12/24/09
What is 365 Days
of Astronomy?
The 365 Days of
Astronomy
Podcast is a
project that
will publish one
podcast per day,
for all 365 days
of 2009. The
podcast episodes
are written,
recorded and
produced by
people around
the world.
Link
Craig Clark
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Teacher
Training
Opportunity:
Goldstone Apple
Valley Radio
Telescope
Program
The Lewis Center
for Educational
Research
announces an
opportunity for
K-12 teachers to
participate in a
unique program.
The Goldstone
Apple Valley
Radio Telescope
Program, or
GAVRT, is an
education
partnership
involving NASA,
the Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory and
LCER. The
program is a
K-12 project
using radio
astronomy to
provide an
opportunity for
students to
experience real
science and to
learn that
science is an
ongoing process
and actual
discovery is
possible. Using
classroom
computers,
32,000 students
have taken
control of a
34-meter,
500-ton,
nine-story-tall
radio telescope
located at
NASA's Deep
Space Network at
Goldstone,
Calif. There are
currently 473
trained teachers
at 283 schools
in 37 states
across the
United States
and at American
schools in 14
countries and
three U.S.
territories.
What is in it
for the
students? They
learn how to
gather data,
understand what
the data mean
and how to
follow through
with analysis.
Students and
teachers team
with scientists
to conduct
cutting-edge
research leading
to discovery.
GAVRT is
exciting for
students while
accomplishing
educational and
scientific
objectives.
In 2010, the
teacher training
program will
also include
Radio JOVE.
Radio JOVE is a
hands-on
educational
activity that
brings the radio
sounds of the
sun, Jupiter,
the Milky Way
galaxy, and
terrestrial
radio noise to
students,
teachers and the
public. This
program targets
students in
grades 6 - 14
and involves
building a
simple radio
telescope,
making
observations,
and sharing
results with
other
participants and
with
professional
radio
astronomers.
To bring the
GAVRT program
into the
classroom,
teachers must
attend a
five-day class.
Teacher training
classes are
scheduled to
take place at
the Lewis Center
on March
8-12, July
19-23, and Oct.
25-29, 2010.
The program
strongly
recommends that
at least two
teachers attend
the training
from each school
or area. While
this is not a
requirement, it
will definitely
help in program
support once
back in the
classroom. The
cost of the
five-day class
is $745.
Teachers
interested in
participating
are invited to
apply online at
http://www.lewiscenter.org/gavrt/opportunities.php.
For more
information
about GAVRT and
Radio JOVE,
visit
http://www.lewiscenter.org/gavrt/
and
http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Questions about
this program and
the training
opportunities
should be
directed to
gavrt-info@lcer.org
or 760-946-5414,
ext. 234.
