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PROGRAM

Welcome
Welcome to Baltimore and to "Engaging the EPO Community: Best Practices, New Approaches." 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 118 years. Since our founding in 1888 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 5-7, 2007 in Chicago, to be hosted by the Adler Planetarium. In closing, I want to express the ASP's gratitude to our co-hosts Space Telescope Science Institute, our key supporters, The Maryland Science Center, Maryland Space Grant Consortium, National Space Grant Foundation, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Goddard Space Flight Center, as well as the many committee members and volunteers -- both in Baltimore 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!

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

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Table of Contents
Welcome Letter from Dennis Schatz, ASP President .................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 General Daily Schedule ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Conference Map ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 Detailed Schedule by Day ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Exhibits ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Special Events .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Plenary Speakers ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Full Conference Program ........................................................................................................................................... 17 Author Index ............................................................................................................................................................... 58

Save the Date!

The ASP 119th Annual Meeting
September 5-7, 2007

Chicago
Co-hosted with the Adler Planetarium
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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.

Steering Committee
Mike Bennett, Executive Director, ASP Jim Manning, Head, Office of Public Outreach, STScI Jim O'Leary, Maryland Space Science Center Jeff Rosendahl, NASA - retired

Organizing Committee
Mike Bennett, ASP Joycelin Craig, ASP Marilyn Delgado, ASP Bonnie Eisenhamer, STScI Cinndy Hart, Hart Event Marketing Stratis Kakadelis, STScI Cheryl Schmidt, STScI

Program Committee
Denise Smith, STScI, co-chair Bonnie Eisenhamer, STScI, co-chair Andy Fraknoi, ASP, co-chair Lindsay Bartolone, Adler Planetarium Mike Bennett, ASP Leonard David, space.com Grace Deming, U. Maryland Susana Deustua, AAS Edna DeVore, SETI Institute Mary Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA Katy Garmany, NOAO Anita Krishnamurthi, GSFC Phil Sakimoto, Notre Dame Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center, ex-officio, ASP Tim Slater, U. Arizona April Whitt, Fernbank Science Center

ASP Staff
Mike Bennett, Executive Director Marni Berendsen, Education Project Coordinator Suzy Chippindale, Astronomy Education Manager Joycelin Craig, Director of Operations & Marketing Marilyn Delgado, Assistant Andy Fraknoi, Education Consultant Michael Gibbs, Chief Advancement Officer Anna Hurst, Astronomy Educator Dan Zevin, National Project Manager

Support and Sponsorship
The following organizations have contributed to the success of this conference

GSFC

Cambridge University Press · Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing · You Can Do Astronomy

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

General Daily Schedule
7:30 a.m. 7:45 a.m. 7:45 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 4:10 p.m. 5:15 p.m. Conference Registration Desk Opens Foyer F Light Continental Breakfast Served Harborview Exhibit Hall Opens and Poster Hall Opens Harborview & Atrium Morning Plenary Session in Constellation B Interactive Poster Presentations (1 minute talks) in Constellation B Morning Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall and Poster Hall Parallel Sessions: 30-Minute Professional Development Clinics Lunch (on your own) Parallel Sessions: 90-Minute Interactive Workshops & Panels Afternoon Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall and Poster Hall Parallel Sessions: 30-Minute Professional Development Clinics Afternoon Plenary Session in Constellation B Adjourn for the Day and Day's Posters Removed, Exhibit Hall closed

Special Events and Alterations to General Daily Conference Schedule
Friday, September 15, 2006 12:00 7:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. 6:30 9:30 p.m. Meeting registration desk open Foyer F Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Goddard Space Flight Center (pre-purchased ticket required for this event) Welcome Reception with light refreshments and no-host bar at the Maryland Science Center

Saturday, September 16, 2006 6:30 9:30 p.m. A Science Evening at the Space Telescope Science Institute (conference registration & reservations required for this event)

Sunday, September 17, 2006 6:00 10:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 2006 ASP Awards Banquet (pre-purchased ticket required for this event, ASP membership not required) Reception Dinner

Monday, September 18, 2006 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. 4:30 5:30 p.m. Registration Closes Exhibit Hall Closes ASP members meeting replaces the last afternoon Plenary Session and is located in the Baltimore Room
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Conference Map

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

DETAILED SCHEDULE BY DAY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2006 · SESSIONS LISTED BY SENIOR PRESENTER · SEE PROGRAM FOR OTHER LISTINGS & DETAILS
PRATT/CALVERT 7:30 7:45 8:30 7:45 5:15 8:30 9:45 Welcome & Invited Talk Paul Coleman: Bringing Diverse Cultures to Modern Science 1-minute Poster Descriptions (Daily Posters) 9:45 10:30 CONSTELLATION B CONSTELLATION C CONSTELLATION D CONSTELLATION E CONSTELLATION F FREDERICK

COLUMBIA

OTHER

Registration Desk Open Foyer F

Continental Breakfast Atrium Lobby/Harborview

Exhibits & Posters Atrium Lobby/Harborview

10:30 11:00 11:00 11:30 30-minute Clinics Harrus: Arts in Science/Science in Arts Gay: Digital Dialogues Build Analogue Communities Bartolone: Expanding Technology Choices = Expanding Audiences Sadler: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Educational Programs in Astronomy Manning: All the News That's Fit to Teach: Leveraging PAO to Serve EPO Grice: The SEE (Space Exploration Experience for the Blind and Visually Impaired) Project

Coffee Break Atrium Lobby/Harborview

11:30 1:30 1:30 3:00 90-minute Workshops & Panels Radnofsky: Contextualizing Astronomy with Interdisciplinary Materials and Strategies Fraknoi: Intelligent Design, Astrology, Fake Moon Landings: Dealing with Astronomical Pseudo-science Christian: Visualizing the Sky and the National Virtual Observatory: Enabling Education and Public Outreachthrough Large Astronomical Data Sets and Archives Pompea: Hands-On Optics Activities for Informal Astronomy Education Partnerships Reiff: Is the Using Teach The Medium Message... the Senses to Space

Lunch on Your Own

Gutbezahl: Building Bridges Across Cultural, Social, and Racial Lines: A Participatory Workshop on Partnerships

3:00 3:30 3:30 4:00 30-minute Clinics Steel: Everyone In! Black Hole Experiences for Special Needs Audiences Wagner: Exploring Best Practices in Formal Education Ross: Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network: Keeping Education in the Dark Viotti: A Museum Alliance Interactive Panel Discussion: Strengthening Dialogue Between the Museum Community and NASA Iris Weiss: Professional Developoment for Science Teachers Knappenberger: Meeting the Needs of a Diverse Audience Through Effective Instructional Design van der Veen: Teaching Inquiry : Can You Walk the Talk?

Coffee Break Atrium Lobby/Harborview

Price: An Integrated Approach to Outreach with New Media Technologies

4:10 5:10 Invited Talk

6:30 9:30

A Science Evening at the Space Telescope Science Institute (Conference Registration & Reservations Required for this Event)

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CONSTELLATION C CONSTELLATION D CONSTELLATION E CONSTELLATION F FREDERICK CAMDEN/LOMBARD OTHER Registration Desk Open Foyer F Continental Breakfast Atrium Lobby/ Harborview Exhibits & Posters Atrium Lobby/ Harborview Coffee Break Atrium Lobby/Harborview Berendsen: Amateur Astronomers: Not Just Telescope Operators! Benyo: From the Planetarium to the Pub -- Using NOVA to Engage the Public through Science Cafes Villard: Visualizing Astronomical Discoveries for the Public Mitchell: Spreading the Word: Online Tools and Techniques for Communicating Current Events Prather: Shouldn't We Start Choosing to Help Students Learn Rather Than Simply Providing Edutainment? Frattare: Calculating and Recording Coordinate Metadata on Press Release Astronomical Images Lunch on Your Own Davis: NASA + Parks -- Creating Innovative E/PO Partnerships with National and State Parks Klug: Their Classroom -- Your Data: Effective Classroom Inquiry Using Professional Science Data Raddick: Data Discovery in Education: A Discussion Dussault: Evaluating EPO Evaluations: Lessons Learned and Shared Begay: Ways of Knowing From the Sky : Indigenous and Western Astronomies -- Collaboration with Integrity Zevin: Translating Research Into Education: Weird Tales & Lessons Learned from the Project ASTRO National Network Coffee Break Atrium Lobby/Harborview Connolly: Using CuttingEdge Scientific Visualizations in Astronomy Education Ng: The Sun-Earth Day Model -- Bringing NASA Studies of the Sun and Its Impact on Earth to Formal and Informal Audiences Internationally Eisenhamer: The Scientist-Educator Partnership in EPO Sumners: International Toys in Space: Discover How Familiar Miniature Mechanical Systems Behave in Microgravity Larsen: Inquiring Minds Want to Know : Integrating Best Practices in Inquirybased Instruction into Astronomy EPO Experiences Heatherly: Project Quiet Skies: Introducing Radio Astronomy Through an Inquiry-based Activity to Measure RFI 2006 ASP Awards Banquet Constellation D/E/F (Pre-Purchased Ticket Required)

DETAILED SCHEDULE BY DAY

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2006 · SESSIONS LISTED BY SENIOR PRESENTER · SEE PROGRAM FOR OTHER LISTINGS & DETAILS

CONSTELLATION B

7:30

7:45 8:30

7:45 5:15

8:30 9:45 Welcome & Invited Talk

Terry Devitt: Lost in Time and Space: Channeling Popular Science in the Information Age

9:45 10:30

1-minute Poster Descriptions (Daily Posters)

10:30 11:00

11:00 11:30 30-minute Clinics

11:30 1:30

1:30 3:00 90-minute Workshops & Panels

3:00 3:30

3:30 4:00 30-minute Clinics

4:10 5:10 Invited Talk

Paula Apsell: NOVA: A Case Study in Presenting Science Via the Mass Media

Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

6:00 10:00

DETAILED SCHEDULE BY DAY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 · SESSIONS LISTED BY SENIOR PRESENTER · SEE PROGRAM FOR OTHER LISTINGS & DETAILS
BALTIMORE 7:30 7:45 8:30 7:45 1:30 7:45 4:30 8:30 9:45 Welcome & Invited Talk James Stofan: Gazing at Tomorrow 's Stars: Preparing NASA and the Nation's Future Workforce 1-minute Poster Descriptions (Daily Posters) Hartman: "What Can Science Do for Me?" Strategies to Engage High-School-Age Youth in Out-ofSchool Time Runyon: CSI: Moon and Mars; Chromatic Science Investigations Reveal Planetary Compositions Brissenden: CAE: An Effective Model for Linking Mission Science to Effective Instruction Teays: How to Conduct a Student Balloon Payload Program Alonso: A Research Experience for High School Students at the Arecibo Observatory Stoke: ViewSpace: Lessons Learned in the Development of a Network of Continuallyupdated Astronomy Displays CONSTELLATION B CONSTELLATION C CONSTELLATION D FREDERICK COLUMBIA ANNAPOLIS

OTHER

Registration Desk Open Foyer F

Continental Breakfast Atrium Lobby/ Harborview

Exhibits Harborview

Posters Atrium Lobby

9:45 10:30

10:30 11:00 11:00 11:30 30-minute Clinics

Coffee Break Atrium Lobby/Harborview

11:30 1:30 1:30 3:00 90-minute Workshops & Panels Grier: Building Awareness: Needs, Opportunities, and Best Practices in Pre-Service Teacher Education Cline: Educational Technology: Integrating Today's Science into Today's Classroom Ruberg: Transforming Scientific Discoveries into Exciting Inquiry Activities Using the Virtual Design Center Willard: Designing Exemplary Instructional Materials Morrow: Perspectives on Creating "Culturally Relevant" EPO Products Lowes: Strategies for Adapting Formal Education Materials in Space Science for After-school Settings

Lunch on Your Own

Summers: Astronomy Visualization for the Big Screen Special Note: This Session Will Be Held at the Maryland Science Center Davis Planetarium

3:00 3:30 3:30 4:00 30-minute Clinics McKibben: Bringing the HiRISE Mars Camera Down To Earth With Hands-On Activities Scalice: NASA and the Navajo Nation... Bringing Astrobiology to a Native American Community Lochner: Opening the Doors of Research to Highschool Students

Coffee Break Atrium Lobby/Harborview

4:30 5:30

ASP Annual Members Business Meeting

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Exhibits Harborview Room
The following will be exhibiting during the conference in the Harborview Room, 2nd Floor. Please be sure to stop by during exhibit hours.

Exhibit Hours:
Saturday, September 16 Sunday, September 17 Monday, September 18 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Apogee Instruments, Inc
www.ccd.com

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 programs, find out how you can get involved and purchase some of our best-selling products. www.astrosociety.org

Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc
The DigitariumTM Alpha 2 portable digital planetarium system makes teaching astronomy easy, fun, and exciting. Set up the DigitariumTM system and a Digitalis inflatable dome in a gym for an instant planetarium that engages students of all ages. You can show the sky from any point on Earth or from other planets or moons, demonstrate annual motion, zoom in on or label any object in the sky, show constellations from several cultures, demonstrate the effects of precession, create your own prerecorded segments or shows using the scripting feature, display images or videos from a DVD or USB pen drive, play third-party fulldome video shows with 5.1 channel surround sound support, and much more. Portable, affordable, and flexible, the DigitariumTM Alpha 2 will revolutionize your astronomy teaching! http://digitaliseducation.com

Learning Technologies
For the past 30 years, Learning Technologies, Inc (LTI) has produced and marketed the STARLAB Portable Planetarium, the world's best-selling planetarium with an opto-mechanical projection system, the STARLAB FiberArc. We are now pleased to offer a newly created all-in-one digital planetarium system, Digital STARLAB, driven by Starry Night Small DomeTM software. Featuring a custom fisheye lens, this projection system has superior contrast and accurate, bright stars right down to the horizon. Digital STARLAB and the STARLAB FiberArc can be used in schools and for outreach programs using our portable dome, or a small, fixed dome. Interactive teaching materials for all grade levels, training and support are included with either system. In addition to the STARLAB, LTI offers many astronomical products including the Sunspotter, the safer solar telescope, Project STAR Hands-on Science Materials, software, games, books, posters, and more. www.starlab.com

Maryland Space Grant Consortium
Space Grants provide NASA funding for space-related research, education, and public service projects through a national network of 52 university-based Space Grant Consortia.They promote a strong science, mathematics and technology education base from elementary through post-graduate levels. A particular emphasis is placed on recruiting and training underrepresented and/or underserved constituents for careers in aerospace science and technology. The Lead Institution for the Maryland Space Grant Consortium is The Johns Hopkins University. Other members of the Maryland Space Grant Consortium are: Hagerstown Community College, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Morgan State University, Space Telescope Science Institute, Towson University, US Naval Academy, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and University of Maryland College Park. www.mdspacegrant.org

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Exhibits Salon E
Project CLEA Observational Astronomy Simulations in the Instructional Laboratory
Though the value of hands-on learning has long been recognized by educators, it is difficult to design laboratories in astronomy classes that present realistic astrophysical techniques to undergraduate students. Unlike most other sciences, astronomy is largely observational, not experimental, and making useful observations involves expensive equipment over time scales inconvenient for pedagogy. In recent years, however, astronomy has gone almost completely digital, and the advent of large on-line databases and fast personal computers has made it possible to realistically simulate the experience of research astrophysics in the laboratory. Since 1992, Project CLEA (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy) has been developing such computerbased exercises aimed primarily at the introductory astronomy laboratory. These exercises simulate important techniques of astronomical research using digital data and Windows-based software. Each of the 12 exercises developed to date consists of software, technical guides for teachers, and student manuals for the exercises the complete package. Project CLEA is supported by grants from Gettysburg College and the National Science Foundation and is distributed free to the educational community. http://www3.gettysburg.edu/~marschal/clea/CLEAhome.html

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

SLOOH.COM A New Way to Explore Space LIVE
Slooh delivers live broadband astronomy to the masses as a new way to discover the universe. Our interface makes it simple to see spectacular celestial objects, streamed real-time to your computer from our powerful observatories. Located high on a mountain in the Canary Islands, the Slooh Telescopes avoid light pollution and reveal excellent images in full color. Slooh also gives intrepid stargazers the ability to command the telescopes and take their own astrophotos. Our membership is diverse from over 60 countries. Slooh works for both beginners and those looking to discover a supernova. Our team of "SkyGuides" -- including David Levy & Bob Berman, enhance the telescope views by answering member questions and narrating the cosmos live every night. Slooh endeavors to be the ultimate online astronomy experience, a global star party for anyone who wants to look up. www.slooh.com

Space Telescope Science Institute
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is home to the planning, scheduling, and public outreach activities for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Data archive and distribution services for the HST and other missions are also provided by STScI. Additionally, STScI has been selected to develop and manage the science and operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST). STScI provides support for all aspects of missions and other facilities including calls for proposals, conducting peer review, facilitating planning and scheduling of observations, data processing and analysis, live archives and education and public outreach. Our expertise and long experience with the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories allows us to adapt our tools to a wide variety of mission contexts. STScI currently supports various facets of Kepler, GALEX, FUSE, Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra, EUVE, ASCA, RXTE, SOFIA, and the VLT, Subaru, and Gemini Observatories 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 and manufacturing industry. Since 1998, our company's growth has taken us coast to coast with over 50 extremely diversified manufactures nation wide. A short list of our customers in the Astronomy and Planetary Sciences community are AURA, N.O.A.O., N.S.O., Kitt Peak National Observatory, LPL, LSST, The Phoenix Mars Lander 2007 project, The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Steward Observatory and The Smithsonian Institute. Our offerings include Commercial Printing -- One to Six Color Process printing with printing capabilities as large as 52 x 74 inches. Custom Labels and Tags -- 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. Custom Embroider y and Silk Screen. For information please contact Bruce A. Wolpa at 520-977-5450, e-mail: bawolpa@theriver.com
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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.

Friday September 15
Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Goddard Space Flight Center (advance ticket purchase required) 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Early arrivals to the conference will be joining us for an exclusive day tour of Goddard Space Flight Center in nearby Greenbelt, Maryland, one of the premier NASA Centers responsible for a variety of NASA missions and projects. You will tour the Hubble Clean Room, the Center's integrated test facilities, the mission operations area, and the Visitor Center featuring an exhibit on the HST. The tour includes bus transportation from the conference hotel to and from the Center. Lunch is on your own at the Center's cafeteria at the end of the tour. Welcome Reception at the Mar yland Science Center (all attendees welcome) 6:30 9:30 p.m. Conference attendees are invited to our conference opening reception to be held at the Maryland Science Center, a twoblock walk from the Hyatt Regency along Baltimore's celebrated Inner Harbor. This exclusive evening will include light appetizers, various exhibits, an IMAX movie and the opportunity to meet and greet your EPO colleagues. Please bring your meeting badge for entry. Registration opens 12 noon in Foyer F on Friday September 15.

Saturday September 16
A Science Night at the Space Telescope Science Institute (Reservations in advance and conference registration are required) 6:30 9:30 p.m. Buses depart at the Hyatt back entrance on Charles St. starting at 6:15 Join conference co-host STScI at the Institute on Saturday evening, September 16, for an open house, reception, socializing, and a series of short talks on current Hubble-related science results presented by senior scientist Mario Livio and principal investigators and scientists involved in observations. We can't tell you exactly what you'll hear about--because it may not have been discovered yet! The event is free to conference attendees. Transportation: Buses will leave the Hyatt Regency at 6:15 sharp and will return at about 10 p.m. Street parking at STScI is limited and tour participants are strongly urged to use the tour bus. The event will run from 6:30 until about 9:30. Instructions to be provided with your registration packet at the conference.

Sunday September 17
2006 ASP Awards Banquet Constellation Ballroom, Hyatt Regency 6:00 p.m. Reception followed by a Banquet at 7:00 p.m. The ASP will present this year's awards at the Society's Annual Meeting Awards Banquet at the Hyatt Regency Sunday, September 17, 2006. The annual ASP awards recognize meritorious work by professional and amateur astronomers, science educators, and those who engage in public outreach. Advance purchased tickets are required to attend this event. 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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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Special Events
2006 ASP Award Winners

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

Thomas J. Brennan Award
For exceptional achievement related to the teaching of astronomy at the high school level

Frank J. Low Amateur Achievement Award
For significant observational or technical achievements by an amateur astronomer

Thomas Morin Klumpke-Roberts Award
For outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy

Kamil Hornoch
Mr. Hornoch received his award at the IAU XXVI General Assembly in Prague on August 17, 2006

Jeffrey Rosendhal Robert J. Trumpler Award
For a recent Ph.D. thesis considered unusually important to astronomy

Richard H. Emmons Award
For excellence in college astronomy teaching

Leo Connolly Las Cumbres Amateur Outreach Award
For outstanding outreach by an amateur astronomer to children and the public

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

Asghar Kabiri

Michael Skrutskie, University of Virginia and The 2MASS team

Monday September 18
ASP Members Meeting Baltimore Room, Hyatt Regency 4:30 5:30 p.m. Free to all ASP Members. No registration to the ASP Conference is necessary.
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Plenary Speakers
Paula Apsell
Senior Executive Producer, NOVA WGBH Public Television NOVA: A Case Study in Presenting Science via the Mass Media Sunday September 17, 4:10 p.m.
Paula S. Apsell got her start in broadcasting at WGBH Boston, where she was hired fresh out of Brandeis University to type the public broadcaster's daily television program logs -- a job that Apsell notes is now, mercifully, automated. Within a year, she found her way to WGBH Radio, where she developed the award-winning children's drama series The Spider's Web, and later became a radio news producer. But her real interest lay in television and science. In 1975, she joined NOVA, a fledgling WGBH-produced national series that would set the standard for science programming on television. Apsell produced a number of critically acclaimed NOVA episodes before joining Dr. Timothy Johnson at WCVB, the ABC affiliate in Boston, as senior producer for medical programming. In 1983, she spent a year studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Knight Fellow, then called the Vannevar Bush Fellowship in the Public Understanding of Science. She returned to WGBH in 1984 to become executive producer of NOVA, guiding the series into today's highly competitive, multi-media environment. In addition to the programs in the regular NOVA television schedule, Apsell has overseen the production of many award-winning WGBH Science Unit specials, including A Science Odyssey, Secrets of Lost Empires, Building Big, and most recently, the eight-part miniseries, Evolution. She's also directed NOVA's diversification into other media, most notably NOVA's award-winning Web site. As executive in charge of NOVA's large-format film unit, Apsell has overseen the production of Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure, To the Limit, Stormchasers, Island of the Sharks, and Special Effects, the first IMAX film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. Apsell has received numerous individual awards for her outstanding record of achievement, among them the 1994 Bradford Washburn Award from the Museum of Science, Boston, whose previous winners include Walter Cronkite and Jacques Cousteau; the 1996 Carl Sagan Award given by the Council of Scientific Society Presidents; and, in 1999, the American Physics Institute's Andrew Gemant Award. Paula Apsell has served on the boards of several organizations, including the Earthwatch Institute, Hebrew College (Brookline, Massachusetts) and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. She is a trustee of the International Documentary Association.

Dr. Paul Coleman
Institute for Astronomy University of Hawai`i Bringing Diverse Cultures to Modern Science: Can We Use the Missionar y Model? Saturday September 16, 8:30 a.m.
Paul Coleman is a native Hawaiian astrophysicist who received his BS in physics from the University of Notre Dame. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pittsburgh while working as a junior research associate for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. He had a series of appointments at Virginia Tech, the University of Groningen, New Mexico Tech, Yale University, and the University of Puerto Rico, before accepting his present position of associate astronomer with the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai`i. Prof. Coleman's research interests are extremely varied. He has observed with many telescopes all over the world and in many wavebands. He is primarily interested in the large scale structure of the universe and is an active supporter of using unbiased statistical tests of the often meager data available. He is an advocate for fractal models of astronomical phenomena and is also very interested in active galactic nuclei across the electromagnetic spectrum. Since returning to Hawai`i, he has become more involved in native Hawaiian issues and cultural concerns. He hopes to increase Hawaiian involvement in the first rate astronomy effort in Hawai`i, at all levels.

Terry Devitt
Director of Research Communications and Project Coordinator for The Why Files University of Wisconsin Lost in Time and Space: Channeling Popular Science in the Information Age Sunday September 17, 8:30 a.m.
Terry Devitt is Director of Research Communications for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For the past 22 years, Devitt has covered the basic and applied sciences at UW-Madison. He also edits and is the project coordinator for The Why Files, a popular and critically-successful site about science and technology published on the World Wide Web

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Plenary Speakers
(whyfiles.org) under the auspices of the UW-Madison Graduate School. Devitt is an active free lance science writer and has contributed to such publications as Astronomy, Orion, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, the Milwaukee Journal, the American Heart Association, the Bulletin of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the children's science magazine Muse. Devitt's awards include the 2001 Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for In-depth Reporting. In 1997, he was the recipient of a Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Gold Award for his work helping to develop The Why Files.

