific aspect of their own work. The workshop will feature professionals representing diverse perspectives and experiences in formal K-16 education. Effective strategies and emerging best practices will be discussed, and audience participation will be enabled through sufficient time for both Q&A as well as small-group discussions. The session will conclude with feedback from the small-groups, and a large-group wrap-up discussion. During the workshop, we'll highlight an essential book, Understanding By Design by Wiggins & McTighe (1998).

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Friday PM Clinic Sessions
Time: 3:30 p.m. ­ 4:00 p.m. Category: Formal Education Location: Redwood Room OF2A Producing Commercial Solar Activity Kits
Steele Hill, NASA/L3 Communications, steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov Emilie Drobnes, NASA GSFC
Since the spring of 2004 Dennis Christopher and Steele Hill, the EPO staff for the SOHO mission, have been working with WARDS Natural Science to co-develop a series of solar activity kits. These will be primarily handson kits organized into a number of topical units. Each kit will include the equipment for the activities, a multimedia CD with our movies and images that support the content, ties to national standards, and suggested approaches and instruction for teaching the material. We believe that NASA Explorer schools, museum outreach programs, Aerospace Education Services Program Specialists, and middle school teachers will find the kits very useful. Kits have proven to be an effective strategy for bringing hands-on science into classrooms. We plan to offer some perspectives of the process, goals, trials and tribulations of working with a commercial company. However, we will spend most of the time showing off some of the units and their activities and explaining how they fit into the larger educational content areas of light, magnetism, motions, etc.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon C OF2C Integrating Earth and Space Science into Publlic Programming in National Parks
Anita Davis, SSAI­NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, adavis@pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov Ruth Paglierani, UC Berkeley
In October 2004, NASA's Space and Earth Science disciplines and the National Park Service (NPS) Interpretation Training Program collaborated to offer the "Earth to Sky" Institutes in professional development for some of our nation's best informal educators: NPS Interpreters. NASA scientists, education specialists and NPS trainers worked together to infuse NASA content, resources, and programs in the Institutes. Over the course of five days, interpreters explored NASA's cutting-edge science, visited NASA Centers, and interacted with many NASA scientists and education and public outreach professionals. Five themes--the Night Sky, Comparative Planetology, Astrobiology, the Sun-Earth Connection/Space Weather and Earth Systems Science--provided exciting NASA content that the rangers developed into interpretive products and programs that will enrich the experiences of millions of park visitors throughout America. The Institutes were highly successful, and serve as an example of effective methodology for teaching NASA's Earth and Space science to informal educators. This session will explore the best practices from the Institutes, and share examples of the innovative informal education products the participants created.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon B OF2B Australia Telescope Syllabus Support for Schools
Robert Hollow, Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Robert.Hollow@csiro.au, http://outreach.atnf.csiro.au
In 2003 the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility increased its commitment to education and public outreach. A specific focus was to provide more support for school students and teachers by addressing science and physics syllabuses. This paper discusses the two-pronged approach adopted. Online material covering the astronomy and astrophysics components of state Physics syllabuses was written for the new Australia Telescope Outreach and Education website. Content was matched to syllabus outcomes and also included questions with solutions, some activities and extensive links to other relevant sites. Australian examples and perspectives were used where possible though the international collaborative nature of astronomy was also stressed. Most teachers of science and physics in Australia have little or no formal training in astronomy. To help overcome this and give teachers more confidence in teaching astronomy a series of workshops was established. These include one-day and multi-day events where teachers have extensive opportunities to spend time with research astronomers and educators away from a school setting at one of our observatories or at our Sydney headquarters. Participants learn about background astronomical concepts, current astronomical research and innovative educational practice and activities. Emphasis is placed on practical resources and ideas for classroom use. Feedback and evaluation of the workshops and use of the website is presented. Options for future development will also be discussed.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon D OF2D Designing, Managing and Evaluating a Summer Institute for Science
Pamela Harman, SETI Institute, pharman@seti.org, http://www.seti.org/ASSET Edna DeVore, SETI Institute
Effective professional development for science teachers, as defined by the National Science Education Standards, addresses learning about science content, learning about science pedagogy, the lifelong learning process, and the coherency of professional development. Additional science professional development research provides insight into the learning process for both adults and adolescents, the inquiry experience and the nature of science, collecting and analyzing data prior to planning, setting experience goals and objectives, achieving participant buy-in, and evaluation methods. The SETI Institute's NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) Lead Team Education and Public Outreach effort developed Astrobiology Summer Science Experience for Teachers (ASSET) in alignment with the standards and research. The design process began with a series of short staff retreats, developing common understandings and reaching consensus on goals and objectives. The summer institute goals and objectives were directly aligned with the NAI grant proposal, the needs of science teaching as defined by research and the assessment of the teachers' needs as defined by collected via applications. As a result, ASSET is comprised of astrobiology science talks, practice with Voyages Through Time (VTT) curriculum, an inquiry immersion experience, curriculum implementation planning, leadership skill development, and outreach planning woven through the six-day workshop. The achievement of goals was measured by daily workshop evaluation and summative evaluation. VTT was developed by a SETI