James Stofan
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Education Programs NASA Office of Education Gazing at Tomorrow's Stars: Preparing NASA and the Nation's Future Workforce Monday September 18, 8:30 a.m.
As the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Education Programs, Mr. Stofan reports to the Assistant Administrator for Education and shares responsibility for providing executive leadership, functional management, and coordination of the Agency's education programs and activities to meet national education needs and to ensure a sufficient talent pool to preserve U.S. leadership in space exploration, aeronautical technology and science. From September 2003March 2006, Mr. Stofan served as NASA's Informal Education Division Director, working collaboration with directorates and centers across NASA, developing partnerships and improving the capacity of science centers, museums and other institutions, to translate and deliver engaging NASA content. Jim's academic training is in behavioral biology ( Johns Hopkins University) and education (University of Central Florida). Prior to joining NASA, Jim was Senior Vice President for Education Programs at the National Wildlife Federation, leading their efforts to connect people to the natural world around them through magazines, outreach, films and the Internet. He has served on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health as Director of the Distance Education Division where he helped pioneer the use of the Internet to train the global health work force and launch the first on-line Master of Public Health degree offered. He also has spent years as a hands-on environmental educator in Florida and continues to educate students as a volunteer at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Dr. Iris Weiss
President, Horizon Research, Inc. Chapel Hill, NC Professional Development for Science Teachers: What the Research Tells Us Saturday September 16, 4:10 p.m.
Iris R. Weiss is President of Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI), a contract research firm in Chapel Hill, NC specializing in science and mathematics education research and evaluation. She has had extensive experience in survey design and analysis, and in mathematics and science education evaluation and policy research. Dr. Weiss received a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Cornell University, a Master's Degree in Science Education from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Weiss has directed many of HRI's research, development, and evaluation projects and is responsible for quality control of all operations. She has provided consultation to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the US Department of Education, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Teachers Association, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Dr. Weiss participated in the evaluation of NSF's model middle school mathematics and science teacher preparation and Triad curriculum programs, and served on the assessment working group for the National Standards of Science Education. She has directed several national surveys of science and mathematics teachers, as well as the Inside the Classroom national observation study. She has also been involved in the evaluation of a wide variety of mathematics/science professional development and systemic reform projects, including the Local Systemic Change Initiative. Dr. Weiss is currently Principal Investigator of a knowledge management and dissemination project for NSF's Math-Science Partnership program.

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Astronomical Society of the Pacific 118th Annual Meeting

ENGAGING THE EPO COMMUNITY: Best Practices, New Approaches
A National Conference

PROGRAM

Key to the Poster Session Codes
SA Saturday SN Sunday MN Monday

Conference Strands
EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Towards Broadening the Audience Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods

Categories
Formal Education Information Education Public Outreach

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Saturday, September 16, 2006 · Posters
Saturday AM Plenary Session
Time: 8:30 a.m. 9:45 a.m. Location: Constellation B Bringing Diverse Cultures to Modern Science: Can We Use the Missionar y Model
Paul Coleman, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai'i, Gruff@ifa.hawaii.edu
About 200 years ago, a clash of religious beliefs occurred when the first Christian missionaries were allowed to take up residence in Hawai`i. The Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) of the time were a very spiritual people who had an intricate belief system with many gods and goddesses. It is instructive to examine the approaches used by the missionaries in Hawai`i in their effort to convert the native population from their original multitheistic views to the monotheism of Christianity. Can we use some of those same techniques to succeed in our efforts to bring the Hawaiian culture to modern day science? Can we use this model to "level the playing field" for Kanaka Maoli children so that they can succeed in today's science fields? More generally: Can those methods be used for all of our indigenous cultures, whose under-representation stands as a stark indictment against our current science education system and attitude? Some of these ideas, assumptions, and consequences will be presented during this talk.

SA02 Creating Partnerships to Communicate Astronomy
Suzy Gurton, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, sgurton@astrosociety.org Michael Bennett, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, mbennett@astrosociety.org Dan Zevin, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, dzevin@astrosociety.org Marni Berendsen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, mberendsen@astrosociety.org
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) provides science center educators, in-service K12 science educators and amateur astronomers new approaches to hands-on astronomy and space science. Through interactive educational programs, our goal is to help more people understand, appreciate, and enjoy astronomy and science. Over the past several years, the ASP has re-dedicated itself to achieving this mission through an everexpanding portfolio of programs. Our astronomy and education programs target educators of all descriptions -- classroom teachers, informal science educators (science museums and planetariums), college astronomy teachers, and amateur astronomers. Working in partnership with all types of educators, the ASP programs are successful at capturing the attention of young people and introducing them to science via their initial engagement in astronomy. In this poster we provide an overview of current programs that include partnerships with NOAO, ASTC, AL, NASA, and the SETI Institute to address this broad range of formal and informal educators. URL for More Information: www.astrosociety.org/education.html

Saturday Poster Session
Time: 7:45 a.m. 5:15 p.m. Poster Location: Atrium Lobby/Harborview 9:45 a.m. Oral Overview Constellation B
Poster 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 Constellation B. Posters are changed each day and are available from 7:45 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. in the Atrium Lobby/Harborview.

SA03 Three Keys to EPO Success
Douglas Duncan, University of Colorado, dduncan@colorado.edu Suzanne Metlay, University of Colorado, suzanne.metlay@colorado.edu Lucy McFadden, University of Maryland, mcfadden@umd.edu
The best educational programs almost always use three elements in their creation: 1) well-defined intended audience; 2) goals and strategies clearly articulated before any work is done; 3) a Project Team and Formative Evaluation approach. We learned this from experiences and by studying groups that have been doing education and public outreach longer than we have: the best curriculum developers and science museums such as the Exploratorium, Ontario Science Center, Boston Museum of Science, TERC.... All were found to use similar approaches when creating programs. These "best practitioners" define their audience first, then decide how to interest and educate them. Scientists usually first focus on what they have (I have cool Hubble photos; I have Chandra images) and decide how they can be used educationally. The first approach works better, and we will give details, including what kinds of people need to be on a project team to optimize success.

SA01 Bay Area Project ASTRO: Partnerships in Practice
Michael G. Gibbs, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, mgibbs@astrosociety.org Vivian White, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vwhite@astrosociety.org
Initiated in 1993 by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Bay Area Project ASTRO is an educational program, which forms partnerships between in-service science teachers in grades 3 9 with volunteer astronomers to capture and build on the students' interest in science and astronomy. In the spring of 2006 the ASP conducted a study by sending a survey to the 100 active in-service science teachers participating in the program. With a 41 percent response rate, this poster summarizes the findings and reports on the teachers perceived effectiveness of Bay Area Project ASTRO. Specific areas examined are the level of assistance provided by the volunteer astronomer, the ease of incorporating the Project ASTRO program in their curriculum, the perceived changed in students attitudes towards science and the ability to correct common student misconceptions in science. The presentation also examines the trends in teacher involvement, retention and the use of resources provided.

SA04 Professional Development: A Tool for Integrating Current Research into Planetaria and Museums
Randall H. Landsberg, University of Chicago/Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics, randy@oddjob.uchicago.edu
Teaching museum and planetarium staff about the latest scientific advances offers a unique mechanism for bridging the gap between current research and the general public (see http://cfcp.uchicago.edu/ education/courses). Although research frontiers are where scientists' passion and enthusiasm are greatest and where public interest peaks; it is a challenge to integrate complex forefront science (which is not yet found in text books) into informal educational settings. Intensive short

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Saturday, September 16, 2006 · Posters
courses for museum staff (a.k.a. professional development) taught by active researchers offer an effective means to connect the public with emerging science topics. Researchers provide the Big Picture, knowledge of what is and isn't significant, intellectual frameworks for describing new phenomena, answers to questions that arise, and resources. Museum staff can then translate this new knowledge into content that is interesting and appropriate for the public and their institution, taking into account public tastes, misconceptions, pitfalls, etc. This "public" is enormous (e.g., an estimated twenty four million people visit US planetaria each year). Since 2003, the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago Cosmology has offered three, three-day short courses for museum & planetarium staff. These cosmology courses have been incredibly well received and resulted in new programming that has been seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors and students. The key features of designing such professional development courses and their impacts will be described with an eye towards how this model might be adopted by other institutions. URL for More Information: http://cfcp.uchicago.edu/education/courses emerged relating to engaging in "real" work together, understanding within-dyad interactions, and participants' perceived benefits from working in a science mentoring dyad. Additionally, the students reported gaining a sense of professional and personal possibility, experiencing the realities of a scientist's life, developing a humanized view of scientists, and gaining confidence through participating in outreach. In response to the findings, SSP practitioners may wish to work to identify and address participant expectations, prepare the scientists to attend to the students' desire for psychosocial mentoring and personal interactions, develop nonwork-related activities for the participants, and encourage the scientists to provide explicit, as well as implicit, messages about science and being a scientist. Future research would benefit from a bigger sample across multiple types of SSPs, collection of pre- and post-experience interviews with both the student and scientist participants (and potentially the teachers and program staff ), and the collection of longitudinal data to explore potential long-term impacts. Studies that attempt to explore the complex effects of gender, race/ethnicity, status, and background would also clarify the optimal conditions for an SSP mentoring partnership.

SA05 How Do You Get Big NASA into a Small Dome?
Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, DePaul University Space Science Center for Education and Outreach, bbeckwin@depaul.edu Jim Sweitzer, Science Communication Consultants, sweitzer@sciencecomms.com Chuck Bueter, Great Lakes Planetarium Association, bueter@rad-inc.com
Planetariums serve approximately 69 million people worldwide each year, and are one of the largest providers of astronomy and space science education to the public. NASA has a long tradition of educational partnerships with large planetariums, which employ advanced 3-D and full-dome visualization technologies to engage their audiences in the latest NASA missions and discoveries. However, the vast majority of the 1,500 planetariums in the US are small school-based facilities with a staff of one. Their primary audiences are K12 students. Although currently few are capable of cutting-edge visualizations, their programs are highly interactive and have a tremendous potential to engage their audiences in NASA explorations. We will present projects and strategies to increase interest in and understanding of NASA-related content among the audiences of small planetariums, which have been developed jointly by members of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) and NASA's Space Science Education Support Network. These include professional development opportunities, grants programs, planetarium shows, and multi-media applications. We will also discuss an ongoing effort to better coordinate and leverage NASA-related programs at small planetariums by developing a roadmap to annual themed programs based on NASA missions, astronomical events and anniversaries.

SA07 The Scientists in Education Working Group
Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute, morrow@spacescience.org Jennifer Grier, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory/Planetary Science Institute, jgrier@psi.edu
This poster will raise awareness about the activities and future directions of the Scientists in Education Working Group. It will also provide tips for professionals operating at the interface between scientific research and education about how to engage scientists efficiently, effectively, and enjoyably in education. URL for More Information: http:// www.sciwg.org

SA08 Bringing the Universe Down to Earth
Stephanie Parello, Hayden Planetarium/American Museum of Natural History, slap@amnh.org
For more than seventy years, the Hayden Planetarium has been bringing the Universe down to Earth for the public. Our outreach has included the monthly "Frontiers in Astrophysics" Lecture Series, the annual "Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate," and the monthly "This Just In..." program. In all, these diverse programs bring active scientists within easy reach -- to explain their research and answer the audience's questions. Part of what makes all this possible is the beneficial relationship that the Hayden Planetarium shares with AMNH's Department of Astrophysics just down the hall. They recommend speakers and in return, get a scientific seminar from a colleague, so there's broader appeal to invited scientists for not only education but academic collaboration as well. Our audience gets the cream of the crop.

SA06 Exploring Student and Scientist Experiences in a Novice-Expert Partnership
Catherine Bowman, Harvard University/Raytheon/NASA ARC, cbowman@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Student-scientist partnerships (SSPs) engage students in authentic scientific research through working closely with scientist mentors. This study investigated the central relationship in an SSP -- the connection between the scientist and the student. Though the sample was small, the interviews with the student and scientist members of four mentoring dyads who participated in NASA's Athena Student Interns Program revealed a series of findings that have potential value for SSP practitioners. Themes

SA09 The Development of an Online Museum Alliance Calendar for NASA
Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, connolly@amnh.org Anita Sohus, NASA JPL, anita.m.sohus@jpl.nasa.gov
This poster will outline the development of an online calendar for NASA's Museum Alliance. Both the resulting process and products will be presented in print and multimedia formats. A critical tool for the museum community, this integrated online calendar of key NASA events and resources links Alliance members to both event information as well as print and media educational materials. This poster outlines milestones and difficulties in the

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Saturday, September 16, 2006 · Posters
development of the calendar and the process by which NASA will administer the calendar. As part of the development process, a needs assessment of the museum alliance community was conducted. It gathered qualitative and quantitative data about user needs and activities, which will ultimately improve the communications pathways between NASA and the museum community. The results of this assessment will be presented, offering insights for all those currently engaged in outreach through the museum community. The process by which this calendar will be administered by NASA is also unique and currently under development, beginning with conversations with the informal education points of contact at the various Centers and HQ Directorates. Initial outcomes will be made available. URL for More Information: http://informal.jpl.nasa.gov/museum/ presentations, teaching activities, data sets, and other useful materials for creating or enhancing courses related to microbiology. URL for More Information: http://microscope.mbl.edu

SA12 Realistic Laborator y Experiences in Astrobiology
Michael Fauerbach, Florida Gulf Coast University, mfauerba@fgcu.edu M.J. Mon, Florida Gulf Coast University, mmon@fgcu.edu T. Ueda, Florida Gulf Coast University, tueda@fgcu.edu
Due to its broad multidisciplinary science context, astrobiology is a useful main platform of general science courses for undergraduate non-science majors. Astrobiology offers the opportunity to actively engage the students in the scientific process by using inquiry-based, hands-on exercises taking advantage of research from a broad range of scientific disciplines. The classroom activities developed for the majority of introductory astrobiology courses consist mostly of paper exercises. During the summer of 2006 we developed and taught an innovative course, utilizing astrobiology as the overarching theme to combine science and mathematics content. The novelty of our course lies in the use of (biotechnology) research equipment in the activities themselves, giving the students a realistic research laboratory environment as part of their general science education. The activities are integrated under the common theme of the study of life in the universe, a topic of attraction to the general student population. The laboratory equipment utilized is common to most college biology departments. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of astrobiology and use of inquiry-based activities, the class is ideally suited for pre-service science teachers. With this in mind, we made sure that we model best teaching practices and that the content is aligned with National Science Standards. The course is associated with the highly successful Project LAUNCH, a grant funded K12 (in-service) teacher developmental program, which was developed by the Whitaker Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education at Florida Gulf Coast University.

SA10 A Field Trip to the Moon -- A Classroom and Planetarium Dome Program for School Groups
Laura Danly, American Museum of Natural History, ldanly@amnh.org Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, connolly@amnh.org Paula Rodney, Marshall Space Flight Center, Paula.Rodney@msfc.nasa.gov Ryan Wyatt, American Museum of Natural History, wyatt@amnh.org
The American Museum of Natural History, in partnership with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, has developed an educational program for school groups on field trips to the Museum entitled "A Field Trip to the Moon." Targeted for grades 5 8, the program offers an innovative blend of classroom activities partnered with an in-dome planetarium program. The classroom portion divides students into teams that provide mission support for an exploratory mission to the Moon. The in-dome portion of the program makes use of AMNH's real-time Digital Universe program to present flexible, customizable visualizations of Earth, Moon, ISS, and other data and models. We will discuss the overall development process, the results of our early piloting and evaluation, and information on the dissemination of the program to other venues. URL for More Information: http:// www.amnh.org

SA13 Exploring Deep-subsurface Life: A Workbook and DVD for High School Instruction
Ruth Droppo, Indiana University, rdroppo@indiana.edu Glenn Simonelli, Franklin College, gsimonel@indiana.edu Peter C. Suchecki, Indiana University, peter@redstartstudio.com Lisa M. Pratt, Indiana University, prattl@indiana.edu
The Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee Media Group is completing a project titled, Exploring Deep-Subsurface Life. Earth Analogues for Possible Life on Mars: Lessons and Activities. The interactive DVD is built around a collection of videotaped interviews with scientists in laboratories at Michigan State, Princeton, and Indiana University, who are working on water and gas samples they collected from deep gold mines in South Africa and the Canadian Arctic. We wove these materials and some animated graphics into four video pieces that support and compliment the accompanying workbook lessons and activities, and offer students insight into the excitement of scientific discovery. The lessons are crafted with three considerations: Life Domains, Cellular Metabolism, and Extreme Environments and Microbes. The students are challenged to build, draw, measure, discuss, and participate in laboratory processes and experiments that help them understand and describe microbes and their environments. At the end, the students write a grant proposal based on the three lessons' analogues. Exploring Deep-Subsurface Life is a workbook, two DVDs (one with closed-captioning), and a CD with the lessons in digital text format for adaptation to classroom needs and printing. Each lesson includes the National Education Standards that apply to the materials. This project

SA11 Switch on the Micro*scope: An Internet Resource on Microbial Diversity
Michele Bahr, Marine Biological Laboratory, mbahr@mbl.edu, Sarah R. Bordenstein, Marine Biological Laboratory, srbordenstein@mbl.edu David J. Patterson, Marine Biological Laboratory, dpatterson@mbl.edu
The MBL Astrobiology team explores the evolution and interaction of genomes of diverse organisms that play significant roles in environmental biology over evolutionary time scales. One aspect of communication about our research has been the development of web-based resources. Micro*scope (http://microscope.mbl.edu) is a communal website that provides descriptive information about microbes. It combines locally assembled content with links to other expert sites on the internet. Information is assembled in collections provided by various contributors. Micro*scope provides freely available images of microbes, classification schemes, descriptions of organisms, talks and other educational resources to improve awareness of the biodiversity of our microbial partners. Microbial Life Educational Resources (MLER, http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/ index.html) provides an expanding resource about the ecology, diversity and evolution of micro-organisms for students, K12 teachers, university faculty, and the general public. MLER includes websites, PowerPoint

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is intended primarily for high-school audiences, but we know of several middle-school teachers who are interested in testing the product for their classrooms. It is our intention to premiere the DVD project at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific meeting, to listen to comments and critiques, and to distribute the materials for field testing.

SA16 The Astronomy Workshop: Computer Assisted Learning Tools
Grace Deming, University of Maryland,deming@astro.umd.edu Douglas Hamilton, University of Maryland, hamilton@astro.umd.edu
The Astronomy Workshop is a collection of interactive World Wide Web tools that were developed under the direction of Doug Hamilton for use in undergraduate classes and by the general public. The philosophy of the site is to foster student and public interest in astronomy by utilizing their fascination with computers and the internet. This site contains over 20 tools on topics including scientific notation, giant impacts, extrasolar planets, astronomical distances, and solar system viewers. Educators around the country at universities and colleges, and in primary and secondary schools have used the Astronomy Workshop's tools as homework assignments, inclass demos, or extra credit. In 2005, Grace Deming began to assess several of the Astronomy Workshop's web tools for clarity and effectiveness. As part of this project, activities have been developed and are currently undergoing field-testing in grades 1112 and undergraduate courses. In addition, instructor materials have been added to the web site. We are interested in hearing your ideas on how we can make the Astronomy Workshop more appealing to your education and public outreach needs as museum directors, specialty programs, and educators. This research is funded by NASA EPO 04-410. URL for More Information: http://janus.astro.umd.edu

SA14 Multimodal Sky Orientation for ASTRO 101
Manuel Mon, Florida Gulf Coast University, mmon@fgcu.edu M. Fauerbach, Florida Gulf Coast University, mfauerba@fgcu.edu C. Holmberg, Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, Stars@CalusaNature.com
Orientation to the night sky can be very confusing to the students in introductory astronomy. Performing spatial orientation coupled with new concepts and a fair amount of new terminology is a non-trivial task, and can lead to a lot of frustration, especially for non-science majors. As content is best learned when students are exposed to various sensory modalities, we utilize a multimodal interactive learning experience to enhance the lecture and textbook readings. One lab period is held entirely in our local planetarium. We utilize star ball projection, intermixed with video clips, to introduce the constellations, stars and the magnitude system, as well as the celestial sphere concept and its reference points. Daily changes in the sky are emulated from different latitudes. Yearly changes are coupled with the seasonal motion of the Sun, and precession is projected through millennia. The video clips, also projected on the dome, help demonstrate the real motion of the Earth that produces the "apparent" motion projected on the dome by the Earth-centered view of the planetarium. Great care is taken that students are actively engaged during this time of instruction. During a second lab period, the students are engaged in self-guided, interactive exercises, like lecture tutorials, and interactive star charts, to reinforce the topics covered in the previous lab period. Finally, outdoor, visual observations complete the sequence of experiences.

SA17 Teaching Science Versus Pseudoscience: An Archaeology/Astronomy Alliance
Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State University, larsen@ccsu.edu Kenneth Feder, Central Connecticut State University, feder@ccsu.edu
Belief in pseudoscience and low scientific literacy are chronic problems among American college students. In addition, a 2001 NSF poll found that two-thirds of Americans do not grasp the scientific process. As Park (2000, 196) observed, "since both magic and science produce remarkable results that may seem inexplicable, how can the non scientist be expected to distinguish one from the other?" Therefore, while critical thinking is a valuable foundation for quality science teaching, it must be concretely taught. Feder (1985, 185) advocates, "We need to show the differences between the methodology of science and pseudoscience, and to explicitly examine the extreme claims related to our fields." This poster examines an interdisciplinary, team-taught, freshman level course in Science and Pseudoscience which critically examines specific examples of archaeological and astronomical discoveries, frauds, and pseudosciences. While numerous examples exist of college science courses which integrate a critical study of pseudoscience into their curriculum, the course examined here utilizes Gould's (1999) principle of Non-Overlapping Magisteria, which provides a respectful framework within which science, pseudoscience, and religion can be critically examined and discussed. It was found that framing the course in this way brings attention to a point frequently lost in the current debates concerning Intelligent Design; namely that science "is not antireligious; it is unreligious" (Lehman 1982, 281-2). It also encourages students to relate the material to their own lives and openly discuss all sides of the issues presented within an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement for diverse viewpoints.

SA15 Creation of an Introductor y Astronomy Course for Teachers
Nicholas Stroud, Teachers College Columbia University, nss2112@columbia.edu Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, Teachers College, connolly@amnh.org
In this poster, we describe the process of creating a graduate-level introductory astronomy course for pre- and in-service teachers. To structure our course development, we follow the recommendations from the NSTA/NCATE standards for science teacher preparation. Guided by this structure, we focus our pedagogical strategies on the use of inquiry as laid out in the National Science Education Standards. This choice of pedagogy within the course follows strategies for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as well as directly addressing "Inquiry" and "General Skills of Teaching" standards through our use of modeling good questioning practices, effective teaching strategies, and the nature of astronomical science. The specific content topics are based on the New York State core curriculum and additional topics of special interest, in order to create a 16-session course in Astronomy and Space Science. Specific techniques will include methods for utilizing images, objects, and visualizations in teaching, as well as accessing local informal educational opportunities. To our knowledge this type of course is not offered anywhere else and would be a unique contribution to the fields of Science Education and Astronomy. URL for More Information: http://www.iserga.org

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Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
SA18 Using the Music of the Spheres in Your Outreach Activities: Astronomically Inspired Music
Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College & ASP, fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu
We have identified over 100 pieces of classical and popular music which draw their inspiration from serious astronomy (and not just "It's June, There's the Moon, Let's Spoon.") These include an electronic piece where the players expand in the auditorium just as the galaxies do, two operas about Einstein and one about Kepler, and three rock songs based on good descriptions of black holes. We discuss how to use astronomical music in the classroom, in informal settings, and as a take-home exercise perfect for the MP3 era in which we now live. Several astronomers and physicists perform astronomical music in various settings and we will show how the use of such cross-disciplinary performance art is spreading. A list of favorite examples will be available and meeting participants are encouraged to bring their own examples to add to the list. benefits of doing so. Session Outcomes: Session participants will learn how to start collaboration with such unusual partners. We will explain what to expect and watch for. The rewards of such ventures are immense but one needs to understand first the differences between the "two" cultures of arts and science.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Other: Online Education Location: Constellation C Digital Dialogues Build Analogue Communities
Pamela Gay, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, pamela@starstryder.com Phil Plait, Sonoma State University, phil@universe.sonoma.edu Fraser Cain, Universe Today, frasercain@gmail.com Aaron Price, AAVSO and Tufts University, aaronp@aavso.org
The Internet provides a rich medium for building communities from disparate populations. Dialogues are the seed -- once enough people begin to talk, the community grows on its own. Astronomy is an excellent topic around which a community of like-minded people can gather. Inspired by news stories, current sky viewing, and other astronomical events, these dialogues spark conversations among individuals, providing a natural base for the growth of a community. Online venues can support and nurture such communities, and can grow to a place where astronomy enthusiasts can find local mentors, clubs, and other people with whom they can meet offline. In this talk we examine three styles of building online communities: forums, blogrolls/comment pages, and email listservs. We will discuss needed software and hardware, moderation methods, and ways to motivate positive dialogues. Existing Internet communities will be reviewed, including the Bad Astronomy / Universe Today Forum, the AAVSO discussion listserv, and the Slacker Astronomy and Bad Astronomy Blog blogrolls. Session Outcomes: Attendees will walk away with a working understanding of how to build online communities that can evolve into real world interactions. Where to get software, how to moderate groups and ways to plug into existing physical communities will be covered. We will address online forums, listservs, and blog rolls/comment pages.