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Friday, September 16, 2005 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Institute partnership with NASA Ames Research Center, the California Academy of Sciences, and San Francisco State University with major funding from the NSF (Grant# 9730693), and NASA. ASSET is supported by NAI and Educate America. effective use of hands-on activities. Most of what they teach has been facts from their books (the way they were taught), with very little understanding of how science is done. This project, carried out in the summer by the teachers and then by their students during the school year, helps to break away from textbooks and to understand astronomy by doing astronomy.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon F OF2F Summer Workshops for Teachers: Top Ten Practices for Producing Enduring Change
Edward Murphy, University of Virginia, emurphy@virginia.edu, http://www.gb.nrao.edu/epo/teach.shtml Sue Ann Heatherly, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank
In terms of impact, summer workshops for teachers can be one of the most effective education and public outreach programs. A single teacher will reach thousands of students during their career and can offer professional development programs to their schools and districts, further multiplying the benefits of the workshop. However, a significant commitment is required by both the presenters and participants to engender measurable and enduring changes in teacher practices. The presenters will give an overview of the format and content of their two-week teacher professional development programs. They will offer lessons learned on developing and implementing successful workshops. They will offer advice on funding and planning workshops, recruiting teachers, and assessing the effectiveness of the workshops. Sue Ann Heatherly is the director of the Education and Public Outreach Program at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. She has coordinated NSF funded summer institutes in Green Bank since 1989. Edward Murphy is the education and public outreach coordinator in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia. He is the co-director of the Space Science for Teachers workshops that have been offered since 2002.

Category: Informal Education Location: Salon H OF2H Congratulations... you're ENGAGED!
Brad McLain, Space Science Institute, mclain@spacescience.org Eddie Goldstein, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
How can we hook audiences into our science content in 5 minutes or less? How we can we design gripping hands-on experiences that establish the context for content to come? And how can we engage a broad range of ages in social learning through brief, low cost, high impact activities? Welcome to the world of informal education floor activities! Museums and science centers across the land strive to provide their audiences with personal connections to science content. And what better way to do that than through real persons? Beyond high tech exhibitry, IMAX movies, planetarium shows, and impersonal public lectures, research shows that visitor satisfaction and learning is significantly enhanced by meaningful interactions with knowledgeable staff. Additionally, formal educators in the classroom are requesting brief engagement activities (5 to 10 minutes in length) to help incite interest in new content as an important part of constructivist learning theory. And finally, vivid, short duration activities apply well to public presentations, professional development training, and communication of scientific content in general. During this session, we will experience actual engagement activities including several recently designed to compliment the Space Science Institute's newest traveling exhibit--"Alien Earths." Recognizing that museum audiences are often of broadly ranging ages, diverse backgrounds, and in social learning recreation mode when they visit, we will also look at best practices and design guidelines successful activities have in common. If you present in informal or formal settings, if you help design EPO programs, or if you simply want to learn how to engage an audience -- this session is for you.