Saturday AM Clinic Sessions
Time: 11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Category: Other: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Pratt/Calvert Arts in Science/Science in Arts: Innovative Programs Using Music and Theater in Science Education
Ilana Harrus, GSFC/NASA/JHU, imh@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov Arthur Bloom, Renovation in Music Education (RIME), abloom@rimemusic.org Margaret Strohecker, Berwyn Heights Elementary School, Marg.Strohecker@pgcps.org Nick Allen, Classika-Synetic Theater, nallen345@comcast.net
I will describe two programs that use the arts (theater and music) to bring astronomy to the public. In both cases, the programs are directed to school children and the general public (via public performances). One is collaboration between myself and a professional theater company. "Astronomy on Stage" saw the production of a play "Galactika" that will be performed from June 10 to July 16 at the "Classika" Theater in Shirlington (VA). The play will tour schools with which "Classika" has an established partnership. A guide with classroom activities linked to the play will be distributed during the school visits. In January, I gave a workshop explaining the play and the guide to the teachers. "An Orchestra's Guide to the Universe" is a yearlong endeavor that uniquely uses music to teach science. The year culminated in a concert performed by the entire 5th and 6th grade classes from a school in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, and the University of Maryland Symphony orchestra. The score incorporated science concepts that the children have been studying in their classes during the whole year. The program has been evaluated with extensive pre- and post- program interviews of the children, and comparison with interviews conducted in a similar way at a "test" school which didn't participate in the program. I will present briefly both programs, their accomplishments and the problems faced during their implementations. My emphasis will be on ways to replicate either one of these programs, the pitfalls and the

Category: Public Outreach Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation D Expanding Technology Choices = Expanding Audiences
Lindsay Bartolone, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, lbartolone@adlerplanetarium.org Amanda Quick, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, aquick@adlerplanetarium.org Ken Kobus, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, kkobus@adlerplanetarium.org Katie Peterson, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, kpeterson@adlerplanetarium.org
Learn from the experiences of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum's videoconferencing and podcasting programs before trying them yourself! Over the past few years, Adler staff have created a Distance

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Learning program that includes both videoconferencing and podcasting technologies. During the presentation, participants will learn about the necessary equipment, costs, pitfalls, and successes that we've dealt with during development. Through both an on site presenter and Adler staff contributing through a videoconference, participants will take away, not only an understanding of how these technologies work, but also information to help them implement these technologies into their own educational programs. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to participate in an additional session to further discuss their own implementation. URL for More Information: http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/ distance_learning/index.shtml Session Outcomes: Participants will sample the simple and efficient methods for broadening their audiences through videoconferencing and podcasting technologies. Participants will take away enough information to get started in both forms of communication and will experience in a videoconference during the session. ways that leverage news products to produce educational and outreach materials and experiences. A facilitating factor in this effort is the fact that the Institute's news/public affairs and education/public outreach functions are housed in a single Office of Public Outreach (OPO). While this is not the context for most EPO professionals, whether associated with a NASA mission or toiling in another part of the EPO landscape, the presenter believes that the STScI experience offers lessons or can spark new ideas for leveraging current discoveries and science news into valid and valuable formal and informal educational efforts. The presenter will engage the participants with some concrete examples of discoveries and news releases leveraged by OPO to produce educational value, and will guide attendees in an exploration of ways in which they could leverage such results for their own educational purposes -- their ideas to be shared with the group. The goal will be to expand people's thinking about and identify practical strategies for bringing scientific discoveries to their audiences in ways that fulfill their educational objectives. Session Outcomes: Participants in the 30-minute session will take away tips and ideas about how to adapt and use current-science news products from NASA missions to advance formal and informal educational objectives.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation E Evaluating the Effectiveness of Educational Programs in Astronomy
Philip Sadler, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, psadle@cfa.harvard.edu
The enthusiasm and scientific knowledge of presenters are necessary, but not sufficient, for highly effective educational programs. Key is evaluation. Rigorous evaluation not only validates impact, but allows comparison to other programs and provides the feedback needed for making changes and improvements. Our team has twenty years of experience in evaluating the impact of our programs using a variety of tools, from clinical interviews to extensive pre- and post-testing, moving far beyond usage statistics and the "engagement" of participants. We will examine some of the assessments, questionnaires, and interview protocols developed at the CfA and how various programs fared when carefully examined for impact. Of particular note are the many ways to best present results which help to generate insights and guidance for the enhancement of educational programs. Session Outcomes: Participants will become familiar with the tools and techniques for evaluating changes in the program audience's conceptual understanding and attitudes, learning how to build in effective assessment strategies from the outset.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Frederick The SEE (Space Exploration Experience for the Blind and Visually Impaired) Project: An Example of Making Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Accessible
Noreen Grice, You Can Do Astronomy LLC, ngrice5456@aol.com Dennis Dawson, Western Connecticut State University, dawsond@wcsu.edu Vivian Hoette, Yerkes Observatory, vhoette@yerkes.uchicago.edu Mark Riccobono, National Federation of the Blind, mriccobono@nfb.org Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, DePaul NASA Center, bbeckwin@depaul.edu Ben Wentworth, Tactile Learning Adventures, kanga111@tactilelearning.org Michaela Winchatz, DePaul University, mwinchat@depaul.edu Lindy B. Walton, Madison Metropolitan School District, lindywalton@tds.net
The SEE Project was funded by a multi-year NASA IDEAS grant with the goals of 1) developing and testing Braille/tactile inquiry-based, handson science activities and observing programs that "actively" engage blind and visually impaired students and 2) exploring how tactile images can be used effectively with the sighted public at observatory open nights. Accessible resources developed under this grant include tactile star wheels, exploring the moon's phases, tracking sunspots and investigating variable stars. A culminating part of this project brought together blind students, scientists and educators in a hands-on immersive observing experience at Yerkes Observatory, where blind students controlled telescopes, took images and presented their research to the Wisconsin Bay Lions Club. Our presentation will address the need to open STEM fields to blind people and how NASA Mission EPO Projects can participate. We will demonstrate how astronomy and space-science topics can be made accessible and show

Category: Other: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Constellation F All the News That's Fit to Teach: Leveraging PAO to Serve EPO
James Manning, Space Telescope Science Institute, jmanning@stsci.edu
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for more than 16 years, exploring and imaging the universe in unprecedented ways -- in ways and with findings that make news. The operational home of Hubble -- the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) -- has been sharing these discoveries and images with its various publics for just as long, and in

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Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
you what resources exist now! URL for More Information: http://analyzer. depaul.edu/SEE_Project. Session Outcomes: After having taken this 30-minute session, you will better understand the challenges faced by blind students, why it is important to create opportunities for blind and visually impaired students, know how to access SEE project materials, and be able to create tactile resources on a swell-form machine.

Category: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Other: Helping Audiences Distinguish Science from Pseudoscience Location: Constellation C Intelligent Design, Astrology, Fake Moon Landings: Dealing with Astronomical Pseudo-science
Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College and ASP, fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu Matthew Bobrowsky, Space Telescope Science Institute, mattb@stsci.edu Salman Hameed, Hampshire College, shameed@hampshire.edu Phil Plait, Sonoma State, phil@universe.sonoma.edu
Do participants in your programs (or do you) have questions in such areas as: 1. What exactly are intelligent design and young-Earth creationism, how do they relate to astronomy, and what can astronomers contribute to the debate about them? 2. If astrology is an old superstition, why do so many people seem to believe in it? Are there experiments about its efficacy? 3. How can we respond to claims that NASA never landed people on the Moon? 4. Is there a face on Mars, did aliens build those desert designs in Peru, are there real sighting of alien spacecraft in the sky, and are people being abducted by aliens? If so, you will want to attend this session with four veteran educators who have spent decades helping the public understand the scientific perspective on these and other pseudo-science issues. The program will begin with a panel, highlighting key questions and answers, explaining the pitfalls of engaging in debate about these issues, suggesting activities and demonstrations that help get the techniques of science inquiry across, and pointing to resources you can use to hone your own skills in discussing them with the public. Then, we will break up into small group discussions, each focusing on a particular set of pseudo-science claims and dig deeper into how to (and how not to) respond. All participants will receive a resource guide of helpful books, articles, and web sites. URL for More Information: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib.html Session Outcomes: Participants will receive techniques, ideas, and resources for responding to claims from astronomical pseudo-science. Whether their programs operate in a classroom, museum, community venue, on the web, or in the media, they will be provided with methods of responding to questions, arguments, and claims at the fringes of science.

Saturday Workshops and Panels
Time: 1:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m. Category: Public Outreach Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Pratt/Calvert Contextualizing Astronomy with Interdisciplinar y Materials and Strategies
Mary Radnofsky, The Socrates Institute, mary@socratesinstitute.org
This interdisciplinary clinic will provide teaching simulations to help astronomy instructors find relationships between space science topics and seemingly unrelated fields of study, in turn helping learners from diverse backgrounds gain a greater understanding of astronomical concepts. Interdisciplinary instruction is needed because "curriculum becomes more relevant when there are connections between subjects rather than strict isolation" ( Jacobs 1989; see also North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005). The increase in culturally and geographically diverse students in American formal and informal settings requires that educators improve their repertoire of instructional methods to remain effective. Several methods that can be learned quickly will be used by session participants in the role of interdisciplinary astronomy instructors trying to reach a variety of students, played by other participants. Roles will be switched so everyone will have an opportunity to take on the role of interdisciplinary astronomy instructor. Participants will take the roles of both learners and instructors to experience effective interdisciplinary strategies used in "Prismaticum," an innovative teaching system using knowledge from several disciplines. The goal in such interdisciplinary education is to create multiple neural pathways to the target information (Caine and Caine, 1991), metaphorically "anchoring" new ideas to old knowledge (Bransford, et al., 1990). When there are multiple routes to stored information, students have a greater ability to retrieve and sift through that information. This means we can tap into learners' life experiences of naked-eye observations, everyday chemical reactions, transportation, music, art, literature, sports, etc., to help them better understand astronomy. Session Outcomes: Participants will learn and practice effective interdisciplinary teaching strategies to better "anchor" instruction for a culturally-diverse audience. Participants will contextualize astronomy concepts with other fields of study or audience interests in role-play simulations. Such instruction will leverage an audience's prior knowledge to better teach and attract future students.

Category: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Constellation D Visualizing the Sky and the National Virtual Observator y: Enabling Education and Public Outreach through Large Astronomical Data Sets and Archives
Carol Christian, Space Telescope Science Institute, carolc@stsci.edu Carter Emmart, American Museum of Natural History, carter@amnh.org Tin Kam Ho, Bell Labs, tkh@research.bell-labs.com Jordan Raddick, The Johns Hopkins University, raddick@pha.jhu.edu
The creation of education resources to enhance science and technical skills and engage the public in understanding science have been integrated into main stream astronomical research efforts. Most of the resulting materials

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
and resources have centered on small data sets culled by the resource developer. With the emergence of the National Virtual Observatory, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, WMAP, GOODS, and others as well as the promise of observatories such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, education utilizing such vast data stores has exciting potential. This kind of education has never been done before. This session is crafted to stimulate discussion specifically on the visualization of these emerging large data sets and how such visual tools can be integrated into educational experiences. Participants will hear about many current visualization projects and brainstorm on methods for using them for public understanding of science. URL for More Information: http://virtualobservatory.org Session Outcomes: Participants will have an opportunity to discuss visualization techniques for large astronomical data sets and catalogs and their applicability to education. Educators will have an opportunity to interface with visualization specialists to understand what methods can be used to engage students and the public in science learning and understanding. Visualization specialists and NVO personnel will gain appreciation for the types of environments and associated requirements relevant to visualizing the sky by non-experts. contact the Project Director, Dr. Stephen M. Pompea, at spompea@noao. edu. URL for More Information: http://www.hands-on-optics.org. Session Outcomes: Through the use of hands-on activities and demonstrations, participants will be able to excite students to learn about properties of positive lenses to create images (and ultimately telescopes). Participants take home a kit containing the required items for the activities as well as additional information on all 6 optics modules.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation F The Medium Is the Message... Using the Senses to Teach Space
Patricia Reiff, Rice University, reiff@rice.edu Carolyn Sumners, Houston Museum of Natural Science, csumners@hmns.org Debbie Jensen, Rice University, djensen@rice.edu
A unique partnership of Rice University and the Houston Museum of Natural Science has been creating effective informal education products with NASA support since 1994. "Space Update" and "Earth Update" software bring today's space data into the museum or classroom safely with a single click, without the dangers of an open web browser. Games engage the students, making learning fun. Immersive planetarium shows allow the viewers to experience flying through space or skimming over a canyon. A new portable system we've developed with our partners lets us bring these experiences to the schools -- "a field trip without the bus"! Our recent work uses sonification tools to allow vision impaired learners to "see by touch", exploring the unseen world using their ears. They can explore images or hear data streams, making the data come alive for both sighted and unsighted learners. In this workshop, we play visual and aural sequences and analyze why particular experiences are more effective in teaching astronomy and why other experiences fall short. We also investigate the bounds of immersive dome experiences -- investigating how we can use our tools and techniques to teach other content disciplines. Software and shows will be demonstrated and distributed to the participants. URL for More Information: http://earth.rice.edu Session Outcomes: The visitors will learn how to use games, immersive shows, and sound to create science experiences that stick with the students. CD's and DVD's of the material will be demonstrated and distributed.

Category: Informal Education and Formal Education Primarily at Middle School Levels Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation E Hands-On Optics Activities for Informal Astronomy Education Partnerships
Stephen Pompea, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, spompea@noao.edu Constance E. Walker, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, cwalker@noao.edu Robert T. Sparks, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, rsparks@noao.edu
Hands-On Optics (HOO) is a collaborative four-year program to create and sustain a unique, national, informal science education program to excite students about science by actively engaging them in optics activities. In this workshop, participants will complete a series of activities involving refraction, lenses, telescopes and ultraviolet light. These activities are based on two of the six Hands-On Optics Modules, namely "Magnificent Magnifications" and "Ultraviolet and Infrared Light". Participants will take home a kit containing all the materials required to do the activities with a small group of students. Participants will explore the basic properties of positive lenses to create images through the use of hands-on activities, exciting experiments, and educator-lead demonstrations, culminating with the building of a small refracting telescope. The workshop will also introduce ultraviolet (UV) light and various ways of detecting UV light through a series of demonstrations involving black lights, UV sensitive beads, and a variety of everyday objects. Participants will also receive information about how to obtain other Hands-On Optics materials. The Hands-On Optics program has developed a series of six educational modules covering a variety of topics. The standards based activities and demonstrations have been successfully used in various settings including formal classrooms, after school clubs and science centers. Hands On Optics is funded by the National Science Foundation ISE program. The project partners are NOAO, SPIE-The International Society for Optical Engineering and the Optical Society of America. For more information,

Category: Other: Diversity Partnerships Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Columbia Building Bridges Across Cultural, Social, and Racial Lines: A Participator y Workshop on Partnerships
Jenny Gutbezahl, Lesley University, jgutbeza@lesley.edu Lynn Narasimhan, DePaul University, cnarasim@depaul.edu Phil Sakimoto, University of Notre Dame, psakimot@nd.edu
Partnerships are essential to building bridges that transcend cultural, social, and racial lines. In recent years, the NASA space science education and public outreach program has emphasized partnerships as the core of some highly successful diversity initiatives. In this workshop, participants
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Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
will explore the underlying principles common to these partnership initiatives and learn how to they might be applied to foster broader participation in other research, education, and outreach activities. What is a partnership, and what makes a partnership work? Insights from the personal experiences of workshop participants and from social psychology will be combined to build a common understanding of the characteristics generally found in productive partnerships. What can be learned about the role of partnerships in NASA space science diversity initiatives? Insights from evaluation studies will be gleaned to see how the NASA successes were rooted in the general principles of good partnerships. How can one deliberately build partnerships aimed at broadening participation in space science EPO activities? The emerging science of complex networks offers some surprising insights for workshop participants to explore. The workshop presenters are themselves an example of an effective partnership. They are, respectively, a social psychologist, a mathematician, and an astrophysicist who have been deeply involved in NASA space science diversity initiatives for many years. They welcome the opportunity to bring insights from their respective professions to this ASP workshop. Session Outcomes: Participants will gain insights into the characteristics of productive partnerships, the key roles that partnerships can play in successful diversity initiatives, and ways that these principles might be applied to foster broader participation in their own research, education, and outreach activities. to create, modify and present their astronomy materials to the widest possible audience.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation C Exploring Best Practices in Formal Education: Tips and Tricks for the E/PO Professional
Susan Wagner, Adler Planetarium and NASA Professional Development Working Group, swagner@adlerplanetarium.org Lindsay Bartolone, Adler Planetarium and NASA Professional Development Working Group, lbartolone@adlerplanetarium.org
If you've ever wondered, "How can I make my Formal Education Products and Programs better?" this workshop is for you. Through deconstruction of a "typical" astronomy unit and the redesign of it using student misconception research, national standards, benchmarks and concept maps, participants will explore best practices in formal education. During the workshop, we will highlight a new resource, Integrating Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design by Tomlinson and McTighe (2006). Session Outcomes: Participants will use researched resources to design a formal product or program relevant to their own work. E/PO community will begin to build a common vocabulary and approach to formal education design based upon current best practice in education.

Saturday PM Clinic Sessions
Time: 3:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Category: Other: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Pratt/Calvert Ever yone In! Black Hole Experiences for Special Needs Audiences
Simon Steel, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, sjsteel@cfa.harvard.edu Cassandra Runyon, College of Charleston, runyonc@cofc.edu Cynthia Atkinson, College of Charleston, atkinsonc@cofc.edu Sarah Silva, College of Charleston, College of Charleston
Black holes are amongst the most enigmatic and exciting concepts in the whole of science, and stand alongside alien life as the most asked about topic in astronomy by members of the public, young and old. Many visualizations and hands-on demonstrations have been developed to give a flavor of what a black hole is, and how it behaves. At the Exceptional Needs Workshop held in Boston in July 2006, exemplary black hole products were scrutinized and modified to make them more accessible to special needs audiences. This workshop invites participants to "adopt a disability", to test products related to learning about black holes and gravity, and engage in discussion on how to make the exploration of black holes more accessible to special needs audiences. URL for More Information: http://serch.cofc. edu/special/overview.htm Session Outcomes: By attending this session, participants will experience already proven educational products with new eyes, ears, and touch. No participant will leave the workshop without a fresh perspective on how

Category: Other: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Other: All Categories Location: Constellation D Las Cumbres Observator y Global Telescope Network: Keeping Education in the Dark
Rachel Ross, LCOGT, rachel@lcogt.net Wayne Rosing, LCOGT, wrosing@lcogt.net Stuart Taylor, LCOGT, astrostuart@lcogt.net Tim Brown, LCOGT, timbrown@hao.ucar.edu
The Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network is a privatelyfunded, non-profit organization that is constructing two overlapping networks of telescopes for scientific and educational uses. There will be a scientific network of two meter telescopes with high quality instruments including CCD imagers, spectrographs, and possible infrared viewing capabilities. There will be an educational network consisting of telescopes ranging from 0.4 to 1 meter, all equipped with high quality CCD imagers. The 1 meter telescopes will have spectrographs and possible infrared viewing capabilities. All networked telescopes will have identical, completely online interfaces that allow you to control the telescope and use the different imaging instruments. Any registered school or group will have the capability to remotely observe using a telescope that is currently in the dark from the comfort of their classroom or science center, half a world away. Accompanying the online telescope-control interface will be a library of resources and activities that will be available in the formal classroom setting, informal groups and clubs, and for public outreach in the community for all age-groups and levels of science. Using the LCOGT network as a tool to enjoy real astronomical research will not only create a

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
new awareness and excitement towards science and technology, it will also make visible connections between science and humanities. URL for More Information: www.lcogt.net Session Outcomes: The participants will learn about our telescope network and its future educational plans, as well as given a demonstration of remotely observing and taking images, as well as a brief tour of the educational website which features different types of activities and resources that can be used in formal and informal education.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Constellation F Meeting the Needs of a Diverse Audience Through Effective Instructional Design
Naomi Knappenberger, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, nknappenberger@adlerplanetarium.org
One of the greatest challenges facing science museums and planetaria today is how to produce educationally effective shows, exhibits and instructional materials that address the needs of a diverse audience. In any audience, visitors may vary widely in age, experience, education, interests and motivation. More importantly, they may also differ in cognitive style or the characteristic, self-consistent mode of selecting and processing information that an individual displays in perceptual and intellectual activities. Cognitive style has a broad influence on many aspects of personality and behavior: perception, memory, problem solving, interest and even social behaviors and self-concept. It is the basis for essential individual differences among visitors and is a critical variable in the instructional design process. This presentation will describe how what is known about cognitive style, science learning and instructional design was applied to an experimental study at the Adler Planetarium. The results of the study indicated that learning by all visitors increased significantly when the cognitive style of the visitors was matched to instructional strategies employed in an astronomy exhibit. Recommendations will be made as to how the instructional design process and certain design criteria may be used to mitigate the effects of different cognitive styles and increase the educational effectiveness of shows, exhibits and instructional materials for a diverse audience. Session Outcomes: The participants will: recognize the value of the instructional design process to effectively meet the needs of a diverse audience; understand that cognitive style is a critical variable in the instructional design process; and realize that good design criteria can mitigate the effects of different cognitive styles

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation E A Museum Alliance Interactive Panel Discussion: Strengthening Dialogue Between the Museum Community and NASA
Michelle Viotti, NASA JPL, michelle.a.viotti@jpl.nasa.gov Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, connolly@amnh.org Anita Sohus, NASA JPL, anita.m.sohus@jpl.nasa.gov
We propose an interactive panel that will be hosted by leaders and representative members of the Museum Alliance. Panel members will engage each other and participants in community-building interactions that will include the sharing of best practices for leveraging NASA resources. The Museum Alliance, with over 175 participant organizations, is uniquely positioned for a community-building panel. By providing advanced notice of NASA events, access to newsmakers and experts, professional development, images, visualizations, and educational materials and resources, the Museum Alliance continues to grow and give voice to the museum community. During the past year, the Museum Alliance, with funding from NASA's NEI Explorer Institutes 2005, entered development phase 2. In this period of growth, the Museum Alliance extended partnerships initiated by the Mars Museum Visualization Alliance to content providers throughout NASA, allowing them to reach the public through the unique facilities and knowledgeable staff at museums, science centers, and planetariums across the nations. The results of phase 2 will be shared with participants, including an online portal and calendar. In order to evaluate and continually improve the effectiveness of the Museum Alliance model for other NASAcenter partners and the museum community, opportunities for feedback from participants will be made available in various formats. During the final segment, participants will engage in small-group discussions to develop ideas for new and innovative supporting materials. URL for More Information: http://informal.jpl.nasa.gov/museum Session Outcomes: The goals of this panel are to increase the communications pathways and enable timely notification, sharing, problem-solving and feedback between the museum community and NASA.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Frederick Teaching Inquir y: Can You Walk the Talk?
Wil van der Veen, New Jersey Astronomy Center for Education, wvanderv@raritanval.edu Emilie Drobnes, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, emilie@ihy.gsfc.nasa.gov
We have known for decades that students learn best by discovering new ideas and concepts for themselves rather than we simply telling them. This practice, generally referred to as inquiry-based learning, is still an exception in our classrooms, in pre-service, and in-service teacher education. Teachers, education professionals, and teacher professional development providers all have their own, often incorrect ideas about inquiry, equating it to simply doing hands-on activities or to making activities more openended. Although experiences and experiments are a critical element of inquiry-based learning they do not stand on their own. Participants will experience an example of inquiry-based learning and identify the five critical elements of inquiry. They will learn how, with a little creativity

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Saturday, September 16, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
and thought, almost any activity or experience can be converted into an inquiry-based learning module. This highly interactive session will end with a brief discussion on obstacles to inquiry-based learning in the classroom and what we can do to overcome these. Session Outcomes: Participants will learn how to translate "all the talk" on inquiry-based learning into practice by making sure the five critical elements of inquiry are present in their teaching. They will also learn techniques to overcome some of the obstacles to inquiry-based learning in the classroom.

Category: Public Outreach Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Columbia An Integrated Approach to Outreach with New Media Technologies
Aaron Price, AAVSO and Tufts University, aaronp@aavso.org
Podcasts, blogs, RSS, peer-to-peer networking and other forms of new media communication present an opportunity to connect with an audience that is traditionally interested in science, yet often disconnected from it due to limitations on time and misconceptions about the content type. Users can play a passive role in these new technologies, which is perfect for those living busy lifestyles. At the same time, the affordability and simplicity of the technologies give astronomers a rare opportunity to share their discoveries directly with the public, bypassing many traditional gatekeepers and at a relatively modest cost. Session Outcomes: The goal of the session is to provide an overview of all the various new outreach technologies available, the financial and manpower costs needed to use them effectively, how to tailor them for astronomy and how to integrate them all into one coordinated approach.

THE MICHAEL BENNETT EDUCATION FUND
The ASP is pleased to announce the establishment of The Michael Bennett Education Fund in recognition of Mike's years of dedicated service and leadership of the Society. Proceeds from this endowed fund will support the ASP's future education and public outreach programs. Gifts to the fund can be made via the ASP's web site at www.astrosociety.org/support.html or by sending a contribution to: Astronomical Society of the Pacific 390 Ashton Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112

Saturday PM Plenary Session
Time: 4:10 p.m. 5:10 p.m. Location: Constellation B Professional Development for Science Teachers: What the Research Tells Us
Iris Weiss, Horizon Research, Inc., iweiss@horizon-research.com
Recent research on professional development provides guidance for people who are working to develop science teachers' knowledge and skills, improve their classroom practice, and ultimately result in enhanced student learning. Iris Weiss, President of Horizon Research, Inc., will share some of these results, and the implications for the design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development programs for science teachers.

A Gift That Gives Back

PLANNED GIVING
with

T

THE ASP HERITAGE SOCIETY

he Astronomical Society of the Pacific is pleased to recognize our members and friends who have included the ASP in their estate plans. This support of our mission is truly appreciated. Join the Heritage Society by making a planned gift today. Visit us online or contact us to request an informational brochure. www.astrosociety.org/support.html or (415) 337-1100 x106

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Sunday, September 17, 2006 · Posters
Sunday AM Plenary Session
Time: 8:30 a.m. 9:45 a.m. Location: Constellation B Lost in Time and Space: Channeling Popular Science in the Information Age
Terry Devitt, University of Wisconsin, trdevitt@wisconsin.edu
Reaching mass audiences with the word about science is an increasingly complex and competitive task. The mass media landscape is changing as technology provides new ways to reach the masses. This is both an opportunity and a challenge as technology has leveled the playing field, giving organizations and individuals the opportunity to avoid the filter of traditional news media and reach mass audiences directly. The challenge lies in a distracted public, technology that gives people many more choices about how to spend their time and gather information, and creating messages -- stories -- that are compelling. This talk provides an overview of the new (and old) media landscape and how we can adapt a communication practice honed around the campfire to the digital age. develop new products and expand venues for dissemination of SDSS education materials. URL for More Information: http://www.sdss.org

SN02 LSST EPO: Bringing the Universe to the Public
Suzanne Jacoby, sjacoby@lsst.org K.D. Borne, GMU/LSST/NVO, kborne@gmu.edu O. De Marco, American Museum of Natural History, orsola@amnh.org A. Price, AAVSO, aaronp@aavso.org
Scheduled to see "first light" in 2012, the 8.4-meter LSST will be able to survey the entire visible sky every three nights with its three-billion pixel digital camera, probing the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. LSST will open a movie-like window on objects that change or move on rapid timescales: exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids as small as 100 meters, and distant Kuiper Belt Objects. The potential for education and outreach with the LSST is as far reaching as the telescope itself. The LSST data will be open to the public and scientists around the world -- anyone with a web browser will be able to access and analyze images, data products, tools, and educational materials. The LSST EPO group has discussed a variety of methods of effectively delivering the science from LSST to a broad audience. In this poster, we describe favored ideas being explored in four areas and encourage community discussion: 1. Visualizing the vast LSST data set in science centers and planetaria; 2. Exploring and mining real data in formal and informal education venues; 3. Creating partnerships of public, amateur, and professional astronomers for follow up of alerts; 4. Enabling novel, internet-based, interactive public access to the changing universe. URL for More Information: http:// www. lsst.org

Sunday Poster Session
Time: 7:45 a.m. 5:15 p.m. Poster Location: Atrium Lobby/Harborview 9:45 a.m. Oral Overview Constellation B
Poster 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 Constellation B. Posters are changed each day and are available from 7:45 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. in the Atrium Lobby/Harborview.

SN03 In the Hunt for Variable Stars
Pebble Richwine, University of Arizona, pebbler@email.arizona.edu Timothy F. Slater, University of Arizona, tslater@as.arizona.edu James Bedient, University of Hawaii, bedient@hawaii.edu
In the Hunt for Variable Stars is a curriculum packet created by Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) team members Dr. Timothy F. Slater and Pebble Richwine, and James Bedient with the University of Hawaii. In the Hunt provides both guided and open inquiry investigations for students to conduct. In the Hunt is an excellent source to introduce not only students, but also amateur astronomers to data-mining using Stardial images to complete photometry using programs such as Fitsview, Astrometrica, and Mira.

SN01 Education and Public Outreach with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Jordan Raddick, Johns Hopkins University, raddick@pha.jhu.edu Julie Lutz, University of Washington, nasaerc@u.washington.edu
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is an ambitious effort to create a three-dimensional map of one quarter of the night sky. To date, the SDSS has images of more than 200 million objects and more than 700,000 spectra -- far more than had been discovered previously. The SDSS's education and outreach program has been conducted by scientists and outreach professionals distributed across all of its 25 partner institutions on three continents. One of the challenges that SDSS education and outreach has faced is to coordinate between so many efforts. The survey has hired an EPO coordinator, and we are in the process of collecting information about who is doing what. Some of the large-scale efforts include the sdss.org and SkyServer web sites, and informal education efforts at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Adler Planetarium. The SDSS's official web site includes a newly-expanded education section with links to SDSS EPO resources and presentations. SkyServer offers complete SDSS data to students and teachers, intuitive tools for viewing and searching the data, and more than 100 hours of classroom activities that use the data to teach science. The AMNH featured the SDSS in a Science Bulletin, a feature story and set of interactive activities widely accessed by teachers via the web. Adler planetarium's COSMUS project has produced several flythroughs of the SDSS's map of the universe. In the future, we plan to

SN04 Students Among the Asteroids at NOAO
Steven Croft, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, scroft@noao.edu Stephen M. Pompea, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, spompea@noao.edu Robert Sparks, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, rsparks@noao.edu
We are developing a pilot educational outreach program in support of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (First Light approximately 2012). An important component will be student research using visible & near infrared color photometry to characterize Near Earth Objects, newly discovered asteroids, and other interesting asteroids of known orbits. The project is being designed for Middle school students and enter the curriculum via

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Sunday, September 17, 2006 · Posters
Earth Science, using asteroid science to teach concepts including the nature and development of terrestrial rocks, meteorites, and asteroid types; earth processes, formation of the Earth, Moon, and solar system, the nature and possible use of near earth resources, and the connection between asteroid impacts and life on earth. Pilot Project Elements: 1. Classroom Support Materials and Activities: Provide hands-on classroom activities tying asteroid and meteorite materials and processes to Earth Science Standards. 2. Remote Observing: Provide opportunity for students and teachers to make their own color or light curve observations of asteroids from their classrooms using remotely controlled telescopes. 3. Data-mining: Provide an archive of data sets, software, and training materials illustrating how to locate/discover asteroids, determine asteroid shapes and rotation rates, and determine the type and composition of asteroids by measuring their color. Students will be able to submit data and results to the archive, providing a source of data and information that can be used to develop research projects. 4. Web Site: including description of project, support materials, links to existing asteroid projects the project data archive, and existing professional data archives. URL for More Information: http://www.noao.edu/education

SN06 The Astronomy Education Review
Sidney Wolff, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, swolff@noao.edu Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College and ASP, fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu
The Astronomy Education Review is a refereed journal/website that publishes papers about astronomy and space science education, in either formal or informal settings. AER papers include: 1) research studies in education; 2) innovative ideas that have proved to be effective in the classroom; 3) pointers to provocative publications about education; 4) useful resources and reviews of them by other educators; 5) opinion pieces discussing challenging issues; and 6) announcements of workshops, symposia, cooperative projects, funding sources, job openings, etc. This poster provides data about the operation of AER to date, including the range of topics covered, refereeing policies, statistics about subscribers, and web access rates.

SN05 GLOBE at Night: Results from a Prototype Worldwide Light Pollution Monitoring Program
Constance Walker, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, cwalker@noao.edu Stephen Pompea, National Optical Astronomy Observatory. spompea@noao.edu Douglas Isbell, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, disbell@noao.edu David Orellana, Centro de Apoyo a la DidАctica de la AstronomМa, Altovalsol, Chile, dorellan@dfuls.cl Craig Blurton, GLOBE Past Director and GLOBE Senior Advisor, Asia Pacific Dennis Ward, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, dward@ucar.edu Kirsten Meymaris, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, kristenm@ucar.edu Sandra Henderson, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, sandrah@ucar.edu
More than 18,000 citizen-scientists in 96 countries submitted almost 4,600 observations of the darkness of their local night skies during the 10-day "GLOBE at Night" event at the end of March 2006. The GLOBE at Night Web site received data from all 50 U.S. states and from every continent except Antarctica (where the constellation used for the project was not visible)! Open to anyone in the world, the international GLOBE at Night program was designed to help students, families, and the general public observe and record how the constellation Orion looked from different locations, as a means of measuring the brightness of the sky at a variety of urban and rural sites. The program was conducted to aid teaching about the impact of artificial lighting on local environments, and the ongoing loss of a dark night sky as a natural resource for much of the world's population. Analysis of the GLOBE at Night data set found that the brighter skies corresponded to areas with higher population density, and that most observations were taken in a location with some light pollution. The data also tended to confirm that satellite data is reliable in assessing light pollution. Given the widespread interest in the inaugural GLOBE at Night event, the GLOBE at Night team is eager to offer it again in 2007. URL for More Information: http://www.globe.gov/globeatnight

SN07 Program Evaluation: The Key to Measuring the Success of EPO Initiatives
Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, bonnie@stsci.edu Dan McCallister, Space Telescope Science Institute, mccallis@stsci.edu
Feeling the pressure to measure the success of your EPO program? Competing with the guy down the street for funding? Need to convince your stakeholders that your program is successful? Program evaluation is the key to answering these and other probing questions. Through comprehensive data collection and metrics, you can demonstrate that your material is useful and is providing for the needs of your community. You can also find out who is using your material and how the material is being used. This poster will address the elements of program evaluation necessary to measure the success of your EPO initiative. URL for More Information: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu

SN08 An Event and a Legacy: National Unveilings of Galler y Quality Hubble Images
John Stoke, Space Telescope Science Institute, stoke@stsci.edu, Lucy Albert, Space Telescope Science Institute, lalbert@stsci.edu
Our profession properly distinguishes between "public outreach" and "informal education," but before one can educate an audience one has to have an audience! We present our efforts to generate, and subsequently educate, a national audience through pre-publicized, synchronized unveilings of spectacular, mural-size Hubble (and other great observatory) prints furnished, along with supplemental interpretive and educational materials and training, to a network of museums and planetariums. URL for More Information: http://hubblesource.stsci.edu

SN09 HubbleSite.org -- 1.5 Million Visitors Each Month: Who Are They and What Do They Want?
Stratis Kakadelis, Space Telescope Science Institute, stratis@stsci.edu Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, bonnie@stsci.edu
HubbleSite.org is the public website for the Hubble Space Telescope. The site has been online since July 1998 and is currently in the top 10,000 websites on the Internet (source: Alexa.com). Just what types of people visit the site and what do they find most interesting? We conducted a large-scale user survey to learn about our site's demographics. We will share the breakout

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of audience, as well as what interests they have in space science and many other fields/hobbies. The results might surprise you...just why are so many web novices coming to HubbleSite. Visit our poster session and see the data for yourself. URL for More Information: http://hubblesite.org inception as a website featuring only three interactive activities, the website has expanded to include eight additional interactive activities as well as a comprehensive collection of curriculum support tools. The advancement of Internet technology brought about a revolution for Amazing Space. Currently, Amazing Space online materials are being used in all 50 states, including 40 of the 100 largest school districts. This poster will examine the evolution of the Amazing Space program highlighting the lessons learned over the ten-year period. URL for More Information: http://amazingspace.stsci.edu

SN10 Planning Ahead with Image Tours: Efficiently Producing a Multimedia Series
Stephanie Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute, sbrown@stsci.edu Christine Godfrey, Space Telescope Science Institute, klicka@stsci.edu Tracy Vogel, Space Telescope Science Institute, vogel@stsci.edu Kathy Cordes, Space Telescope Science Institute, cordes@stsci.edu
This poster illustrates the process involved in creating a series of small-scale educational interactive movies for a wide audience and includes lessons learned from the project. HubbleSite's "Image Tours" are interactive Flash movies for the Web that briefly explain the visible features in some of the striking astronomical images from the Hubble Space Telescope while emphasizing their drama and wonder. Show production is made efficient in two ways. Image Tours are built from a common template, which facilitates the development of new shows with a minimum of time and difficulty because the focus can be on the content, not the interface. Secondly, the content for each show is developed in such a way that it can be easily used by multiple outlets, including general public outreach, formal education, and informal education via reformatting and transfer to the ViewSpace video network. Issues that needed to be addressed include: the importance of creating a sound template from the beginning, choosing content appropriate to both the audiences and the template, ensuring the accuracy and usefulness of the content, and gathering input from a variety of professionals during the content development period - including audience experts. There will also be mention of the skill sets required to make products like these, both in developing the template and in generating new shows. URL for More Information: hubblesite.org/gallery/album/tours/

SN13 Enhancing Reading to Learn Using Online Interactives
Linda Knisely, Space Telescope Science Institute, lknisely@stsci.edu Greg Rawls, Designed Instruction, Inc
Telescopes from the Ground Up is an interactive activity added to the Amazing Space lineup in 2005. It features the history of telescopes from Galileo to NASA's Great Observatories and follows the development of the technology that was needed to build these telescopes. Through interactive graphics, students learn how light can be bent by reflection and refraction to form an image of a distant object, about defects in early lenses and mirrors, and how technology solved or minimized these problems. The purpose of the Telescopes from the Ground Up Research and Evaluation Project is to provide evaluation data and analyses for learning rather than of learning. The specific focus of the study, using Telescopes from the Ground Up material, include: the extent to which basic information and instructional material effectively prepare teachers to assist students; the extent to which design, graphics, and vocabulary enhance "reading to learn" abilities; and the usability of simulations, especially compared with static graphics, where both options are available. The project hopes to assist in determining what adjustments, additions, or deletions may be useful for the learning material-- and others like it -- to best reach their maximum potential for benefiting student learning. We anticipate findings that will apply to three principal categories: teacher preparatory or professional development needs; instructional approaches; and print or online material modifications.

SN11 The Content Development Team
Kathy Cordes, Space Telescope Science Institute, cordes@stsci.edu Stephanie Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute, sbrown@stsci.edu
We'd like to spark discussion on content development for online educational materials. We would like to learn from others, as well as to share what we've learned from developing various online products for Amazing Space and HubbleSite. This poster outlines what we have found are the four crucial parts of a successful content development team for online educational materials in astronomy. They are specialists in the subject, in the audience, in the arts of publishing, and in medium-specific content presentation. This poster will be accompanied by a poster that follows the team's development of either an Image Tour or the Telescopes from the Ground Up mini-website. URL for More Information: amazing-space.stsci.edu

SN14 Delivering Current Hubble Space Telescope News to the Classroom
Donna Weaver, Space Telescope Science Institute, dweaver@stsci.edu Linda Knisely, Space Telescope Science Institute, lknisely@stsci.edu Kathy Cordes, Space Telescope Science Institute, cordes@stsci.edu
Today's classrooms are significantly influenced by current news events, which are 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 its skill for producing timely news pieces with educational expertise to maximize the potential learning impact of an 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. The poster will demonstrate how the two divisions draw on their talents to create their unique educational material as well as the

SN12 Ten Years of Amazing Space: The Evolution of the Hubble Space Telescope's Formal Education Program
Dan McCallister, Space Telescope Science Institute, mccallis@stsci.edu Jonathan Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, eisenhamer@stsci.edu Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, bonnie@stsci.edu
Amazing Space, the educational website for the Hubble Space Telescope, has undergone a significant evolution over the past ten years. From its

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various types of educational material produced by the partnership. URL for More Information: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu

SN17 Inside Einstein's Universe: Authentic Partnerships for Effective EPO
Erika Reinfeld, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, ereinfeld@cfa.harvard.edu Simon Steel, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, sjsteel@cfa.harvard.edu Mar y Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, mdussault@cfa.harvard.edu
What do you get when you cross Einstein and a NASA Education Forum? Einstein Forum sin theta of course. But you might also get a yearlong celebration that includes a black hole board game, galaxy building blocks, a speakers' bureau, a homemade version of the WMAP satellite, and a lot of birthday cake. In honor of the Einstein Centennial/World Year of Physics, the NASA-Smithsonian Universe Education Forum at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics developed a special outreach program for museums, science centers, and planetariums. Through large- and smallscale partnerships with informal educators and scientists across the country, we were able to leverage a focused set of resources to reach a wide range of diverse audience and assist in the development of unique opportunities for learning about black holes and cosmology. This poster presents an overview of the programs and partnership created, the lessons learned, and innovative strategies for making the most of your own limited resources. URL for More Information: http://www.universeforum.org/einstein

SN15 Strategies for Thematic Professional Development
Matt Bobrowsky, Space Telescope Science Institute, mattb@stsci.edu Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute, dsmith@stsci.edu Carole Rest, Space Telescope Science Institute, crest@stsci.edu Origins Mission EPO Lead, Origins Education Forum, origins@stsci.edu
Do you want teachers and students to connect your science content to the real world? Do you want your science content to fit into broader contexts and be compatible with classroom realities? The Origins Education Forum and its member missions have developed a variety of professional development experiences for middle- and high-school level educators that integrate content from multiple space science missions and research programs searching for the origins of galaxies, stars, planets, and life. These thematic experiences provide opportunities for educators to experience science content within a larger context, strengthening understanding of the relationships between science topics, and helping students and teachers to make connections to the real world and to education standards. By working together, we are able to provide continuity in the learning process and afford the opportunity for audiences to experience successively deeper levels of professional development. Here we provide an overview for the strategies that Forum members have developed for presenting integrated experiences for educators, as well as an in-depth example of a professional development experience that enables educators to share current science discoveries with students. By working as a team, we bring content to a wider range of audiences, and we convey a more coherent message. This educational model is transferable to other types of programs, which can similarly achieve the synergistic advantage that results from multiple groups coordinating their efforts toward a common goal. URL for More Information: http://origins.stsci.edu

SN18 Astronomy for All: The MicroObservator y Guest Observer Portal
Simon Steel, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, sjsteel@cfa.harvard.edu Mar y Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, mdussault@cfa.harvard.edu Erika Reinfeld, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, ereinfeld@cfa.harvard.edu Roy Gould, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, rgould@cfa.harvard.edu
MicroObservatory is a network of robotic educational telescopes that can be controlled via the Web. The Network was developed by the Science Education Department at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and initially funded by the National Science Foundation. It is currently operated by NASA's Universe Education Forum. The network has been widely used in both formal and informal education settings and is extremely robust, having delivered images to students every night for nearly 10 years. MicroObservatory is accompanied by a powerful yet easy-to-use FITS image processing package. Field-tested, inquiry-based activities for both classroom and informal settings are available. MicroObservatory is now equipped with a Guest Observer Portal, allowing anyone with an email address to request and obtain images of a wide variety of target objects. This new feature provides effectively unlimited access for learners to take their own astronomical images for educational use. This poster describes MicroObservatory and its Guest Observer portal, and how the telescope network can be used to support and enhance astronomy education at any level. URL for More Information: www.microobservatory.org

SN16 The Hubble Heritage Website: More Than Just Pretty Pictures
Forrest Hamilton, CSC/ Space Telescope Science Institute, hamilton@stsci.edu Hubble Heritage Team, Space Telescope Science Institute
Astronomical images produced by the Hubble Heritage Project have become iconic in the field of optical astronomy. Over the last 8 years, the Hubble team of astronomers, image processors, technical staff, and student interns have released a bountiful collection of images taken with the Hubble telescope. The team releases one new image per month, with September 2006 marking our 100th image release. The Heritage Project website hosts each new image as well as all previously released in well-organized listings by date and category. Educators and producers of public outreach materials are welcome to browse the Heritage website (http://heritage.stsci.edu) for supporting materials for each image release including: captions, facts, compass files, astronomer bios, and low-resolution individual snapshots used to comprise the release image. Varying supplemental materials including illustrations, multi-mission observations, flash animations, and more are also provided. For several of our high-profile image releases, FITS files of the Hubble data are also available for educational and/or scientific purposes. URL for More Information: http://heritage.stsci.edu

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SN19 Synergistic Collaborations to Establish a Progression of STEM Learning Activities: A Prototype of a Self-Sustaining Local STEM Pipeline
Kathleen Lestition, Chandra X-ray Center/SAO, klestition@cfa. harvard.edu Irene Porro, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, iporro@mit.edu Mary Dussault, Universe Forum/SAO, mdussalut@cfa.harvard.edu
We present a description of a strategy of collaborations among geographically co-located elements of the NASA Education Portfolio and after school programs to achieve an integrated suite of activities in support of the goal of attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines. The Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) EPO program, the Universe Forum, and the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI) EPO Office have collaborated for three years to fund and develop a series of after school programs that train educators and informal education facilitators to involve students from 6th through 12th grade with age and grade appropriate astronomy content. Prototypes of the programs were proposed and funded through the Chandra supplemental small grants program available to science PI's who are awarded Chandra science research grants. The proposals involved collaboration among the Universe Forum, the MIT science researchers and education staff at the MKI, local after school programs serving disadvantaged and underserved populations, and elements of the Chandra EPO program. By developing a strategic plan around synergistic programs, built on prototypes of related initiatives, we enable students to enter a continuous pipeline of increasing interest, engagement, knowledge and experimentation in NASA space science topics, activities and supporting academic content. program, in particular by the Chandra EPO program. We also report on one of the most valuable and praised aspects of this event: the inclusion of participants from a range of ages and experiences who were able to mingle, talk to each other about their projects and teach each other what they learned in their astronomy experience. URL for More Information: http://space.mit.edu/EPO/AstroInCity06

SN21 The Chandra X-Ray Observator y Data Analysis Software, Resources & Activities
Donna Young, Chandra EPO Office, donna.young@tufts.edu
Educators, students, amateur astronomers and the general public can download and install a set of sophisticated tools, and access public archives of observational data to investigate and analyze supernovae, binary stars, pulsars, galaxies and galaxy clusters. The DS9 image and data analysis software can be downloaded into a Mac, Windows, or Linux environment. The analysis commands are executed at a dedicated server farm at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge,Massachusetts -- transforming any operating system into a virtual Linux machine. Any FITS file can be dropped into the DS9 imagining software, which allows comparisons among visible, IR, UV, radio and X-ray emissions for the same object. Besides basic tools -- color, scales, contrast, bias, and pixel values, the analysis tools include radial profiles, light curves and period folding, energy and spectra distribution plots and histograms. One of the activities developed to use DS9 studies the distribution of important signature elements involved in supernovae explosions -- including oxygen, silicon, neon, iron, nickel, and magnesium -- in supernovae remnants. The software tools can be used to construct both element abundances and spatial distributions. From this information, the geometry of the collapse and the type of core left behind in the center of the remnant (pulsar, magnetar, black hole, or no core) and therefore the mass of the progenitor star can be determined. A second activity which utilizes data sets from CXO uses the light curve and period folding tools to determine if two objects could be white dwarfs or neutron stars.