Category: Formal Education Location: Salon G OF2G I've Got the Sun in the Morning and the Moon at Night
Larry A. Lebofsky, University of Arizona, lebofsky@lpl.arizona.edu Bill Schmitt, Nancy R. Lebofsky, Science Center of Inqury, Chris Andersen, Ohio State Univeristy
We will demonstrate an inquiry-based observation project developed by the author for his "Astronomy 101" class and that is being used in summer workshops for teachers of grades 4-high school in Arizona and Ohio. ORION (Organizing Research, Inquiry, and Observing Nights) is a 2-year professional development workshop and school year follow-up funded by NASA/STSci IDEAS grant. In this program and follow-up, teachers and their students learn about astronomy by doing astronomy. This is done in the context of the Arizona and Ohio science standards. Teachers make observations of sunset and the motion and phases of the Moon. They are shown how the use a very simple tool to make their angular measurements: their fists. They calculate the size of their individual fists (rarely 10 degrees) by calibrating them with two simple tools that they built themselves: an astrolabe and a cross staff. Many states are now implementing new inquiry-based science standards that meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Many teachers, especially in the elementary grades, have had no formal training in either Astronomy (Earth and Space Science) or in the

ASP Members Business Meeting
Time: 4:30 p.m. ­ 5:30 p.m. Location: Cottonwood Room
ASP Members and interested attendees welcome.

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Index of Authors
Adams, Len .................................................................................... Adams, Mark T. ............................................................................. Allan, Paul ...................................................................................... Allen, Michael L. ........................................................................... Alonso, Jose L. ......................................................................... 31, Altschuler, Daniel R. ................................................................ 31, Andersen, Chris ....................................................................... 28, Antonellis, Jessie ............................................................................ Armosky, Brad ......................................................................... 29, Asplund, Shari ............................................................................... Bailey, Janelle M. ........................................................................... Bartolone, Lindsay .................................................................. 37, Beals, Kevin ................................................................................... Beck, John ...................................................................................... Beck-Winchatz, Bernhard ............................................................. Bedient, James ............................................................................... Bell, Philip ..................................................................................... Bender, Katherine .......................................................................... Benedict, Fritz ............................................................................... Bennett, Michael ........................................................................... Berendsen, Marni .............................................................. 18, 23, Berglund, Karrie ...................................................................... 39, Bergman, Jennifer ......................................................................... Blake, Mel ...................................................................................... Bobrowsky, Matt ........................................................................... Bowman, Catherine D. .................................................................. Bowman, Judd D. .......................................................................... Bradbury, Heather ......................................................................... Brandt, Ken .................................................................................... Brissenden, Gina ..................................................................... 34, Brogt, Erik ..................................................................................... Busche, Cindy ................................................................................ Buxner, Sanlyn ............................................................................... Cameron, Ian ................................................................................. Carranza, Carl ............................................................................... Carron, Alice .................................................................................. Castelaz, Michael ........................................................................... Caton, Dan .................................................................................... Cecire, Kenneth ............................................................................. Chapman, Jessica ..................................................................... 18, Chippindale, Suzanne ................................................. 18, 37, 39, Christensen, Lars Lindberg ........................................................... Christian, Carol ............................................................................. Cianciolo, Frank ...................................................................... 31, Claussen, Mark .............................................................................. Cline, Troy ..................................................................................... Coe, Liza .................................................................................. 42, Cohen, Susan ................................................................................. Connolly, Rachel ............................................. 17, 19, 33, 34, 44, Cooper, Larry ................................................................................ Cordes, Kathy ................................................................................ Coshow, Suzanne M. ..................................................................... Crabtree, Dennis ........................................................................... Craig, Nahide ..................................................................... 19, 28, Daou, Doris ...................................................................................
54