SN20 Astronomy in the City
Irene Porro, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, iporro@mit.edu Mark Hartman, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, mhartman@space.mit.edu Mary Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, mdussault@cfa.harvard.edu Susan O'Connor, Timothy Smith Network, smoconnor@timothysmithnetwork.org
On May 13, 2006, students in grades 6 through 12 and after-school professionals from urban communities in the Greater Boston Area gathered at MIT for "Astronomy in the City." The event showcased several out-ofschool initiatives through which the EPO office of the MIT Kavli Institute (MKI) is contributing to the effort to engage groups underrepresented in STEM at the K12 level. We present the multi-tiered approach to outof-school astronomy education, illustrated during "Astronomy in the City", that the MKI EPO office has been working on for several years. Key elements to the realization of this strategy are the partnerships developed with the Timothy Smith Network and the Universe Forum at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Through the Timothy Smith Network we were able to introduce astronomy to urban audiences in communitybased centers, while the Universe Forum provided us with a variety of science education resources -- such as the MicroObservatory network of educational telescopes -- that allowed us to create new programs for middle and high-school students and to establish connections between the programs. The development of this multi-tiered approach benefited from funding awarded to the office over the years by the NASA SMD EPO

SN22 Earth-Based Field Experiences Provide Insights into Planetar y Science for K12 Educators
Stephanie Shipp, Lunar and Planetary Institute, shipp@lpi.usra.edu Allan Treiman, Lunar and Planetary Institute, treiman@lpi.usra.edu Walter Kiefer, Lunar and Planetary Institute, kiefer@lpi.usra.edu Becky Nelson, Lunar and Planetary Institute, bnelson@lpi.usra.edu
Each year scientists and educators from the Lunar and Planetary Institute facilitate a field experience primarily for K12 educators from across the nation. The field experience is designed to enable the participants to: a) Be immersed in science first-hand to help them develop a deeper understanding of the process of science, enhance their abilities to undertake authentic scientific inquiry in the classroom, and interact with scientists as colleagues; b) Build an understanding of Earth's features and the physical processes that formed and altered them; c) Develop an understanding of past and present geological processes on other planets by interpreting planetary data and comparing these data to Earth-based analogs; d) Facilitate student exploration of Earth and the solar system through inquiry-based, standards-aligned activities and experiences; e) Identify specific dissemination paths to share experiences and resources with colleagues; f ) Become part of a network to share ideas about classroom strategies and implementation. Field experiences with scientists are important continuing professional development opportunities for educators. Through such opportunities they experience -- or re-experience

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-- science "first hand," continue to build their skills of science and science teaching, and maintain currency in the evolving disciplines of science and science teaching. The Lunar and Planetary Institute field trips are one model for such experiences. The poster will share suggested strategies, lessons learned, and participant impact. URL for More Information: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/other_programs/ed_fieldtrips.shtml

SN25 Stardust@home: Engaging the Public in an Interactive, Internet-based Search for Interstellar Dust in the Stardust Aerogel Collector
Br yan Mendez, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, bmendez@ssl.berkeley.edu Andrew Westphal, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, westphal@ssl.berkeley.edu Anna Butterworth, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, annab@ssl.berkeley.edu Nahide Craig, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, ncraig@ssl.berkeley.edu
On January 15, 2006, NASA's Stardust mission returned to Earth after nearly seven years in interplanetary space. During its journey, Stardust encountered comet Wild 2, collecting dust particles from it in a special material called aerogel. At two other times in the mission, aerogel collectors were also opened to collect interstellar dust. By studying this dust, we hope to learn about the origins of the Solar System. The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector is currently being scanned by an automated microscope at the Johnson Space Center. There are approximately 1.6 million fields of view needed to cover the entire collector, but we expect only a few dozen total grains of interstellar dust in the entire collector. Finding these particles is a daunting task. We have recruited many thousands of volunteers from the public to aid in the search for these precious pieces of space dust trapped in the collectors. We call the project Stardust@home. Through Stardust@home, volunteers from the public search fields of view from the Stardust aerogel collector using a web-based Virtual Microscope. Volunteers who discover interstellar dust particles have the privilege of naming them. The interest and response to this project have been incredible. As with projects like SETI@home we have found that a large number of people are very excited about space science and eager to volunteer their time to contribute to a real research project. Because of the hard work of these citizen scientists this search should be completed by the end of the year. URL for More Information: http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu

SN23 The Sun Tied Up In Ribbons
Dave Dooling, National Solar Observatory, dooling@nso.edu
The National Solar Observatory is developing several EPO activities to build public awareness of solar astronomy at both synoptic and highresolution scales. We present a synopsis of major components now in development: Sizing Up The Solar System (a 1:250 million-scale, with an 18-ft walk-through model of the Sun), Magnetic Carpet Ride (on solar magnetic activity), and The Goldilocks Star (casting the search for ET in the context of understanding our Sun). The title refers to an exercise in which solar filaments are represented by ribbons on a styrofoam ball.

SN24 Involvement in Authentic Science and Its Evaluation through THEMIS EPO Program
Nahide Craig, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, ncraig@ssl.berkeley.edu Laura Peticolas, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, laura@ssl.berkeley.edu Sten Odenwald, Astronomy Cafe, odenwald@astronomycafe.net Allyson Walker, Cornerstone Evaluation Associates LLC, CornerEval@aol.com
The THEMIS Mission will help to determine the onset of auroral substorms using five probes orbiting in strategic locations in Earth's magnetosphere. When the probes align perfectly over the North American continent -- every four days for about 15 hours -- twenty ground stations in Northern Canada and Alaska will document the auroras from Earth using automated, all-sky cameras. This will give scientists the first comprehensive look at the phenomena from Earth's upper atmosphere far into space. In addition, research-grade magnetometers are placed in 11 rural schools in the Northern United States from Alaska to Vermont to monitor the largescale local effects of the currents in space. Magnetometer data for each school site are displayed on the school computer monitors as well as on the THEMIS E/PO website providing the local data to the Mission as well as directly to the schools. We call this E/PO program Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS). A critical part of the E/PO effort is the in-depth professional development for GEONS teachers. Understanding THEMIS science requires that teachers understand the basics of magnetic fields, charged particles, forces, motions and energy. Our program provides intensive and sustaining professional development on Earth's magnetosphere and space weather to a main teacher at each site. We will describe the pedagogical challenges of bringing the physics behind the THEMIS science to middle and high school classrooms as well as provide evaluative information from teachers about the summer workshops and their experiences in implementing the THEMIS-related curriculum guides in their classrooms. URL for More Information: http:// ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/themis/classroom_geons.html

SN26 Sharing Space Scientists' Research with Urban Adults: A Community College Seminar
Laura Peticolas, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, laura@ssl.berkeley.edu Nahide Craig, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, ncraig@ssl.berkeley.edu Wilson Au and Naima Azgui, Berkeley City College, atelier9@lmi.net Allyson Walker, Cornerstone Evaluation Associates, LLC, CornerEval@aol.com
The Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California in Berkeley is involved in a wide variety of NASA scientific investigations in space. To illustrate the breadth and depth of these investigations, a NASA funded Education and Outreach program at SSL collaborated with a community college, the Berkeley City College (BCC) to hold a space science seminar titled "Weather in Interplanetary Space," BCC course Astronomy 48. At this seminar, SSL scientists brought their passion and excitement of space research to community college students who have not have previously had an opportunity to learn about space in this way. In addition to these lectures, this seminar brought the BCC students to SSL to see the facilities. While at SSL, the students learned how SSL scientists and engineers communicate with satellites in space through the mission

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and science operation center. As a final project, the seminar ended with students presenting posters on a space science topic they found interesting. This poster session modeled the way scientists share their results at scientific conferences. Using our project evaluation results together with our experience with such a seminar, we will discuss the successes and challenges with this type of course at a community college. We will also share plans for minor modifications to the seminar for the spring 2007 semester, using these evaluation results. More broadly, we will outline what is needed in order for others to implement this type of program in their cities or towns. URL for More Information: http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/microphys learned. URL for More Information: http://deepimpact.umd.edu/stsp

SN29 Deep Impact's Amateur Observers' Program
Elizabeth Warner, University of Maryland, ewarner@umd.edu Lucy McFadden, University of Maryland, mcfadden@astro.umd.edu AOP Observers
In anticipation of the visibility of comet 9P/Tempel 1, the target of the Deep Impact mission, the E/PO team organized its Amateur Observers' Program (AOP). The NASA Discovery mission's spacecraft impacted the comet on July 4, 2005 to better understand the composition of comets and their interior structure. The AOP's objective was to engage the general public and casual observers in the mission through observing the comet prior to impact and watching for changes resulting from the impact. The program began with presentations to the general public and amateurs attending astronomy club meetings and star parties beginning in the fall of 2000 and continuing through impact in July 2005. These presentations covered the basics of the mission and provided information about the comet and opportunities for individuals to participate. By early 2004, audiences were directed to the AOP web site (deepimpact.umd.edu/amateur) that included Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Guides (tutorials on various topics in observing), star charts showing the comet's location in the sky for different dates and latitudes, a gallery in which registered observers could post their text descriptions (54), scanned sketches (29) and digital images (276), and an outreach page listing public programs (lectures, observing) around the country and world. The challenging observing circumstances in the United States and the comet being about two magnitudes fainter than predicted resulted in less participation (only 64 of about 365 registered observers submitted observations) than expected. Nevertheless, observations and reports illustrate the worldwide level of participation and evidence of meeting program objectives. URL for More Information: deepimpact.umd.edu/amateur

SN27 HERA: Using NASA Astronomy Data in the Classroom
James C. Lochner, USRA & NASA/GSFC, lochner@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Sara E. Mitchell, SP Systems & NASA/GSFC, saram@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov William D. Pence, NASA/GSFC, William.D.Pence@nasa.gov
HERA is a free internet-based tool that provides students access to both analysis software and data for studying astronomical objects such as black holes, binary star systems, supernovae, and galaxies. Students use a subset of the same software, and experience the same analysis process, that an astronomer follows in analyzing data obtained from an orbiting satellite observatory. HERA is accompanied by a web-based tutorial which steps students through the science background, procedures for accessing the data, and using the HERA software. The web pages include a lesson plan in which students explore data from a binary star system containing a normal star and a black hole. The objective of the lesson is for students to use plotting, estimation, and statistical techniques to determine the orbital period. Students may then apply these techniques to a number of data sets and draw conclusions on the natures of the systems (for example, students discover that one system is an eclipsing binary). The web page tutorial is self-guided and contains a number of exercises; students can work independently or in groups. HERA has been use with high school students and in introductory astronomy classes in community colleges. This poster describes HERA and its web-based tutorial. We outline the underlying software architecture, the development process, and its testing and classroom applications. We also describe the benefits to students in developing skills which extend basic science and math concepts into real applications. URL for More Information: http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/hera

SN30 Imagine Mars! Imagine the Possibilities... Exploring Science, Community, the Arts
Kay Tobola, NASA Johnson Space Center, kay.w.tobola1@jsc.nasa.gov Jaclyn Allen, NASA Johnson Space Center, jaclyn.allen1@jsc.nasa.gov Stephenie Lievense, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Stephenie.H.Lievense@jpl.nasa.gov David Delgado, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, David J. Delgado@jpl.nasa.gov
Imagine Mars is a unique, creative, and inspiring educational program. Students design a futuristic community on Mars that is scientifically sound and offers a high quality of life. This challenge ignites students' imaginations, motivates them to learn about Earth and Mars, and hones their critical thinking skills. The process of creating imagined communities on Mars exposes students to the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and opens the door to an appreciation of their own community. Imagine Mars is an opportunity to successfully experience STEM content in a creative, hands-on manner as an entry point into further learning, or an opportunity to apply and extend previous learning. Designed for formal and informal education venues, out-of-school programs have embraced Imagine Mars's flexible and unconventional approach to science. Originally designed to be accessed primarily through the internet, Imagine Mars has broadened and diversified its audience through relationships with local and national organizations including HUD Neighborhood Network Centers and Girl ScoutsUSA. Imagine

SN28 The Small Telescope Science Program for the Deep Impact Mission
Stephanie McLaughlin, University of Maryland, stefmcl@astro.umd.edu Lucy McFadden, University of Maryland, mcfadden@astro.umd.edu Timur Clarke, University of Maryland, tclarke4@umd.edu
From 2000 through 2005, the Small Telescope Science Program was a collaborative effort among technically-proficient amateur astronomers, professional and student astronomers with discretionary telescope time, and private observatories to gather valuable ground-based optical data on comet 9P/Tempel 1, the target of the NASA Deep Impact Mission. The main objective of this program was to provide scientifically-useful CCD observations of Tempel 1 to supplement the professional data acquired by project collaborators at large telescopes. In this presentation, we describe the program and its implementation, provide initial results, and discuss lessons

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Mars is strengthening and growing as it answers the needs of these venues. Working through the five steps Reflect, Imagine, Discover, Create and Share, students learn about their community, discover things to appreciate about it, and decide how they would improve it; they explore Mars interacting with scientists and engineers; using their abilities and interests, they create something -- a play, painting, story, model -- that depicts their envisioned community; and finally they share their finished project by presenting to their home community, and posting in the on-line gallery. URL for More Information: http://imaginemars.jpl.nasa.gov/index1.html

SM33 Heavy Duty Museum-grade Exhibit or Portable Demo?
Alan Gould, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Hall of Science, agould@berkeley.edu Edna DeVore, SETI Institute, edevore@seti.org Pamela Harman, SETI Institute, pharman@seti.org
NASA Kepler Mission EPO had a component to build a heavy duty museum-grade exhibit to illustrate the principles of how to discover Earthsize extrasolar planet by the transit method using a space photometer. We had envisioned something not too large and very easy to replicate, and we could disseminate the plans for reproducing it. In reality, what we envisioned did not precisely materialize. Instead, through unexpected opportunities and discoveries, we stumbled onto two modalities for two different versions of an exhibit: a "bullet-proof " museum grade model that was part of a much larger NSF-funded effort, and a very easy-to-make, inexpensive model (irresistible to LEGO connoisseurs) that is idealized for demos and use in settings where there is a knowledgeable instructor/ presenter/facilitator. In looking at our actual path towards these products and retrospective on what decision points there were, we can speculate on possible future exhibit projects and what decision points there could be for EPO efforts in general. URL for More Information: http://kepler.nasa.gov

SN31 Year 1 Evaluation Results of the Phoenix Mars Mission E/PO Program
Andrew Shaner, The University of Arizona, ashaner@as.arizona.edu Tim Slater, The University of Arizona, tslater@as.arizona.edu Doug Lombardi, The University of Arizona, lombardi@lpl.arizona.edu
The objective of the Phoenix Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program evaluation is to assist the E/PO manager and E/PO partners in conducting an effective, successful program that will inspire, excite, encourage, and nurture the exploration of questions from students and the public about Mars, the Solar System, and space exploration. The Year One Evaluation Report detailed the 2005 evaluation effort and results as prescribed by the project's formal evaluation plan. On the whole, the evaluators judged the EPO program to be fully consistent with the E/PO Implementation Plan and is distinguished among NASA E/PO programs as a coherent and highly effective educational program. The program integrates a robust portfolio of projects that combine to meet the established goals. The particularly unique attributes are a focus on widespread, national dissemination by leveraging existing NASA programs while simultaneously maintaining pathways for extended and long duration partnerships with regional educational initiatives. In addition, the program is effectively engaging the mission's scientists and providing infrastructure and resources to help these scientists disseminate the science behind the Phoenix Mars Mission. Overall, the Phoenix E/PO Program is working effectively and efficiently in meeting its highly valued goals and is in strategic planning for the Year 2. Further, the program should be noted for fully embracing evaluation as a method to guide decisions as well as a willingness to re-allocate resources to fully meet the program's educational goals when gaps are identified.

SN34 Partnerships for Success: The Kepler E/PO Program Strategies
Edna DeVore, SETI Institute, edevore@seti.org Alan Gould, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Hall of Science, agould@berkeley.edu Pamela Harman, SETI Institute, pharman@seti.org
Participants will learn strategies for designing and conducting E/PO programs through partnerships with successful networks and institutions to reach a greater number of people in schools, science centers and public settings. Practical examples and lessons learned from the Kepler E/PO program will illustrate these partnerships. Are we alone? Are there other worlds like our own? Astronomers are discovering large planets, but can smaller planets -- new Earths -- be found? These are powerful and exciting questions that motivate student learning and public interest in NASA's Kepler Discovery Mission. Continual discoveries of extrasolar planets have sparked broad public interest, and Kepler will expand this search to discover planets like our own. Kepler launches in 2008, to begin searching for extrasolar Earths. The Kepler Mission Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program focuses on the excitement of discovering Earth-size planets in the habitable zone to enhance student learning and public interest in astronomy and physics. This presentation focuses upon how the Kepler E/PO program is designed to take advantage of existing collaborations, networks, experience, and relationships to optimize the impact of an E/PO program. Specific examples will practically illustrate how the Kepler E/PO program scientists, engineers and contractors work with science centers, curriculum development networks, astronomy organizations, colleges and universities. These programs include GEMS, Night Sky Network, ASTC and the planetarium community. The E/PO program aims to maximize the leverage of NASA E/PO funding in this project to reach many more people than would be available via just direct services from the program. Kepler E/PO is funded by NASA's Discovery Mission Program. URL for More Information: http://kepler.nasa.gov

SN32 A Successful E/PO Collaboration to Build a Coherent Curriculum Sequence
John Erickson, Lawrence Hall of Science, GEMS, jerick@berkeley.edu Carolyn Willard, Lawrence Hall of Science, GEMS, cwillard@berkeley.edu
Learn how five E/PO and NASA Forum teams and Lawrence Hall of Science GEMS curriculum developers have worked together to weave new and existing instructional materials into a Space Science Curriculum Sequence. The goal was to create a flexible resource to help teachers build coherent conceptual pathways in their space science curricula at grades 3 8. Find out about the methods used to develop this resource for grades 3 8, key components of the materials, data from classroom field tests, challenges, successes, and lessons learned. See newly published sample materials. See examples of how selected activities can be sequenced most effectively to maximize their cumulative benefit. Review innovative ways to allow both new and experienced teachers easy access to additional guidance in science and pedagogy. See how student readings, discussion and writing, multimedia support, and an assessment system can be designed to help teachers meet their instructional goals.
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SN35 Getting Involved with the International Heliophysical Year
M. Cristina Rabello-Soares, Stanford University, csoares@sun.stanford.edu Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute, morrow@SpaceScience.org Deborah Scherrer, Stanford University, dscherrer@solar.stanford.edu
This poster will explain the history and significance of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY), describe the key messages of the IHY international program of education and public outreach (EPO), and provide information about how Space and Earth Science EPO programs can participate to broaden their impact worldwide. In 1957, the launch of Sputnik 1 marked the beginning of the space age. The Sputnik program was planned as a contribution to the International Geophysical Year (IGY 1957), which involved about 60,000 scientists from more than 60 nations. Now, 50 years later, we have the unique opportunity through the International Heliophysical Year to further advance our knowledge and to raise public awareness of space physics. The term "heliophysical" is an extension of the term "geophysical", where the Earth, Sun & Solar System are studied not as separate domains but through the universal processes governing the heliosphere. The IHY is being coordinated by an international committee, involving hundreds of observatories and institutions worldwide. Besides, IHY is working with the United Nations to bring Earth and Space Science to the developing nations. The IHY is an exceptional opportunity for Space and Earth Science education and outreach. In this poster, we will describe how to become a participating program and what are the benefits of doing so. URL for More Information: http://ihy2007.org

SN37 Turning Small Spaces into Meaningful Visitor Experiences
Frank Cianciolo, University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, frankc@astro.as.utexas.edu Sandra Preston, McDonald Observatory/StarDate, sandi@astro.as.utexas.edu Anita Cochran, Phil Kelton, Rebecca Johnson, Kevin Mace, Tim Jones, Marc Wetzel & Rex Barrick, University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory
Approximately 40,000 visitors pass through the ground floor lobby of the Harlan J. Smith 107-inch Telescope at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory each year either on guided tours or on a self-guided experience. Addressing recent changes in building safety requirements that limits access to the dome floor level and a need to modernize existing displays necessitated a fresh look at our use of this small space. A team consisting of Observatory personnel from Outreach & Education, Physical Plant, and administration came together via videoconference to conceptualize our approach and to develop a communication plan. Challenges of limited display space, floor space that needs to stay open for use during tours, unsupervised visitor access to the space, and a desire to honor the telescope's namesake and former director of the Observatory were identified. The team believes a mix of static displays and modern technology such as flat panel displays and DVD video is the key to presenting the history of the facility, introducing basic concepts about the telescope and current research, as well as giving virtual access to the dome floor for visitors not with a guide. This approach will also allow both content development and production to be completed almost exclusively in-house. A representative of the Smith family was also consulted to insure that the exhibit was seen as an acceptable memorial to the late director. The project is currently in design phase with fabrication and installation planned for Spring/Summer '07 and Fall '07, respectively. URL for More Information: http://www.mcdonaldobservatory.org

SN36 Space Weather Monitors -- Preparing to Distribute Scientific Devices and Classroom Materials Worldwide for the IHY 2007
Deborah Scherrer, Stanford University, dscherrer@solar.stanford.edu Benjamin Burress, Chabot Space and Science Center, BBurress@ChabotSpace.org Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute, morrow@SpaceScience.org M. Cristina Rabello-Soares, Stanford University, csoares@sun.stanford.edu
Through the United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI) and the IHY Education and Public Outreach Program, our Monitors have been designated for deployment to 191 countries for the International Heliophysical Year, 2007-8. In partnership with Chabot Space and Science Center, we are designing and developing classroom and educator support materials to accompany distribution of the monitors worldwide. Materials will need to be translated to the 6 United Nations Official Languages -- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish -- and adapted to be culturally relevant and sensitive. URL for More Information: http:// solar-center.stanford.edu/SID

SN38 Observing the Sun at McDonald Observator y
Mar y Kay Hemenway, The University of Texas at Austin, marykay@astro.as.utexas.edu Brad J Armosky, The University of Texas at Austin, bja@astro.as.utexas.edu Thomas G. Barnes, The University of Texas at Austin, tgb@astro.as.utexas.edu Mark Cash, The University of Texas at Austin, cash@astro.as.utexas.edu Kevin Mace, The University of Texas at Austin, mace@astro.as.utexas.edu Judy Meyer, The University of Texas at Austin, meyerj@astro.as.utexas.edu Marc Wetzel, The University of Texas at Austin, wetzel@astro.as.utexas.edu
Our closest star, the sun, is one of the few celestial objects accessible during the day for live viewing. Our solar viewing program uses remotely controlled telescopes with H-alpha filters that allow live images of the sun to be projected into the McDonald Visitor Center Theater or classroom. The capability to transfer these live images remotely also allows these images to be used in videoconferences to individual classrooms of K12 students and their teachers. The project has two phases: to develop and

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provide effective programming on the sun for students and teachers who visit the observatory as part of a Student Field Experience (SFE), and to develop and provide effective programming on astronomy through videoconferences. The hour-long videoconference includes a tour of the observatory, solar viewing, related demonstrations on solar phenomena, and a question/answer session. Pre/post activities for the students are under development. The programs and materials vary by grade level. A two-phase evaluation by an outside evaluator includes formative evaluation of program elements by the staff and an outside Educator Advisory Board, and an evaluation by program users (half each from SFE or videoconference users). Support for HST-ED90282-01-A provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555 is gratefully acknowledged.

SN40 Student Videoconference on Remote Sensing Has Far-Reaching Results Across the Equator
Ronald Probst, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, rprobst@noao.edu Constance E. Walker, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, cwalker@noao.edu Hugo Ochos, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena, Chile, hochoa@ctiio.noao.edu Dara Norman, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena, Chile, dnorman@ctio.noao.edu
A special student-to-student videoconference was held at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) mid-May 2006 between students in Tucson, Arizona and La Serena, Chile, headquarters for NOAO North and South. 50 participants at each location reported on a remote sensing activity hundreds of students conducted over February, March and April. Even half a world apart and across people of different languages and cultures, the most effective ways to teach concepts in science is hands-on with discussion. Since the Fall of 2002, NOAO North and South have held videoconference workshops, mainly in Spanish, for teachers and students in Arizona and Chile. They exchanged methods and ideas on how to teach and learn about light and color, various physics activities, light pollution monitoring, lunar eclipse activities and now a remote sensing activity. The remote sensing activity associated with the student videoconference in May allowed students to become acquainted with the geography and geology of their own area using LandSat maps of their city. After becoming familiar with the basics, the Tucson students analyzed an image of La Serena and the students from Chile analyzed an image of Tucson. Since top-down satellite views may not provide complete information, students from one country emailed students from the other country and requested them as rovers to take pictures of areas under question. Given the ever-growing interest the program, the remote sensing activity will take place again during the Fall of 2006. Plans for extending the project to the surface of Mars are scheduled for 2007. URL for More Information: http://www.noao.edu/education/astro/chile

SN39 Black Holes Encyclopedia Website: Enciclopedia de agujeros negros en la red
Sandra Preston, The University of Texas Karl Gebhardt, The University of Texas gebhardt@astro.as.utexas.edu Damond Benningfield, The University damond@astro.as.utexas.edu Doug Addison, The University of Texas addison@astro.as.utexas.edu at Austin, sandi@stardate.org at Austin, of Texas at Austin, at Austin,

The public loves black holes and research astronomer Karl Gebhardt partners with the StarDate production team at The University of Texas McDonald Observatory to create a black hole website that communicates his and other researchers' work. Blackholes.stardate.org and blackholes. radiouniverso.org. are located at the StarDate Online and Universo Online websites, which have over 100,000 visitors a week . The websites are advertised on the air occasionally at the end of the StarDate and Universo radio programs, which are heard by millions of people daily. One section of the website that highlights research is the "black holes directory," which provides information on all known stellar mass, intermediate mass, and supermassive black holes. A "news" section keeps readers up-to-date on black hole research and discoveries. Articles such as Black Holes: Stranger than Fiction and Birth of Supermassive Black Holes: Battle of the Bulge cover the basics on black holes. Frequently asked questions; a high schoollevel activity using HST data; a glossary; a special pop culture sections that covers black holes in TV shows, movies, and books; and reading and related website lists round out the site. StarDate Magazine articles and radio programs on black holes are provided as additional text and audio resources. Evaluation and plans for an expansion of the site are currently underway. We gratefully acknowledge funding from an NSF Career grant (AST 03-49095) and a Space Telescope Science Institute E/PO grant (HSTEO-10315.03-A). URL for More Information: blackholes.stardate.org

SN41 Hands-On Optics at the Boys and Girls Club
Robert Sparks, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, rsparks@noao.edu Erin Dokter, University of Arizona/Steward Observatory, edokter@email.arizona.edu Stephen M. Pompea, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, spompea@noao.edu Connie E. Walker, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, cwalker@noao.edu
Hands-On Optics (HOO) is a collaborative four-year program to create and sustain a unique, national, informal science education program to excite students about science by actively engaging them in optics activities. We have developed a series of six modules focusing on different areas of optics. Each module consists of a series of instructor led demonstrations and handson activities to excite the students about optics. In the summer of 2006, Hands-On Optics was brought to the South Tucson Boys and Girls Club and the Boys and Girls Club of Sells, Arizona. Graduate and undergraduate students from the university of Arizona spent three hours per week at each club doing Hands-On Optics activities with the students. We will discuss the challenges involved with bringing Hands-On Optics to these venues as well as the lessons learned. We will also discuss future plans to make Hands-

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On Optics a continuing presence at these clubs as well as plans to expand to other Boys and Girls Clubs. The Hands On Optics Project is funded by the National Science Foundation ISE program. NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

SN44 Working with Out-Of-School-Time Organizations and Programs
Julie Lutz, University of Washington, nasaerc@u.washington.edu Shari Asplund, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shari.e.asplund@jpl.nasa.gov Christine Shupla, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Shupla@lpi.usra.edu
Out-of-school-time (OST) organizations provide some wonderful opportunities for children to explore science topics. This poster will deal with some of the principles, issues and realities that E/PO specialists, materials developers and scientists need to keep in mind when working with OST programs and organizations. Major points covered in the poster and handouts will be: 1. What sorts of organizations are included in OST and how do they function? 2. Who are the staff members in OST programs and how are they trained? 3. What are some of the important issues and debates in the OST field that need to be considered by those who would like to work with these programs and organizations? 4. What are some of the reports and research studies that are useful to scientists, E/PO specialists and materials developers who want to work with OST organizations and programs? 5. What are some strategies for selecting which OST programs and organizations would be best for interactions and partnerships? URL for More Information: http://www.s2n2.org/cbowg

SN42 Community Based Astronomy
Lou Mayo, GSFC / SECEF, mayo@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov Dorian Janney, Montgomery County Public Schools, Dorian_W_Janney@mcpsmd.org
Community Based Astronomy provides a way to engage many elements of a community in the teaching of astronomy. It has both formal and informal education roots using the community school as a nucleation center from which many connections can be made. Elements of a successful CBA program involve After School Astronomy Clubs, Family Astronomy Nights, families, civic groups, museums, and local businesses to name a few. This presentation will outline best practices that have emerged through various CBA programs and activities and propose a model for execution of future CBA programs.

SN 43 Engaging Girls and Women in STEM Through Best Practices in Partnership: NASA+GIRLS+GSUSA = NEXT GENERATION
Michelle Hailey, Girl Scouts of the USA, mhailey@girlscouts.org Rosalie Betrue, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Rosalie.Betrue@jpl.nasa.gov Jaclyn Allen, Johnson Space Center/ESCG, jaclyn.allen1@jsc.nasa.gov Kay Tobola, Johnson Space Center/ESCG, kay.w.tobola@jsc.nasa.gov
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 percent of the labor force and 22 percent 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 this common goal, we will present the impact to date of our collaborative programming, examples of successful strategies and best practices for engaging girls and adults with tips for developing informal learning opportunities for girls utilizing the NASA-GSUSA model, and future action plans for the recently expanded collaboration of NASA centers and their local partner Girl Scout councils. Ninety-four 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 over 986,000 adult volunteers, GSUSA inspires girls and young women with the highest ideals of courage, character and confidence to make the world a better place. Supporting continuous improvement and measuring the impact of activities are core to GSUSA's programming. URL for More Information: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/girlscouts

SN45 The Beyond Einstein Explorers' Program (BEEP): Learning About the Universe Out of School
Anita Krishnamurthi, University of Maryland/NASA GSFC, anitak@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Beth Barbier, SP Systems/NASA GSFC, beth@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Sara Mitchell, SP Systems/NASA GSFC, saram@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov James C. Lochner, USRA/NASA GSFC, lochner@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov
There is a great potential for teaching science in after-school program settings where the sessions can be flexible and fun. Recognizing this opportunity, we partnered with the non-profit DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation (DC-CYITC), a local after-school program organization to design an astronomy program for their grantees. In the summer of 2006, we piloted a 12-session program that introduced basic astronomical concepts and focused on astronomy beyond the solar system. The participants were about 100 Washington, D.C. area middle and high school students and their summer program leaders. This program, offered as a part of their daily summer lineup, was intended to help us understand how to best work with this audience for the Beyond Einstein outreach effort. Activities developed for this program were adapted from existing formal education materials from a variety of reputable web and print sources, and were repackaged for the target audience. Graduate student volunteers from the University of Maryland were on-call for the leaders throughout the program to assist with scientific understanding. We designed surveys to evaluate the impact of our program on both the students and the program leaders. Our program also had a built-in impact study as students model their concept of the Universe in both the first and last sessions. The DC-CYITC also ran its own evaluation of the design and implementation of the program. Based on our experiences and feedback from the participants in the pilot, we plan to refine and expand upon the idea and develop it further.

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Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
SN46 Fun and Formal Education: Linking Hands-On Activities to Formal Education, and Engaging the Public with Formal Education Activities
Luciana Bianchi, Johns Hopkins University, bianchi@pha.jhu.edu
We present some best practices derived from several experiences in public outreach events and in formal education events. We found ways to link science content and standard science curriculum to fun activities, and describe what we found most successful and why. learning theories and practicalities, creation of curricula and products, marketing, and funding and grant writing. As with the students, we plan for the faculty to be geographically distributed, drawing upon E/PO and science leaders in NASA, ASP, planetariums and science centers. Problembased learning (PBL) and technology-based learning tools will be stressed. The full MS program will take about two years, concluding with a virtual capstone project to create and evaluate a significant educational activity or product. We invite comments and expressions of interest in collaboration. URL for More Information: http://www.cet.edu

SN47 Effective Educational and Public Outreach Programs Led by Minority Institutions
Leon Johnson, Medgar Evers College, leon.johnson@verizon.net Shermane A. Austin, Medgar Evers College, shermane.austin@gmail.com Penny A. Morris, University of Houston-Downtown, pmorris@ems.jsc.nasa.gov Victor Obot, Texas Southern University, obot_vd@tsu.edu Carlos Salgado, Norfolk State University, salgado@jlab.org Donald Walter, South Carolina State University, dkw@physics.scsu.edu
The population in the United States is changing and most representatives of these populations will attend minority institutions, especially if they are the first generation of their family to attend college. The NASA MUCERPI funded program is an effective model for involving minorities and underrepresented groups in the STEMS pipeline and raising their awareness of future careers in space science. Members of the program have successfully built educational and public outreach programs that can serve as national models (Sakimoto et al. 2005). The successful models were based on experience within the institutions. Many of the MUCERPI supported colleges and universities were historically the only institutions that minority and underrepresented groups could attend because of either racial or ethnic biases or because of financial constraints. We will provide an overview of successful models for both educational and public outreach programs. We want to develop a dialog with the audience on how to adapt our successful programs to other geographical areas. Sakimoto, P. J., J. D. Rosendhal. 2005. Physics Today, Vol 58.

Sunday AM Clinic Sessions
Time: 11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation C Amateur Astronomers: Not Just Telescope Operators!
Marni Berendsen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, mberendsen@astrosociety.org
Discover the variety of ways trained and informed amateur astronomers of the NASA Night Sky Network can add exciting new dimensions to your EPO programs and classroom curricula. Teachers, museum directors, community college instructors, after-school group leaders, Scout leaders, and community organization program directors are just a short list of the people who can benefit from such a partnership. This session will allow you to: 1. Participate in examples of hands-on activities and presentations with local astronomy club members. With innovative, easy-to-understand presentations, night sky explorations, and direct experience of the universe through telescopes, amateur astronomy clubs can augment and enhance the experience of your visitors, clients, and students; 2. Engage in group discussions on how to partner with amateur astronomers: What do they need from you? What are the many services they can provide? What do you need from them? What is your role? This part of the workshop will provide clearer guidelines of ways to form a mutually beneficial relationship. URL for More Information: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov Session Outcomes: You will learn how Night Sky Network astronomy clubs can be a valuable resource to prime your audiences to be more interested, receptive, and excited about astronomy. Generate new ideas for expanding and reinvigorating astronomy programs. Take away specific advice and tips for partnering with amateur astronomers.

SN48 Designing a New Online E/PO MS Program
Charles Wood, Wheeling Jesuit University, chuckwood@cet.edu Laurie Ruberg, Wheeling Jesuit University, lruberg@cet.edu Letha Zook, Wheeling Jesuit University, lezook@wju.edu
Education and public outreach in space science related fields have grown rapidly in the last decade and the need will increase as NASA and other space agencies move aggressively into exploration of the Moon and beyond. Although there are now thousands of informal educators at science centers, museums, planetariums and NASA field centers who are engaged in E/PO activities, there are few academic programs to provide a professional foundation or certification. The Center for Educational Technologies (CET) at Wheeling Jesuit University has been involved in Earth and space E/PO projects for more than a decade, and is home to the NASA-funded Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker (MARSB). Additionally, we have experience in creating a successful online space studies MS program. Based on all this experience CET is now designing an Earth and Space E/PO online MS program. The proposed program will include offerings on Earth and space science, space agencies and missions,

Category: Public Outreach Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Constellation D From the Planetarium to the Pub -- Using NOVA to Engage the Public through Science Cafes
Julie Benyo, WGBH Education Foundation, julie_benyo@wgbh.org Thea Sahr, WGBH Education Foundation, thea_sahr@wgbh.org
NOVA scienceNOW is a magazine-format television series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, renowned astronomer and head of the Rose Planetarium in New York. The series highlights advances in cutting-edge science, with new segments on astronomy and cosmology. As part of this new series,

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Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
NOVA has launched science cafes around the country. Held in restaurants, pubs, and bookstores, science cafes are designed to attract a younger audience (18- to 34-year-olds) who do not typically attend science events. In a typical science cafe, participants watch a clip from NOVA scienceNOW, hear a little bit more about the topic from a local scientist working in the field, and then engage in a discussion about the topic. Science cafes help make science accessible to a lay audience, foster a grassroots dialogue between the scientific community and the public, and also show how science can be engaging and fun. Session participants will view a clip from NOVA scienceNOW, explore variations on the cafe formats, and learn about resources available to support new cafe organizers. They will also have a chance to brainstorm potential community partners to launch a local cafe and how NOVA scienceNOW resources and the cafe format can enhance their own outreach efforts. URL for More Information: www.pbs. org/nova/sciencenow Session Outcomes: After attending this 30-minute session, you will learn how NOVA scienceNOW programming and outreach can support and extend your outreach efforts around Space Science. You will have the tools to develop your own science cafe.

Category: Public Outreach Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation F Spreading the Word: Online Tools and Techniques for Communicating Current Events
Sara Mitchell, NASA GSFC, saram@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Emilie Drobnes, NASA GSFC, emilie@ihy.gsfc.nasa.gov
So much information, so little time! How do you keep your audience up to date about your education and public outreach news and events? There are many methods for communicating current information efficiently and effectively through the Internet, but which ones are best for your EPO projects? This presentation will introduce and explore a variety of online tools and techniques for keeping audiences informed, and assist participants in choosing the methods that best fit their needs and resources. We will provide many examples of successful and popular online communication through blogging, e-newsletters, news feeds, podcasting, and other methods. The presentation will include demonstrations of the software and technology required for each method. We will make a detailed comparison of these tools and techniques, considering factors like audience, resources, cost, dissemination, portability, and accessibility. Using this information, participants will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and consider which methods would be most appropriate for different EPO projects and audiences. Through the demonstrations and discussions, participants will become familiar with their online communication options and gain the information necessary to implement new channels of communication for their projects. We will provide handouts about each of the discussed methods, and the presentation materials will be available online for further reference. Session Outcomes: This presentation introduces participants to a variety of online tools and techniques for keeping audiences informed about current news and events. Participants will understand the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, and will be equipped with the information to choose which will best serve their programs, audiences, or materials.

Category: Public Outreach Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Constellation E Visualizing Astronomical Discoveries for the Public
Ray Villard, Space Telescope Science Institute, villard@stsci.edu
Astronomy is preeminently a visual science. Historically, astronomical images, as well as space art, have served to entice the public about the wonders of our universe. Over the past decades there has been a surge of evocative astronomical images thanks to the NASA Great Observatories, and the new generation of large-aperture ground-based telescopes, and the emergence of sophisticated digital image processing. What's more, and the accessibility to these images across the Internet has truly brought astronomy to the masses in unprecedented ways. Parallel to this is the development of sophistical animation effects and computer graphics for imparting a new level of realism onto astronomical concepts. This talk will present some best practices and case studies for communicating astronomy though real images, illustrations and quality diagrams. What are the boundaries of image manipulation for presenting an observation in a context the public can understand? How much artistic license can an illustrator use in creating science illustrations? What are reasonable criteria for assessing if public presentation material is misleading or unacceptable? Can scientific illustrations and images be over-glamorized to make them enticing to the mass media? Many important astronomical discoveries are spectroscopic and photometric though and require the skill of an astronomical illustrator to translate the data into evocative illustrations that communicate the science. The rapidly emerging field of exoplanet detection is a classic example of the need to present exciting but non-pictorial results. This talk will also explore how spectroscopy and photometry can be visualized for the public in easy-to-understand ways. Is there an appropriate place and treatment for technical graphs and chats in public material? Session Outcomes: This session will present real-world examples of effective ways to prepare astronomical data for public understanding. It will give examples of how to integrate images, illustrations and other graphic intro a coherent package that effectively communicates and astronomical discovery. The goal to sensitize astronomy communicators to the needs of the public is understanding astronomical results.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Frederick Shouldn't We Start Choosing to Help Students Learn Rather Than Simply Providing Edutainment?
Ed Prather, University of Arizona CAPER Team, eprather@as.arizona.edu Gina Brissenden, University of Arizona CAPER Team, gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu Tim Slater, University of Arizona CAPER Team, tslater@as.arizona.edu
As a federal agency, NASA has set strategic goals that encompass sharing the excitement of space science discoveries with the public, enhancing the quality of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education, particularly at the pre-college level, and helping create the 21st century's scientific and technical workforce. Despite these goals, the most common first response from the EPO community has been to create mission-specific educational products and curriculum that promote the particular science

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Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
from an individual mission. The result has been the creation of K12 materials related to topics such as dark energy and helioseismology rather than creating materials that teachers and schools really need to support the National Science Education Standards. The participants in this session will learn how research on how people learn and on the effectiveness of educational materials can be used to create EPO products and services that actually result in measurable students learning gains. This outcome is in stark contrast to the more common practice of just packaging mission science and data into materials and events that, in hindsight, should seem inappropriate for the instructional setting in which they are used. As a result, the most common interventions created in the EPO community serve our internal need to tabulate large numbers of individuals whose lives we have impacted with NASA ideas, but are in no way actually scientifically more literate or transformed intellectually to a level of knowledge that we would all accept as demonstrating understanding. URL for More Information: http://caperteam.as.arizona.edu Session Outcomes: The participants in this session will learn how research on how people learn and on the effectiveness of educational materials can be used to create EPO products and services that actually result in measurable students learning gains.

Sunday Workshops and Panels
Time: 1:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m. Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation C NASA + Parks -- Creating Innovative E/PO Partnerships with National and State Parks
Anita Davis, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, adavis@pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov
In this lively workshop, you will have a chance to try some proven techniques of National Park Service (NPS) interpretation, gain a heightened awareness of how to work with Park cultures, and explore how you might establish your own Park partnerships. How do interpreters communicate so well? NPS Rangers will introduce you to a method to enable audiences to truly connect with your science content. You will have authentic work time to apply this methodology to your own work, and be provided with resources to further pursue this methodology. Why do interpreters interpret? We will share why the culture of State and National Parks make them uniquely valuable partners for E/PO specialists. How can you partner with Parks? Drawing upon our experience with two successful partnerships: Earth to Sky (National Park Service) and Community Cosmos (Halibut Point State Park, MA), we will share best practices for building partnerships with National and State Park communities. Participants will brainstorm ways they may develop their own partnerships with interpreters. The Earth to Sky Institutes forged an innovative partnership between NASA's Space and Earth Science disciplines and NPS. Through professional development for some of our Nation's best informal educators, and subsequent creation of exemplary interpretive products, this effort brings Space and Earth science to millions of park visitors. At the state level, NASA E/PO Brokers are working with staff at Halibut Point State Park on Cape Ann, MA where the Park provides natural resources for open inquiry and opportunities for community professional development. Session Outcomes: Participants will: explore potential connections between their E/PO programs and National and State Park audiences; get a taste of how to use National Park Service (NPS) interpretive methodology in their own work; gain heightened awareness of Park cultures and how to establish Park partnerships in their communities.

Category: Other: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Other: Software for use with all astronomical images Location: Camden/Lombard Calculating and Recording Coordinate Metadata on Press Release Astronomical Images
Linda Frattare, Space Science Telescope Institute, frattare@stsci.edu Zolt Levay, Space Science Telescope Institute, levay@stsci.edu Frank Summers, Space Science Telescope Institute, summers@stsci.edu Ellen Foster, Vassar College
The beauty and splendor of astronomical images has made an enormously positive impact with the media and public alike. As a leading provider of astronomical imagery and a major contributor of Hubble Space Telescope press release images, the outreach division of Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) recognizes the importance of making press release images compliant with virtual observatory standards for inclusion in databases and repositories. A working group has defined and evaluated the procedures for making outreach images accessible by virtual observatory applications, and more specifically, to calculate World Coordinate System (WCS) data for these images. We introduce and demonstrate software that can be used to easily and accurately transform coordinates on press release images, using reference FITS files. The resultant metadata conforms to Simple Image Access (SIA) protocol established by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance. Several hundred images from the STScI Office of Public Outreach NewsCenter database have been processed, and their coordinates and other relevant metadata are accessible through a SIA-compliant web service. Session Outcomes: Participants will see a demonstration of software that can calculate coordinate information for press release images. They will learn how to download, use, and employ this software for their own projects.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation D Their Classroom -- Your Data: Effective Classroom Inquir y Using Professional Science Data
Sheri Klug, Arizona State University/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sklug@asu.edu Don Boonstra, NASA Goddard Space Flight Facility, drboonstra@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov
Integrating NASA data into classroom-ready, teacher-friendly formats can be challenging. Participants will examine two program designs that

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
have been highly successful in bringing NASA data into the classroom to understand the key elements and best practices that have lead to their success. The Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) and the Student Observation Network (SON) were developed by educators in collaboration with dozens of scientists. They provide on-line, inquiry-based learning that allow teachers to integrate science data into the school curriculum to meet educational goals. Both programs: 1) Provide themes that promote inquiry; 2) Use essential questions tied to critical NASA research and national educational standards; 3) Allow students to develop their own questions as they proceed with the investigation; 4) Provide a theme that unites many classroom objectives that are often taught in isolation (i.e., concepts that are essential to understanding the content of the essential question are linked to the central curriculum.); 5) Teaches students to make their own observations and compare it with professional science data; and 6) 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. During this session participants will identify and articulate the elements of their own programs that can lead to a successful on-line, inquiry-based learning environment. URL for More Information: http://msip.asu.edu Session Outcomes: Participants will: 1. Understand the crucial elements of successful data-based NASA programs; 2. In working groups, use provided templates to identify the crucial elements in their own scientific programs; 3. Brainstorm and articulate the educational elements that can tie the science data to effective learning and inquiry. Session Outcomes: This session will produce a list of suggestions and requirements that will later be synthesized into a report distributed to all participants. The session and report will benefit participants and presenters by building a community that thinks about science data in education, and by synthesizing understandings of that community.

Category: Other: Evaluation Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation F Evaluating EPO Evaluations: Lessons Learned and Shared
Mar y Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, mdussault@cfa.harvard.edu Nahide Craig, University of California, Berkeley, ncraig@ssl.berkeley.edu Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, bonnie@stsci.edu Sarah Silva, Sonoma State University, sarah@universe.sonoma.edu Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute, dsmith@stsci.edu Laura Tucker, Lawrence Hall of Science/GEMS, ltucker@berkeley.edu Allyson Walker, Cornerstone Evaluation Associates, CornerEval@aol.com
In this interactive panel session participants will examine some best practices -- and hard lessons learned -- from several case-study examples of evaluation efforts by EPO programs and projects, in both formal and informal education. How do you realistically develop and define (and then measure the achievement of ) goals and objectives for your overall EPO program? How can you assess the effectiveness of your teacher professional development projects? What are appropriate measures of success for an informal education project -- an exhibit, or a planetarium show? How can small EPO projects with limited resources conduct useful, yet cost-effective evaluations? The panelists won't have ALL the answers, but they WILL share their evaluation strategies and challenges, and even answer the question: "what things did NOT work?" Participants will have opportunities to review and discuss a number of different examples of methods for measuring project outcomes, including written surveys, questionnaires, interviews, analysis of documentary and statistical data; and pre- and post-testing. Case-study examples will include an overview of program evaluation from the Space Telescope Science Institute; formative and impact evaluations from a partnership between the THEMIS SunEarth Connection EPO mission and Lawrence Hall of Science/GEMS to support teacher professional development; evaluation approaches from Sonoma State University's planetarium show and teacher professional development EPO projects; and strategies used to assess the effectiveness of museum exhibits by the NASA-Smithsonian Universe Forum. Session facilitators include scientists and educators from these programs, as well as a few of the professional evaluators with whom they work. Session Outcomes: Participants learn about a range of evaluation strategies used in both large and small EPO projects. Participants walk away with practical solutions they can apply to their own projects' evaluation plans -- including documents describing tips, techniques, and sample evaluation instruments. Community activity outcome: strategies for sharing evaluation lessons learned.

Category: Other: Both formal and informal education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation E Data Discover y in Education: A Discussion
Jordan Raddick, The Johns Hopkins University, raddick@pha.jhu.edu Adrienne Gauthier, University of Arizona, gauthier@as.arizona.edu Julie Lutz, University of Washington, nasaerc@u.washington.edu
We will lead a highly interactive discussion focused on issues of using astronomical and planetary science data in both formal and informal education settings. Data is broadly defined to include images, spectra, or measurements recorded by scientific instruments. Our focus is not on programs that share scientific results, but on programs that make their data easily accessible and usable for instructors to facilitate scientific discovery with their learners. What are the biggest roadblocks in bringing science data into educational settings? How can instructors best be prepared to understand and use real data? What types of tasks should learners undertake? What data formats and software tools are best for the given tasks? We are interested in finding out what concepts and skills can be developed more easily with real data than with other instructional methods. What are the strengths of using real data in education? What are the possible pitfalls? We are currently conducting a literature review on the effectiveness of using data in educational settings; we will present very early results and solicit new ideas and directions. We seek reactions to all these questions, opinions on what works and what doesn't, and resulting insights into "best practices" that are still evolving in the science education community. . We invite ideas and suggestions from all conference attendees, including teachers, EPO professionals, scientists, and technical developers. After the session, we will produce a report synthesizing session results, to be distributed freely to all participants, and posted on the SDSS web site.

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Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Other: Fostering Authentic Collaborations That Uphold the Integrity of Two Worldviews -- Western Science and Indigenous Science Perspectives Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Frederick Ways of Knowing From the Sky: Indigenous and Western Astronomies -- Collaboration with Integrity
David Begay, Indigenous Education Institute, dbegay@kanaka.com Nancy Maryboy, Indigenous Education Institute, dilyehe@gmail.com Isabel Hawkins, University of California, Berkeley, isabelh@ssl.berkeley.edu Troy Cline, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, cline@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov
Humans across all cultures have venerated, observed, and studied the Sun, Moon, planets, and the stars for thousands of years. We will share a unique astronomy-based collaboration involving the Indigenous Education Institute, NASA, and UC Berkeley that has been ongoing for several years. The collaboration has sustained a successful track record because it upholds the integrity of both Western and Indigenous astronomy knowledge and research protocols, and because it honors the native languages. Working together, we have been able to identify common elements from seemingly paradoxical frameworks towards an authentic and sustained collaboration. During this workshop, participants will gain insights into knowledge and behaviors needed to establish effective collaborations between groups holding Indigenous worldviews and groups holding Western worldviews. Participants will gain knowledge about Indigenous and Western research protocols, and how observation-based Navajo astronomy can be juxtaposed with Western astronomy to enhance education efforts and understanding for all audiences. As examples, we will show how seasonal changes serve as time and space keepers through the Navajo Thunderbird constellation, and share knowledge of solstices and equinoxes observed with solar markers. We will springboard into NASA's Sun-Earth Connection through the important topic of seasonal and other cycles, highlighting the dynamic nature of our nearest star, which is responsible for space weather effects that influence our world of technology. We will discuss future collaborative possibilities between Western and Indigenous science and share products and programs that we conduct in partnership to engage all audiences in the wonder, complexity, and beauty of our Universe. Session Outcomes: Participants will gain insights into knowledge and behaviors needed for effective collaborations between groups holding Indigenous worldviews and groups holding Western worldviews. As a specific example, participants will gain knowledge about how observationbased Navajo astronomy can be juxtaposed with Western astronomy to enhance education efforts and understanding for all audiences.