39 44 32 32 50 50 53 43 45 37 38 51 38 51 51 18 27 49 45 33 49 49 31 32 48 42 45 45 36 46 46 44 35 20 44 39 32 34 20 30 49 40 21 45 28 50 48 24 49 42 43 46 40 31 33

Davis, Anita ............................................................................. 44, Dawson, Dennis W. ....................................................................... de Leon, Christina ......................................................................... DeVore, Edna ..................................................................... 29, 49, Diaz, Wanda L. .............................................................................. Dierking, Lynn D. .................................................................... 33, Dokter, Erin ....................................................................... 22, 25, Drobnes, Emilie ....................................................................... 36, Dussault, Mary ........................................................................ 24, Easley, Camille ............................................................................... Eisenhamer, Bonnie ................................................................ 43, Eisenhamer, Jon ............................................................................. Evans II, Neal J. .............................................................................. Ewald, Steve ................................................................................... Fauerbach, Michael ....................................................................... Fay, Patrice M. ............................................................................... Fedele, Richard .............................................................................. Feldman, Sally ............................................................................... Finley, David G. ....................................................................... 31, Foster, Thomas ........................................................................ 18, Fraknoi, Andrew .............................................. 18, 26, 37, 39, 42, Fujihara, Gary ................................................................................ Gabrys, Robert .............................................................................. Gallagher, Amie ............................................................................. Gardiner, Elizabeth ....................................................................... Gary, Dale ...................................................................................... Gauthier, Adrienne ........................................................................ Gay, Pamela L. ......................................................................... 24, Gerstle, Ted .................................................................................... Gibbons, Heather .......................................................................... Giebink, Bill ................................................................................... Goldstein, Eddie ............................................................................ Gould, Alan ............................................................................. 24, Greene, W. W. Michael ............................................................ 34, Grice, Noreen A. ............................................................................ Grier, Jennifer .................................................................... 34, 37, Grisham, Anne .............................................................................. Groome, Meghan ............................................ 17, 19, 33, 34, 44, Guimond, Kathryn .................................................................. 24, Gutbezahl, Jenny ........................................................................... Hailey, Michelle ....................................................................... 20, Hammon, Art ................................................................................ Harman, Pamela ................................................................ 29, 49, Harold, James ................................................................................ Harrison, Robyn ............................................................................ Harvey, Janice .................................................................... 17, 37, Hawkins, Isabel ................................................................. 24, 38, Haynes, Emily L. ............................................................................ Hayward, Robert ........................................................................... Heatherly, Sue Ann .................................................................. 30, Hedden, Abigail S. ......................................................................... Hemenway, Mary Kay ................................................. 26, 29, 31, Hill, Steele ...................................................................................... Hoette, Vivian ................................................................................ Hollow, Robert .................................................................. 18, 36,

52 17 39 52 16 41 42 52 37 43 45 43 29 32 32 30 23 16 44 25 48 47 49 48 31 48 35 36 43 39 18 53 49 46 16 50 20 49 47 24 25 16 52 35 28 40 50 42 32 53 20 45 52 24 52