Category: Both Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Camden/Lombard Translating Research Into Education: Weird Tales and Lessons Learned from the Project ASTRO National Network
Dan Zevin, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, dzevin@astrosociety.org Wil van der Veen, New Jersey Astronomy Center for Education at Raritan Valley Community College, wvanderv@raritanval.edu Connie Walker, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, cwalker@noao.edu Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College/Astronomical Society of the Pacific, fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu Janice Harvey, Gemini Observatory, jharvey@gemini.edu Suzanne Gurton, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, sgurton@astrosociety.org Vivian White, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vwhite@astrosociety.org Larr y Cooper, NASA, Larry.P.Cooper@nasa.gov
Say you've just been handed $50,000 to develop an education program for Girl Scouts that explains the importance of hunting for brown dwarfs, but you still can't convince your own daughter that your work has nothing to do with a new episode of Lord of the Rings. Developing education programs that aim to promote/explain new missions and science research can be a daunting task when the target audience is astronomically challenged. Nevertheless, EPO programs are now common components to the work of astronomy/space researchers, and funds funneled through their projects regularly support and provide opportunities to those of us in the EPO field. Over the last decade, the Project ASTRO National Network, a consortium of 15 science education institutions, has created over 2,000 astronomerteacher partnerships that have engaged over 175,000 students in handson learning activities, as well as thousands of family and community members through the Family ASTRO program. The Network's success has resulted in it becoming a natural partner in several EPO projects. Members of the Network will share with participants lessons learned from some of their more challenging (and memorable!) EPO ventures. Participants will then break into small groups to tackle some real and some hypothetical EPO undertakings using suggested best practices. For example, is chaos theory of orbital trajectories going to help teachers address K12 science standards? Come to this session to find out. A final Q&A and discussion with our successful award recipients will focus on what's keeping you from applying for that next grant! URL for More Information: http://www. astrosociety.org/education/astro/project_astro.html Session Outcomes: Connecting education needs to science research using existing resources is key to a successful EPO program. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to "work backward" to address the needs of their target audience while still achieving the objective of promoting/ explaining a new mission or research program.

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday PM Clinic Sessions
Time: 3:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Category: Other: The Use of Scientific Visualizations in All Forms of Astronomy Education and Outreach Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation C Using Cutting-Edge Scientific Visualizations in Astronomy Education: Not Just for Techies Anymore!
Rachel Connolly, American Museum of Natural History, connolly@amnh.org Ryan Wyatt, American Museum of Natural History, wyatt@amnh.org Laura Danly, American Museum of Natural History, ldanly@amnh.org
Visualizations of 3-D models and real data bring the Universe to life for audiences in an immediate and personal way. Computer-generated visuals can now depict current astronomical discoveries with unprecedented fidelity, placing complex concepts within reach and communicating the excitement of discovery and exploration to a wide range of ages. Since 1998, AMNH has mapped three-dimensional data groups ranging in scale from the solar neighborhood to the large-scale structure of the Universe: this "Digital Universe" provides the foundation for much of our visualization work. We will present selected visualizations from several sources: AstroViz selections from the American Museum of Natural History's Science Bulletins (http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org/astro/), "Cosmic Collisions" planetarium show (http://www.amnh.org/rose/spaceshow/cosmic/), and real-time Digital Universe applications (http://www.haydenplanetarium. org/universe/). This presentation will provide participants with a collection of currently available astronomical visualizations as well as best-practice teaching strategies for using them to support inquiry-based learning. Strategies for their use include scaffolding with authentic activities, using real-world observations, creating opportunities for questioning and the reporting of findings. URL for More Information: http://www. haydenplanetarium.org/universe Session Outcomes: Participants will gain an understanding of how visualizations add a new dimension to teaching and outreach. But more important than simply the presence of technology in the classroom is its implementation, and participants will also gain methods for using visualizations effectively to support project-based learning and inquiry.

Category: Other: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Aspects Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Constellation D The Sun-Earth Day Model -- Bringing NASA Studies of the Sun and Its Impact on Earth to Formal and Informal Audiences Internationally -- Strategies, Contents, Effects and Applications for I*Y
Carolyn Ng, NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum/ GSFC, cang@pop600.gsfc.nasa.gov Elaine Lewis, NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum/ GSFC, lewis@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov Troy Cline, NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum/GSFC, cline@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov Isabel Hawkins, NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum/ UC Berkeley, isabelh@ssl.berkeley.edu
Many organizations are involved in the international years to promote astronomy and other sciences. This session will engage audiences by using a scenario for planning and developing an international program that leverages partnerships and sustains impacts. Using Sun-Earth Day as a model, audiences will develop a theme, engage in a group discussion according to user needs, and compare their recommendations to the best practices of Sun-Earth Days. They will also hear the evaluation results conducted for the 2006 Eclipse. Sun-Earth Day is a celebration of the Sun and its effects on Earth and other planets around the spring equinox. From a discussion with Sun-Earth Connection mission scientists and E/ PO leads in 2000 emerged a national event that energizes and coordinates the efforts of space science missions, Forums, Broker/Facilitators, as well as NASA Centers, Explorer Schools, Solar System Ambassadors and other NASA programs. This event spawns educational programs in classrooms, museums, and other venues nationally and internationally. It develops and gathers a wide range of resources on the year's theme, including websites, kits, videos, webcasts and podcasts. Through Sun-Earth Day celebrations we build up the capacity of millions of educators and students on SunEarth Connection sciences and space weather. Based on the lessons learned from the Sun-Earth Day program, users may be able to apply the model to their plans to communicate science discoveries to a wide user community. URL for More Information: http://sunearthday.nasa.gov Session Outcomes: Audiences will learn about strategies, content, results and evaluation of Sun-Earth Days. They will be able to apply this model to I*Y or any collaborations to communicate science results internationally.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation E The Scientist-Educator Partnership in EPO
Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute, bonnie@stsci.edu Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute, summers@stsci.edu
Creating effective EPO programs requires the involvement of both scientists

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Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
and educators. However, instead of treating them as separate disciplines, the best results arise when an educator and a scientist working in tandem toward a common goal. While each team member is expert in their field, they both must learn enough of each other's domain to discuss, appreciate, and respect the viewpoint and constraints each discipline imposes. A scientist who dismisses the educational viewpoint is committing just as egregious an error as an educator who minimizes a scientific finding. A true partnership exists when ideas are shared, each partner's expertise is respected, and both are active collaborators in working to deliver the best products and services to the EPO community. This session will present strategies that have been developed for establishing and utilizing effective scientist/educator partnerships, as well as the benefits of such partnerships. We will explore the product development cycle and identify appropriate roles and responsibilities for each team member. We will highlight best practices to employ as well as common mistakes to avoid. Highlights of the Amazing Space Formal Education Program educator/scientist partnerships will be presented. Session Outcomes: Session participants will learn best practices for integrating scientists and educators together on EPO projects. They will understand the expertise and responsibilities of each party involved at each stage of product development. They also will be able to identify and avoid several common mistakes.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Frederick Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Integrating Best Practices in Inquir y-based Instruction into Astronomy EPO Experiences
Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State University, larsen@ccsu.edu Marsha Bednarski, Central Connecticut State University, bednarskim@ccsu.edu
National Science Education Standards support the use of inquiry-based instruction in the classroom (National Research Council, 1996, 2000). In order for teachers to implement inquiry, they need to be well-versed with, and immersed in it themselves. This provides a natural role for the practicing amateur and professional astronomer. Earth Science / astronomy strands for K12 teachers in the standards include: Objects in the sky, Earth in the solar system, and origin and evolution of the universe. These are very broad topics which leave teachers scrambling to determine how to choose activities that best address the standards. Despite a wealth of activities teachers can use with students, many are more cookbook and lecture than inquiry. This session will present an overview of inquirybased instruction: what it is, how activities can be revised and presented in an inquiry fashion, how to work with teachers with inquiry activities to promote student learning, and how to assess and evaluate student achievement using an inquiry approach. In addition, this workshop will look at the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and provide the astronomy EPO practitioner with the tools they require to determine the best activities to use with teachers and students to meet the inquiry and Earth Science standards put forth by the NRC. Session Outcomes: After participating in this 90-minute workshop, astronomy EPO practitioners will be able to work with K12 educators (and in public outreach settings) to develop content-rich, inquiry-based activities aligned with National Science Education Standards, and assess the success of such activities (as commonly expected by school boards and granting agencies).

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation F International Toys in Space: Discover How Familiar Miniature Mechanical Systems Behave in Microgravity -- From Playing Soccer and Basketball to Yo-Yos, Boomerangs, and Jump Ropes!
Carolyn Sumners, Houston Museum of Natural Science, csumners@hmns.org Patricia Reiff, Rice University, reiff@rice.edu
On April 12, 1985, the Space Shuttle Discovery carried the first 11 toys into orbit. The STS-54 mission in January 1993 returned some of these toys and added 29 more to the Toys in Space program. The STS-77 mission in May 1996 returned 10 of the STS-54 toys that had not been tested in space. In 2002, the Expedition 5 crew tested 16 international toys and sports on the International Space Station where there was more room for experiments with toys and sports. For all four missions, astronauts also carried along the questions of curious children, teachers, and parents who had suggested toy experiments and predicted possible results. A few dozen toys and a few hours of the astronauts' free time have brought the experience of freefall and an understanding of gravity's pull to students of all ages. This handson presentation shows how to engage students in team problem solving as they experiment with toys and games and then predict how each will perform in microgravity. The presenter is Project Director for the Toys in Space program at the Johnson Space Center. Session Outcomes: Participants will learn how to use small mechanical toys and games to predict the effects of microgravity.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Camden/Lombard Project Quiet Skies: Introducing Radio Astronomy Through an Inquir y-based Activity to Measure RFI
Sue Ann Heatherly, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, sheather@nrao.edu Ron Maddalena, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, rmaddale@nrao.edu
"Radio Astronomy? Isn't that when you listen for aliens?" Even though radio astronomy is the observational birthplace of neutron stars, black holes, and the big bang, it is a neglected topic in informal education settings. Why? It is a subject prone to misconceptions; it's not a "directly" visual discipline; it is hard to demonstrate; and there is little in the way of inexpensive amateurlevel equipment. Dr. Ron Maddalena (scientist) and Sue Ann Heatherly (educator) from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, hope to

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Sunday, September 17, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
change all that with Project "Quiet Skies". The Quiet Skies project aims to introduce students and the public to radio astronomy through an inquiry based research project to measure radio frequency interference (RFI). The project, funded by the NASA IDEAS program, was developed for use in the classroom. The core of the project is a set of hand-held RFI detectors that will be loaned to schools. In addition, we believe the activities and detectors can be adapted for use in museums and other informal venues. During the course of this session, we will immerse participants in Quiet Skies activities, including the use of our portable RFI detectors. Those who participate will be asked to critique the materials and activities, and offer suggestions on how best to transfer the project to an informal education setting. Participants will also be eligible for our Quiet Skies loan program. URL for More Information: http://www.gb.nrao.edu/epo/ideas/index.html Session Outcomes: Participants will learn radio astronomy content, how to implement radio astronomy activities, and help the authors determine best practices for implementing Project Quiet Skies in informal settings. Let other educators around the world benefit from your poster or oral session at this meeting. Consider writing up your work for

ASTRONOMY EDUCATION REVIEW
A Lively Electronic Compendium of Research, News, Resources, and Opinion

on the web at: http://aer.noao.edu Astronomy Education Review encourages submissions in any area of astronomy and space science education. All papers are refereed and must fit with our published guidelines. The journal/newsletter has the following sections: Research and Applications: includes review articles and refereed papers on research in astronomy education, along with ideas about how to apply results of such research in "real life." Innovations: features short reports on innovative techniques, approaches, activities, and materials. These reports should convey the essence of the innovation and include ways that interested readers can learn more. Resources: presents annotated lists of useful resources for any branch or arena of astronomy or space science education. Commentary: includes opinion pieces on issues of interest (in the form of op-ed articles) Reviews: describes, evaluates, and occasionally publishes excerpts from books and other materials of interest to educators at all levels. Opportunities: has short announcements of funding sources, cooperative projects, employment (please include only jobs that are 50% or more education), workshops and symposia, etc. In most cases, such announcements are 12 paragraphs, with a web link for further information.
AER receives about 250,000 web hits a month. For more information and submission instructions, consult the web site, or see the editors, Sidney Wolff and Andrew Fraknoi, who are here at the conference.

Sunday PM Plenary Session
Time: 4:10 p.m. 5:10 p.m. Location: Constellation B NOVA: A Case Study in Presenting Science Via the Mass Media
Paula Apsell, Senior Executive Producer, NOVA WGBH Public Television, psa@wgbh.org
Now in its 34th season with 25 million monthly viewers, NOVA is the most popular science series on American television. Paula S. Apsell has led the series as Executive Producer since 1984 and continues to guide the program in today's competitive, multimedia environment. In this presentation she will discuss NOVA's strategies for success and the struggle to reinvent NOVA's style for new audiences while maintaining its acclaimed scientific integrity.

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Monday, September 18, 2006 · Posters
Monday AM Plenary Session
Time: 8:30 a.m. 9:45 a.m. Location: Constellation B Gazing at Tomorrow's Stars: Preparing NASA and the Nation's Future Workforce
James Stofan, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Education Programs, NASA Office of Education, james.stofan-2@nasa.gov
For nearly 50 years, NASA's journeys into air and space have deepened humankind's understanding of the universe, advanced technology breakthroughs, enhanced air travel safety and security, and expanded the frontiers of scientific research. These accomplishments share a common genesis: education. Each time a child gazes at the stars, they are connected to that legacy. Though they may be peering back in time, they are being inspired toward their future -- a future of exploration that depends on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics competencies. Education and public outreach professionals are critical to achieving this future. In 2006 and beyond, NASA will continue the Agency's tradition of investing in the Nation's education programs and supporting the country's educators who play a key role in preparing, inspiring, exciting, encouraging, and nurturing the young minds of today who will manage and lead the Nation's laboratories and research centers of tomorrow. to each other? How do we reach the broader community? Unlike the hundreds of amateur and school astronomy clubs, there are no meteorite clubs. While one can point out the wonders of the night sky and what can be seen through a telescope at star parties, there is no such thing as school meteorite hunting parties. The meteorite and astronomy communities working together can bring the excitement of meteorites and the science behind these fascinating objects to teachers, students, and museum and planetarium staff. We will present Ideas for accomplishing this. URL for More Information: http:// meteoritemag.uark.edu

MN02 Planets in Motion: Metaphor Development as a New Approach to Education and Public Outreach Practices
Patrice Fay, Museum of Texas Tech University, patrice.m.fay@ttu.edu
The education and public outreach (EPO) profession engages its various members in different ways: national and local conferences, regional workshops, scholarly research and studies on education and public outreach, and distribution of program materials and ideas through the Internet and on computer disks. This 30-minute oral session seeks to engage the EPO professional in a new way by approaching the practice of education and public outreach from a new, qualitative research perspective, specifically that of metaphor development. Metaphor development as a qualitative research tool has been utilized in such research areas as: general education practices (Gigliotti, 1998); mathematics education (Droujkova, M. A. 2004); women in physics and astronomy careers (Bagenal, 2004); museum research (Economou, 1998; Hall, et al, 2002; Soren, 2004; MacDonald and Aslford, 1991); and in planetarium show production (Fisher et al, 2002). This poster expands beyond these fields to explore qualitative research metaphor development within the informal education environment, specifically to astronomy education and public outreach efforts. The education and public outreach efforts of the Museum of Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, will be highlighted in one particular astronomy metaphor. As applied to the practice of astronomy education and public outreach in an informal museum environment, the use of qualitative metaphor development will reveal the unique education and public outreach experiences of the Moody Planetarium at the Museum of Texas Tech University.

Monday Poster Session
Time: 7:45 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Poster Location: Atrium Lobby/Harborview 9:45 a.m. Oral Overview Constellation B
Poster 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 Constellation B. Posters are changed each day and are available from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. in the Atrium Lobby/Harborview.

MN01 Public Outreach with Meteorite Magazine
Larry Lebofsky, University of Arizona, lebofsky@lpl.arizona.edu Hazel Sears, University of Arkansas, metpub@uark.edu Nancy Lebofsky, The Science Center of Inquiry, lebofsky@comcast.net Derek Sears, University of Arkansas, dsears@uark.edu
In late 2005, Derek and Hazel Sears and Larry and Nancy Lebofsky took over the publishing and editing of Meteorite magazine. We saw a great educational potential for the magazine. With a circulation over 600, the magazine reaches a broad readership: meteorite scientists, hunters, collectors, and enthusiasts. Unlike the professional journal of the Meteoritical Society, Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences, the articles in Meteorite range from scientific articles, reports from meteorite shows, and how to preserve meteorites to stories about searching for meteorites around the world. Meteorites are of interest to people. Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites are in many states' science standards. Yet, how many museums have meteorite collections with staff who know little about them? How many amateur astronomers, when seeing meteors or meteor showers, can explain how asteroids, comets, meteors, and meteorites are related and what they tell us about the formation of our Solar System? How many meteorite collectors are knowledgeable about how these objects are related
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MN03 The CNO Cycle Card Game
Suzanne Coshow, University of Notre Dame/JINA, scoshow@nd.edu Zachar y Constan, Michigan State University/NSCL, constanz@msu.edu Chris D'Andrea, University of Notre Dame, christopher.dandrea@gmail.com
The CNO Cycle Card Game is an innovative and fun way to learn the CNO cycle -- that is, the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen reaction cycle, which occurs in stellar burning. Playing like speed solitaire, players of any age use custom designed decks of 45 cards each to build reaction piles. Points are scored when cards are played onto the reaction piles and the winner is determined by who gets the most points. A limited number of CNO card game decks will be available at the meeting. The project was designed and developed by a graduate student, thus highlighting the potential innovation and creativity one can find in the labs, offices and hallways of their university, observatory or research center. URL for More Information: www.JINAweb.org

Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Monday, September 18, 2006 · Posters
MN04 Know Your Audience: Y U
Thomas Foster, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, tfoster@siue.edu
For any educational or outreach endeavor to succeed, those doing the educating must understand their audience. Today that audience is the Millennium Generation (formally Generation Y) and they are a generation very different from ours. Born between 1981 and 2000, the Millennials are 76 million realistic and tech-savvy students and new workers who are out to save the world. If you are designing your curricula to Gen X or earlier, you are missing your audience. of the teacher. The simplicity of the framework appeals to those students (and teachers) who may be "turned off " to physics because they feel it is complicated. The framework may be adjusted to more or less sophisticated audiences by adding or leaving out more references to mathematics (the demonstrations need not be changed). URL for More Information: http:// uw.physics.wisc.edu/~wonders

MN07 A Science and Engineering Expo for 1000 Middle School Students at Princeton University
Daniel Steinberg, Princeton University, dsteinbe@princeton.edu
One day each spring semester for the past three years Princeton University turns itself into a "science center" for 1000 middle school students where scientists and engineers share their enthusiasm for their research with the young students using hands-on activities. Princeton University Center for Complex Materials (PCCM) Outreach Director, Dr. Daniel Steinberg, in collaboration with Dr. Ann Sliski of the Molecular Biology department, Dr. Kathryn Wagner of the Chemistry Department and other Princeton University outreach programs created the Science and Engineering Expo at Princeton University (SEE Princeton) in 2004. Included in the expo are scientists from Engineering, Physics, Astronomy, Earth Science, Chemistry and Molecular Biology. Local industrial partners participated along with volunteers from the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton including NASA ambassador Ken Kremer, and volunteers from the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. The middle school students from all over central New Jersey come to Princeton University for the day to experience auditorium demonstrations and hands-on exploration stations with the real science and engineering at Princeton University. Over 50 PCCM & PRISM scientists and engineers have participated in SEE in the last three years. Our goals are to have Princeton University scientists and engineers teach the students and to re-energize the students excitement for science and engineering before entering High School. In addition, to SEE, PCCM and PRISM conduct a number of outreach programs such as P.U.M.A., Teacher Mini-Camp, REU, RET, etc. URL for More Information: http://www.princeton.edu/~pccm/outreach/seeprinceton.htm

MN05 Visualizing the Milky Way Galaxy -- Disk Model and Panoramic Model
Kumiko Usuda, Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, kumiko@subaru.naoj.org
Everybody knows the Solar System. However, few people know what a galaxy is or the fact that we live in the disk of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. I made two models to visualize the Galaxy -- a disk model and a panoramic model. (1) Disk Model with a sturdy board (for the disk) and a styrofoam ball (for the Bulge). Using real data of star forming regions (HII regions) with their Galactic longitudes and distances from the Sun, students plot 56 objects. During this procedure (though it is a hard work!) students will learn how astronomers drew the map of the Milky Way disk from the inside. The plotted objects indicate the spiral arms and students draw arms as they see them. This activity is for intermediate school students and they may need 45 60 minutes. (2) Panoramic Model with Milky Way Charts. I made panoramic charts of molecular gas (carbon monoxide radio data) with some popular stars, star forming regions (HII regions), planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants. Students combine all charts and make a cylinder by taping the combined charts end to end. This model helps students to understand the fact that we live in the Milky Way disk and see the disk from the inside. This activity is easy and suitable for students at any grade. You can download instructions and charts (for the panoramic model) at: http://www.naoj.org/staff/kumiko/MilkyWay/milkyway.html. URL for More Information: http://www.naoj.org/staff/kumiko

MN08 Gemini's Diverse Partnership in Formal and Informal Science Education
Janice Harvey, Gemini Observatory, jharvey@gemini.edu Peter Michaud, Gemini Observatory, pmichaud@gemini.edu
Gemini's unique outreach program has included partnering with other observatories on Mauna Kea, the new Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hawaii State Department of Education and the media. Gemini's Education and Outreach office has developed unique programs to provide astronomy and science education and information in both formal and informal settings. Journey through the Universe, Gemini's Hawaii Family Astro and StarLab Programs at Imiloa, planetarium resources, a CD-Rom based virtual tour as well as our local media publication, Stars Over Mauna Kea II, will be highlighted.

MN06 The Wonders of Physics: Encouraging People to Wonder About Physics
Jim Reardon, University of Wisconsin, jcreardon@wisc.edu
I will present a distillation of the lessons learned through experience with the Wonders of Physics Traveling Show, an informal "engage and excite" physics outreach program that targets middle school and younger students (and their teachers), as well as present some of the demonstrations used in the show. Foremost among the lessons learned is the need for a simple intellectual framework around which the demonstrations can be organized, a framework which allows both the audience members to feel that they already possess significant physics knowledge (which they generally do), and the presenter to stress the tendency towards unity of physics knowledge (understanding one demonstrations confers insight into other, seemingly unrelated demonstrations). This framework may be stated in words as follows: physics is the study of motion; everyone who knows how to move is already an expert (in some sense) in motion; heat, sound, light, electricity, and magnetism are all different forms of motion; therefore (for example) motion can be converted into heat, or magnetism into sound, and so on. The demonstrations necessary to display this framework are inexpensive and allow infinite substitutions, according to the preferences

MN09 Outreach at the Palomar Observator y
Scott Kardel, Palomar Observatory/Caltech, wsk@astro.caltech.edu
Since even before the 200-inch telescope was completed the Palomar Observatory has attracted and continues to attract many tens of thousands of visitors annually. Outreach began at the observatory with the construction of a visitor center in 1940. Exhibits of astronomical photographs were added in the early 1950s during the photographic survey

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Monday, September 18, 2006 · Posters
years. In 2003 we began a vigorous new outreach program for our many visitors. This program includes new exhibits on the telescopes, modern astronomical research, and recent discoveries. Expanded public tours, docent-led activities, science and technical screenings and the creation of the Friends of Palomar Observatory organization are other new additions to the outreach program. The observatory continues as a world-class center of astronomical research. Facilities on the mountain include the Hale 200-inch, the Palomar Testbed Interferometer, and the robotic 60inch, 48-inch, 24-inch and Snoop telescopes, together with the historic 18inch telescope. Palomar astronomers continue to make discoveries, such as the "tenth planet," that are very much in the public eye. Additionally, the outreach efforts work to increase public awareness of light pollution and its effect on the observatory, An overview of the Palomar Observatory's new outreach programs, including their growing pains, will be presented. URL for More Information: http://www.palomar-observatory.org www.AstronomyCanada.ca to provide high-quality images, graphics, and information about Canadian astronomy for the mass media, for planetariums and science centres, and for professional and amateur astronomers who present astronomy to the public. Also: among other things, the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada (HIA-NRC) has developed a visitor centre at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria BC. CASCA and HIA-NRC work in partnership with the rest of the astronomical community, including the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the Federation des astronomes amateurs du Quebec (both of whose members come from all walks of life), the planetariums and science centres, and teachers and other educators. We thank the Ontario Youth Science Awareness Program, the NSERC PromoScience Program, CASCA, and HIA-NRC for their support.