Building Community : The Emerging EPO Profession Conference Program


Index of Authors
Hooper, Eric .................................................................................. Hyde, Karen ................................................................................... Isbell, D. ......................................................................................... Isidro, Gloria Maria ....................................................................... Jackson, Eric .................................................................................. Jackson, Randal ............................................................................. Johnson, Roberta ........................................................................... Jones, Mika Cohen ........................................................................ Jones, Rhonda ............................................................................... Kadooka, Mary Ann ...................................................................... Kang, Rick ...................................................................................... Keller, John .................................................................................... Kennedy, Teresa ............................................................................. Khandro, Linda M. ........................................................................ Klinglesmith, Dan ......................................................................... Klug, Sheri ..................................................................................... Knierman, Karen A. ................................................................ 20, Knisely, Linda .......................................................................... 43, Knudsen, Rebecca ......................................................................... Kraft, Laura K. ................................................................... 17, 18, Kulesa, Craig .................................................................................. Laatsch, Shawn .............................................................................. Landsberg, Randall H. ............................................................ 33, Larsen, Kristine ............................................................................. Larson, Michelle B. ........................................................................ Laursen, Sandra ............................................................................. Lebofsky, Larry A. .............................................................. 28, 35, Lebofsky, Nancy R. .................................................................. 28, Levy, David H. ............................................................................... Lewis, Elaine ............................................................................ 50, Lindell, Rebecca ............................................................................. Lochner, James C. .......................................................................... Lombardi, Doug ...................................................................... 18, Lowes, Leslie ................................................................ 20, 24, 25, Lubin, Philip .................................................................................. Lutz, Julie ................................................................................. 22, Maggi, Barbara H. ......................................................................... Manning, Jim ................................................................................ Manzanares, Roberto M. ............................................................... Marcotte, Sarah S. ................................................................... 21, Mattson, Barbara ........................................................................... McCallister, J. Daniel ..................................................................... McCarthy, Don ........................................................................ 21, McConnell, Shannon .................................................................... McGruder, Charles ........................................................................ McLain, Brad ................................................................................. McLaren, Carol .............................................................................. Menali, Gamze H. ......................................................................... Mendez, Bryan J. ............................................................... 19, 28, Meredith, Kate ............................................................................... Michaud, Peter .............................................................................. Miller, Jon ...................................................................................... Mon, Manuel J. .............................................................................. Morison, I. ..................................................................................... Morrow, Cherilynn ................................................................. 34, 21 51 31 16 25 45 31 33 46 18 23 35 21 17 28 23 32 45 16 40 21 22 46 47 21 51 53 53 26 51 18 21 38 37 19 37 21 36 28 44 21 43 32 16 38 53 51 46 51 24 31 16 32 31 50 Mortfield, Paul .............................................................................. Murphy, Edward ............................................................................ Narasimhan, Lynn ................................................................... 38, Naze, Yael ....................................................................................... Needles, Madeleine ................................................................. 22, Noel-Storr, Jacob ........................................................................... Norman, Dara ............................................................................... O'Guinn, Christina ................................................................. 42, O'Donoghue, Aileen A. ................................................................. Orellana, David ............................................................................. Owen, Christopher ........................................................................ Paglierani, Ruth ................................................................. 16, 44, Pantoja, Carmen ............................................................................ Pennypacker, Carl .......................................................................... Peticolas, Laura M. .................................................................. 28, Pompea, Stephen M. ............................................................... 33, Porro, Irene L. .......................................................................... 17, Pratap, Preethi ......................................................................... 22, Prather, E. E. ............................................................................ 34, Preston, Sandra L. ....................................................... 26, 29, 31, Price, Aaron ................................................................................... Raddick, Jordan ............................................................................. Radnofsky, Mary L. ....................................................................... Rand, Larry .................................................................................... Regester, Jeff .................................................................................. Richwine, Pebble ............................................................... 22, 25, Riedel, James ........................................................................... 20, Rijsdjk, C. ....................................................................................... Robinson, Dianne Q. .................................................................... Robinson-Boonstra, Donald .................................................. 25, Robson, Ian .................................................................................... Ruberg, Laurie ......................................................................... 43, Runyon, Cassandra ....................................................................... Russell, Randy M. .......................................................................... Sadler, Philip .................................................................................. Sakimoto, Phil ............................................................................... Sault, Bob ....................................................................................... Scalice, Daniella ............................................................................. Schatz, Dennis ............................................................. 18, 23, 37, Schmitt, Bill ....................................................................... 28, 35, Schultz, Greg ................................................................................. Schutz, Kathi .................................................................................. Schwerin, Theresa ......................................................................... Shaner, Andrew J. .................................................................... 18, Shipp, Stephanie ...................................................................... 43, Silva, Sarah .................................................................................... Sim, Helen ......................................................................... 18, 30, Slater, Kelle H. ............................................................................... Slater, Timothy F. ............................................................... 18, 19, Smith, Denise ........................................................ 35, 39, 43, 48, Smith, John .................................................................................... Smith, Lesley K. ............................................................................. Spearman, Rob ........................................................................ 39, Stoke, John ..................................................................................... Storksdieck, Martin ....................................................................... 51 53 51 20 29 25 47 48 40 47 18 52 16 24 31 47 26 29 40 45 46 21 39 25 21 30 25 31 21 29 40 51 47 31 23 38 30 39 39 53 51 32 51 38 51 37 36 26 34 51 30 51 49 30 33
55


Index of Authors
Straub-Lopez, Katie ...................................................................... Streb, Sarah .................................................................................... Stroud, Nick .................................................... 17, 19, 33, 34, 44, SubbaRao, Mark ............................................................................ Surendran, Dinjo ........................................................................... Templeton, Matthew ..................................................................... Thaller, Michelle .......................................................... 33, 34, 40, Thieman, Jim ........................................................................... 29, Tillman, Daniel ............................................................................. Tinker, Robert ............................................................................... Traub, Wesley A. ............................................................................ Trosper, Jennifer ............................................................................ van der Veen, Jatila ........................................................................ van der Veen, Wil ........................................................................... Villard, Ray .................................................................................... Vinski, Jerry ................................................................................... Viotti, Michelle A. ......................................................................... Von Thater-Braan, Rose ................................................................ Wagner, Sue ................................................................................... Walker, Constance ......................................................................... Walker, Gretchen ........................................................................... Waller, William H. ................................................................... 42, Wasilewski, Peter ........................................................................... Watt, Keith ..................................................................................... Weaver, Donna .............................................................................. Wenger, Matthew .......................................................................... West, Jennifer ................................................................................. Wetzel, Marc .................................................................................. Willard, Carolyn ...................................................................... 38, Williams, Melissa ........................................................................... Wilmoth, Krisstina .................................................................. 48, Wolff, Sidney ................................................................................. Worthey, Guy ................................................................................. Young, Donna L. ........................................................................... Young, Lisa .................................................................................... Young, Patrick A. ........................................................................... Zevin, Dan ......................................................................... 18, 37, Zortman, Kristen ........................................................................... 43 43 49 46 46 46 46 50 39 28 17 39 19 48 45 48 42 38 51 47 37 51 49 23 45 43 20 45 46 25 50 48 32 37 28 20 39 16

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About the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
For nearly 120 years the ASP has been helping people understand, appreciate, and enjoy astronomy. Founded by the first director of Lick Observator y in 1889, the ASP long ago outgrew its regional origins to become one of the nation's leading organizations devoted to astronomy and astronomy education. Today the ASP's membership includes research astronomers, educators and astronomy enthusiasts in all 50 states and over 70 countries. Long-known to research astronomers for its two highly-regarded technical publications, the Publications of the ASP and the ASP Conference Series, the ASP has in recent decades become equally well-known as a leader in astronomy education and outreach. The ASP's education and outreach programs, publications, and products include Mercury magazine, Project ASTRO, The Universe in the Classroom Newsletter and Workshops, Cosmos in the Classroom Workshops, Family ASTRO, the NASA Night Sky Network, Astronomy From the Ground Up, SOFIA EPO, and many others. For over 20 years the ASP has helped countless thousands of educators--both formal and informal, from university professors to amateur astronomers--to be more knowledgeable, more motivated, and more effective. You can help. Your membership in the Astronomical Society of the Pacific helps support the one organization whose primar y mission is to bring the wonder, the beauty, and the excitement of the universe to students of all ages ever ywhere.