MN12 Building an Effective Astronomical Outreach
Max Corneau, self/JPL, MaxIPTer@aol.com
This presentation resulted from a critical self-analysis of my own public outreach. I have been a JPL Solar System Ambassador since 2004, a military space operations officer, amateur astronomer, and space columnist. This discussion focuses on three outreach levels. Level I, core presentations involve teaching school age children in the classroom. These presentations directly support my personal mission statement: To educate and inspire young people to understand, study, and undertake a career in space. Secondary outreach involves presenting space to the general public through public venues. These events are generally ad hoc and less outcome-focused but can nevertheless be used as an inspirational tool. Finally, presentations to fellow amateur astronomers already involved in space serves to further the hobby and other outreach. This presentation is an example of a level III outreach. URL for More Information: www.geocities.com/astrodad32

MN10 Combining Strengths: When Facilities Collaborate, EPO Wins
Sharon Shanks, Youngstown State University, slshanks@ysu.edu
The Mahoning Cultural Collaborative is a relatively new organization in the Mahoning Valley (Youngstown, Ohio). Formed in 2000, it is composed of the local non-profit institutions that are field trip destinations for many area schools. These eight very different organizations have been able to successfully set aside ego to organize and work together under the philosophy that "singly, we can do our jobs, but by combining our strengths, talents, and resources, we can do our jobs even better and impact the maximum number of people." The MCC has sponsored three successful "Summer Passport" programs designed to attract local residents over the summer. In pairs and in larger groups, members have offered evenings of "wine and history" and "the art of winemaking," and a hugely popular three-month program that combined astronomy and art tied to an exhibit by Astronaut/Artist Alan Bean. It is most proud of its current project: an exhaustive teacher's field trip guide that includes all of its facilities. The poster presentation also will include things that worked -- and didn't work -- for the collaborative and ideas for future collaboration.

MN13 Lessons Learned from the `NASA and the Navajo Nation' Project
Jessie Antonellis, University of Arizona, jcantone@email.arizona.edu Daniella Scalice, NASA Astrobiology Institute, dscalice@mail.arc.nasa.gov Sheri Klug, Arizona State University Mars Education Program, sklug@asu.edu Barbara Laval, UCLA Center for Astrobiology, blaval@ucla.edu
This poster presentation will describe the understandings acquired by the `NASA and the Navajo Nation' project team about collaborating with a Native Nation to develop educational materials for Native youth and communities. `NASA and the Navajo Nation' was a 2005 NASA Explorer Institute project that aimed to create a working collaboration between NASA and Navajo educators to draft, field test, finalize, and deliver informal educational materials, as well as an educational model that would best reach Navajo youth living on the reservation. This project was led by the NASA Astrobiology Institute in partnership with the Arizona State University Mars Education Program, the UCLA Center for Astrobiology, University of Arizona's Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research Team, ArtReach Studios, and the NASA Ames Office of Education. The lessons learned from this project include considerations for project team members, for creating a project timeline, for developing cultural competence, and for ensuring that the project's goals align with the Nation's goals. This poster session will include an invitation to E/ PO professionals to consider and discuss their expectations about, and strategies for, working with Native communities and developing culturally responsive science education materials.

MN11 Canadian Astronomy E/PO: Challenges, Strategies, Successes
John Percy, University of Toronto, jpercy@utm.utoronto.ca Dennis R. Crabtree, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Dennis.Crabtree@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Jayanne English, University of Manitoba, english@physics.umanitoba.ca James E. Hesser, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, James.Hesser@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Science E/PO is organized and supported quite differently in Canada than in the US. In this poster, we will highlight and reflect upon the differences, and describe a series of E/PO initiatives that the Canadian astronomical community has recently undertaken. In 1999, the community developed a Long-Range Plan for Canadian Astronomy, which included E/PO goals that built upon existing interest and activity at both the local and national level. The Canadian Astronomical Society -- CASCA, the association of professional astronomers in Canada -- developed an education website www.cascaeducation.ca, whose first priority was to support teachers. Astronomy is now a compulsory topic in the school science curriculum in most provinces, and few teachers have any background in astronomy or astronomy teaching. CASCA is now commencing to develop a website
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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Monday, September 18, 2006 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
MN14 Exhibit Development With Teachers, Undergraduates, Scientists, and ISE Professionals
Sara Schultz, University of South Carolina, schultz@physics.sc.edu Matthew Craig, Minnesota State University Moorhead, mcraig@mnstate.edu
A small museum exhibit on dark matter was developed in a collaboration of undergraduate students, middle and high school teachers, and physics faculty and science museum staff. The exhibit was constructed over one year, which included the development and circulation to local schools of the resulting exhibit panels and hands-on pieces. The dark matter exhibit was part of a larger project that included exhibits on probability and on optics. We will be presenting the process used to develop these exhibits designed for use in a classroom or other small setting. The materials are free for use by others, and the full set of materials is available on the project website. Funding for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-0120960. URL for More Information: http://ipse.mnstate.edu

Monday AM Clinic Sessions
Time: 11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Baltimore "What Can Science Do for Me?" Strategies to Engage High-School-Age Youth in Out-of-School Time
Mark Hartman, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, mhartman@space.mit.edu Irene Porro, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, iporro@mit.edu
The MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI) EPO office implements a multiple-tier approach to science education in outof-school time specifically for youth underrepresented in STEM. Many out-of-school efforts focus on developing and maintaining middle school students' interest in science. However, there are few effective out-of-school programs that engage high school students, once their interest has been captured. Typically, students at this age are seeking a chance to belong to a group, while simultaneously attempting to develop their own identity. They are also looking for opportunities to develop employable and transferable skills. We show how we can engage underrepresented highschool youth by fostering the same skills that characterize the dynamics of a scientific community: collaboration, model building, argumentation and communication. To foster youth development of these skills, we immerse students in an authentic, self-contained scientific community, with the goal of enabling them to complete a year-long investigative project in x-ray astronomy. We present data for how well this strategy has worked for the Chandra Astrophysics Institute, the capstone experience of the MKI EPO pathway for science in out-of-school time, and other similar programs. In addition, we elicit ideas from the session participants about how they could include elements of this strategy in their own programs. URL for More Information: http://space.mit.edu/EPO Session Outcomes: Participants will be able to identify aspects of doing authentic science that are relevant to an audience of high school students: collaboration, model building, argumentation, and communication. Participants will brainstorm ways to introduce or strengthen these aspects in their own programs to make them more attractive/effective for this audience.

MN15 Astronomy Education with Interactive Resources: Simulations and Global Telescope/Camera Networks
Kaoru Kimura, Japan Science Foundation, kaoru@jsf.or.jp Takehiko Satoh, Kumamoto University, satoh@educkrk21.educ.kumamoto-u.ac.jp Vivian Hoette, University of Chicago Yerkes Observatory, vhoette@yerkes.uchicago.edu Toshikazu Ebisuzaki, RIKEN Institute, ebisu@riken.jp
The Science Museum, Tokyo acts as go-between of advanced sciences and the general public through international collaborations with institutes, universities, and K12 projects. One notable activity of the Science Museum is the science live show "UNIVERSE" initiated in 1996 with RIKEN. "UNIVERSE" invites an active astronomer every Saturday afternoon, and he/she presents, using simulations, the latest science to the audience. RIKEN, co-hosting "UNIVERSE", provides state-of-theart simulations that greatly help the audience to understand up-to-date sciences. "UNIVERSE" also features "live observing" of night sky utilizing time differences, mostly from the Yerkes Observatory through the collaboration with Hands-On Universe (HOU). Real-time sky watching is an effective way of fascinating people in astronomy and is proven to work at school classes as well. Such "sky watching" tools, global telescope/camera networks for astronomy education, have been developed by HOU, RIKEN, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Kumamoto University. There are two categories of such networks: one type may be called "image request & acquisition system" as employed in HOU Program. Requests are queued and scheduled to efficiently utilize the robotic telescopes. Users subsequently receive the data. Another type is "interactive & real-time viewing system" which combines an interactive I/F with live streaming of what is seen through a telescope or a wide-field camera. A user can interactively point the instrument to a desired position in the sky and enjoy watching the object. Such networks and contents of "UNIVERSE" altogether provide teachers, planetarians and educators wider options for attractive and effective teaching of astronomy. URL for More Information: http://rika.educ.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/i-CAN

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Monday, September 18, 2006 · 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Constellation C CSI: Moon and Mars; Chromatic Science Investigations Reveal Planetar y Compositions
Cassandra Runyon, College of Charleston / SERCH, runyonc@cofc.edu Jaclyn Allen, NASA Johnson Space Center, jaclyn.allen-1@jsc.nasa.gov Michelle Viotti, JPL, Michelle.A.Viotti@jpl.nasa.gov Stephanie Shipp, Lunar & Planetary Institute, shipp@lpi.usra.edu Sheri Klug, Arizona State University, sklug@asu.edu Cyndi Atkinson, College of Charleston / SERCH, atkinsonc@cofc.edu
Have you ever wondered what another planet's surface is made of, why it looks the way it does, or how it formed? Is the gray Moon similar to red Mars? Surface mineralogy, weathering products and geologic processes are all clues to a planet's formation and evolution. Spectroscopy and remote sensing are two tools that help scientists detect and decipher compositional clues and mineral distribution across a planet's surface. Impact craters and volcanic craters and calderas provide natural windows into the interior of planets adding further clues to a geoscientist's database. Using current mission science and technology from current missions, Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M^3) /Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Public Engagement Program, we will explore some these geo-clues to decipher the similarities and differences between the surface compositions of the Moon and Mars. Hands-on inquiry-based activities will include comparing the spectra of lunar and mars soil simulants and rock samples; investigating the processes that created the surface different materials, and mapping their distribution. Have fun -- come explore the Moon and Mars! Session Outcomes: Participants will: 1) Understand the role of spectroscopy in planetary science and how it is used to identify and distinguish planetary surface mineral compositions, 2) Understand the relationship between spectral data, rock and mineral samples and the geologic history of a planetary surface, 3) Gain experience working with a hand-held spectrometer and lunar and mars soil simulants. the primary goal of building a "community of practice." Evaluation results strongly suggest that this authentic community of practice model has been effective in improving instructional practices in settings where instructors feel isolated from their professional peers. The Center's major effort is to provide multi-tiered 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, called ASTROLRNER. The dynamic CAE website also provides an updated "Teaching Strategy of the Month." The unique aspect which leads to the overwhelming success of the CAE program is a focus on effective "teaching and learning" strategies rather than on improving participants' understanding of mission specific science. Participants increase their knowledge of science as a byproduct of the workshops when mission specific examples are used as a vehicle to engage participants in the scholarship of teaching and learning. 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 the Spitzer Space Telescope Program. URL for More Information: http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov Session Outcomes: The participants in this session will learn how to replicate an effective model or participate in an existing infrastructure for designing pedagogically effective instructional units and supplements to NASA mission science.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Frederick How to Conduct a Student Balloon Payload Program
Terry Teays, Maryland Space Grant Consortium, teays@pha.jhu.edu Balloon Payload Project Team, Maryland Space Grant Consortium
We will discuss our experiences with developing and operating a student Balloon Payload Project. In this program university and college students design and build experiment payloads that are launched to "near-space" on weather balloons. The students attach their payloads to the balloon, launch the balloon and recover the payloads after they parachute to the ground. The students then extract their data and report their results. Altitudes of 90,000 100,000 feet are achieved on these flights, and payloads with cameras can easily see the curvature of the Earth and the darkening of the sky. Some of the necessary hardware for this type of project will be demonstrated, as well as the software for the flight path predictions and tracking of the balloon during launch. We will spend time discussing the practical aspects of starting and maintaining a program of this type, which are currently being run in several states. Emphasis will be on lessons learned and how to avoid some of the difficulties, as well as the very large dividends that a program like this delivers. The program is sponsored by the Maryland Space Grant Consortium and includes Carver Center for Arts & Technology (a Baltimore County high school), Hagerstown Community College, Morgan State University, and the University of Maryland College Park. URL for More Information: http://www.patkilroy.com/bpp Session Outcomes: Participants will leave with sufficient information to begin establishing their own balloon payload project.

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation D CAE: An Effective Model for Linking Mission Science to Effective Instruction
Gina Brissenden, University of Arizona CAPER Team, gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu Ed Prather, University of Arizona CAPER Team, eprather@as.arizona.edu Tim Slater, University of Arizona, tslater@as.arizona.edu W. Michael Greene, NASA Navigator EPO Program, william.m.greene@jpl.nasa.gov Michelle Thaller, NASA Spitzer EPO Program, thaller@ipac.caltech.edu
The NASA Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) is devoted to the professional development of introductory astronomy instructors, with

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Monday, September 18, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Columbia A Research Experience for High School Students at the Arecibo Observator y
Jose Alonso, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, jalonso@naic.edu
The Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Program is an effort to increase the number of Hispanics that pursue a career in the earth and space sciences. The initiative, funded by the NSF's Opportunity for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences, helped to establish an alliance between the Arecibo Observatory, the University of Puerto Rico and the Department of Education. Through this collaboration, a research experience in the areas of atmospheric and space science is provided to group of high school students, teachers, and undergraduates in the region. Participants use data gathered with the 305 m radio telescope to study space weather events and hydrogen emission from galaxies. This effort provides impacts 60 high school students, 12 teachers, and 24 undergraduates in a three year period. All participants undergo pre and post-test summative evaluation, and are surveyed in order to measure the impact of the program in respect of their academic or professional careers. In this presentation we will discuss the program highlights, making emphasis on the logistics involved in establishing the local alliance, and issues learned regarding recruitment of teachers and students. URL for More Information: www.naic.edu/aogeo Session Outcomes: Participants of this session will gather ideas regarding establishing a local alliance between a research center and the educational community. They will also be able to review strategies used for effective recruitment of minority teachers and students into the program. audience by participating in the creation of educational content. URL for More Information: http://hubblesource.stsci.edu Session Outcomes (50 words maximum): Participants will learn that the success formula for a large-scale, ongoing E/PO product can involve much more than the creation and availability of accurate, effective content, requiring attention to a wide range of "business factors" that we will describe, and they'll learn how they can participate in ViewSpace.

Monday Workshops and Panels
Time: 1:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m. Category: Other: Pre-Service Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Baltimore Building Awareness: Needs, Opportunities, and Best Practices in Pre-Service Teacher Education
Jennifer Grier, Planetary Science Institute, jgrier@psi.edu Greg Schultz, University of California, Berkeley, shultz@ssl.berkeley.edu Tim Slater, University of Arizona, tslater@as.arizona.edu Peter Holden, Wheelock College, pholden@wheelock.edu
This interactive panel session, developed by members of the Pre-Service Education Working Group (PSEWG) of NASA's EPO Support Network, will focus on building awareness of the needs of pre-service K12 teachers and the faculty and programs that prepare them. We will address the nature and scope of teacher education, how to become more involved with education faculty and pre-service teachers, and approaches for improving college science instruction to promote best practices in future K12 classrooms. Pre-service education is a critical entry point into the improvement of K12 science education. It is truly "high leverage," since effective teacher preparation positively impacts many teachers and vast numbers of students over the teacher's career. Additionally, there are needs and opportunities for enhanced teacher education that our community can effectively address. Our panel will consist of three leading teacher educators to be confirmed upon session acceptance. Panelists will briefly describe their unique and informed perspectives, in 15-minute integrated presentations. We will transition into interactive roundtable discussions, with small groups talking directly with the panelists about specific issues, and with session organizers serving as facilitators. Questions that may be addressed include: What draws people into teacher preparation programs? What is the process to become a certified teacher? How do we reach broader and more diverse numbers of potential teachers? How can we mitigate "science phobia" amongst elementary teachers? What approaches need to be different for preparing secondary science teachers? What are key areas of space science content knowledge for pre-service teachers? URL for More Information: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/score/pre_service.shtml Session Outcomes: Participants will come away with a broader awareness and understanding of (1) the needs of pre-service K12 teachers and the faculty and programs that prepare them, (2) opportunities for involvement in pre-service education by space science EPO professionals, and (3) best practices in the preparation of elementary and secondary teachers.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Annapolis ViewSpace: Lessons Learned in the Development of a Network of Continually-updated Astronomy Displays
John Stoke, Space Telescope Science Institute, stoke@stsci.edu John Godfrey, Space Telescope Science Institute, godfrey@stsci.edu Lucy Albert, Space Telescope Science Institute, lalbert@stsci.edu
Six years ago we began mailing out to planetariums some CDs (created using donated multimedia authoring software) containing some nicely designed presentations illustrating Hubble Space Telescope science discoveries. From those modest beginnings has evolved a growing network of over 100 permanent astronomy displays that receive content updates daily via the Internet, and feature presentations across a wide range of NASA space and earth science topics. Nurturing the growth and sustaining the health of this network has entailed a thousand miniature struggles as we've faced obstacles ranging from our own limitations to the ever-changing realities of our sponsor and end-users' requirements. In this presentation we will explain the guiding principles behind ViewSpace, describe elements of the "holistic business approach" that have been crucial to the program's success, and invite our E/PO colleagues to avail themselves of the ViewSpace

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Monday, September 18, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: Innovative Partnerships and Delivery Methods Location: Constellation C Educational Technology: Integrating Today's Science into Today's Classroom
Troy Cline, NASA, cline@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov Elaine Lewis, NASA, lewis@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov Bryan Stephenson, NASA, bstephenson@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov James Thieman, NASA, thieman@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
This workshop will demonstrate the integrated use of educational technology when teaching students, educators and parents about science. Throughout the workshop, participants will explore a rich variety of crossdisciplinary approaches including: podcasting (video and audio), video broadcasting, on-line WIKI journal writing, and effective communication with a web site. A significant hands-on portion of the workshop will guide participants through the process of developing `Space Weather Action Teams' where students are encouraged to create classroom-based `Space Weather Action Centers' with the capability of developing and broadcasting space weather reports. Students can choose to communicate their results using the latest technologies such as audio and video podcasting. A full demonstration of this approach will show how each action report can be developed through inexpensive video editing software. Podcasts deliver new content directly to the desktop -- without having to check on the web site for updates. We will share powerful examples of how audio and video podcasting has been used to promote existing resources offered through NASA's Sun-Earth Day program. During the workshop participants will take part in building an actual podcast that will be available to the public within hours! Finally, we will conclude the workshop by showing participants the powerful templates from the "Web Standards to the rescue" website that will provide you with the essential tools needed to build `up to date' websites. With these templates your group will have a big head start when communicating your great ideas through the web and on hand held devices. URL for More Information: http://sunearthday.nasa.gov Session Outcomes: Participants will: learn about cutting-edge technologies and how they are being integrated into today's classroom environment; obtain the resources and background research needed to move forward within the context of today's world of educational technology.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: Bringing Scientific Discoveries to Your Audiences Location: Constellation D Transforming Scientific Discoveries into Exciting Inquir y Activities Using the Virtual Design Center
Laurie Ruberg, Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker (MARSSB), lruberg@cet.edu Simon Steel, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, sjsteel@cfa.harvard.edu Katharine Perrow, Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker (MARSSB), kperrow@cet.edu Chuck Wood, Center for Educational Technologies, chuckwood@cet.edu
In this workshop, scientists and educators will use the Virtual Design Center (VDC) to explore the process of transforming scientific discoveries into exciting inquiry activities. This session will focus on offering inquiry activities in informal learning settings such as planetariums, museums, science centers, and other out-of-school environments. The guidelines provided by the VDC support educational designers in developing inquiry-based learning environments that involve the use of scientific data from research or space science missions. The VDC promotes authentic, open-ended scientific investigations in which team research is emphasized as a best practice of teaching and learning through inquiry. Participants will have opportunities to experience the six steps of the VDC process by reviewing activity and project plans proposed by others who have followed VDC guidelines. The six steps of the VDC help with (1) rationalizing how a given learning activity addresses specific learning community needs; (2) aligning science to standards; (3) developing a learner investigation question; (4) creating appropriate assessments; (5) identifying relevant best educational practices; and (6) selecting the effective technology for supporting the activity. By partnering with the Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker (MARSSB), this workshop brings together scientists, product developers, and scientific organizations. The workshop will assist the participating scientists and educators to apply recent educational research to support learning using scientific discoveries and advanced learning technologies. URL for More Information: http://vdc.cet.edu Session Outcomes: Attendees will: (a) Experience the web-based Virtual Design Center (VDC) process to design inquiry-based learning activities. (b) Use the VDC to create learner investigation questions that align with scientific data and specific learning goals. (c) Discuss how the VDC can foster partnerships between informal astronomy educators and NASA mission researchers.

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Monday, September 18, 2006 · 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Category: Formal and Informal Education and Public Outreach Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Columbia Perspectives on Creating "Culturally Relevant" EPO Products
Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute, morrow@spacescience.org Amy Wilkerson, Space Science Institute, wilkerson@spacescience.org M. Cristina Rabello-Soares, Stanford University, csoares@sun.stanford.edu Deborah Scherrer, Stanford University, dscherrer@solar.stanford.edu
The United Nations has offered to translate (into its six official languages) and disseminate worldwide a CD-ROM of education and public outreach (EPO) resources related to the International Heliophysical Year (IHY). The task of assembling the multi-national content of this CD raises questions about identifying products that best communicate science to people of different cultures. This workshop will introduce a conceptual framework called "The Spectrum of Cultural Relevance" that first emerged in the process of working in partnership with Navajo educators to create culturally relevant EPO products. This session will actively engage participants in critically examining a selection of EPO resources for where they fall in this spectrum. In the course of this examination, participants will discover and record important elements of success in creating EPO products that are cross-culturally accessible. This new awareness will be applied to a group discussion that will result in recommendations for the developers of the United Nations IHY CD. Session Outcomes: After having participated in this session, you should be able to understand and apply a conceptual framework that helps determine the cultural relevance of a given educational and public outreach (EPO) product. You will develop a deeper appreciation for the challenges and benefits of working in cross-cultural partnerships to create EPO products. You will also be able to construct a set of guidelines for success in a crosscultural project of relevance to you. skills and gain an understanding of the scientific process in a flexible, experiential way that is not commonly available in formal education systems. Many of the materials that have been developed for use in classrooms can be adapted to use suitably in after-school settings. Members of the Working Group will facilitate interactive small group experiences, where participants will be exposed to a range of exemplary materials and projects from the `out of school' time education realm. The workshop will feature professionals representing diverse perspectives and experiences in developing and adapting materials related to space science content for a variety of different out-of-school time settings, from local after-school programs to larger youth-serving organizations. 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. Participants will leave the workshop with resources, tools and ideas for applying their new knowledge to adapting current or developing future materials that are suitable for after-school settings. Session Outcomes: Increased awareness of after-school providers' motivations for including science programming, and of how after-school environments affect the design and selection of materials. Increased understanding of key features of materials and project-based activities that support effective learning in out-of-school settings, and the research base that informs this work.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Maryland Science Center Davis Planetarium Astronomy Visualization for the Big Screen
Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute, summers@stsci.edu John Stoke, Space Telescope Science Institute, stoke@stsci.edu
Astronomical visualization is now a standard facet of EPO efforts. Most visualization is intended for television, with its relatively modest resolution. However, with astronomers producing hundred megapixel images and billion particle computer simulations, there is plenty of data for much higher resolution displays. This session will present several such projects, including an IMAX short film and several full dome planetarium visuals, each of which use 20 to 100 times as many pixels per frame than television. We will present both the challenges of each format and solutions devised for each project. In addition, these mediums each have their own communities of vendors, theater owners, and audiences that must be understood before they can be reached effectively. We will explore the entire lifecycle of such projects from scientific data to visualization to finished product to distribution. Session Outcomes: Session participants will learn the depth and breadth of effort required to produce scientific visualizations for large format film and full dome planetarium environments. They will further understand the special requirements and constraints of these venues, as well as the promotion and distribution efforts necessary to reach effectively their vendors, theaters, and audiences.

Category: Informal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Annapolis Strategies for Adapting Formal Education Materials in Space Science for After-school Settings
Leslie Lowes, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Leslie.L.Lowes@jpl.nasa.gov Ellen Gannett, National Institute on Out-of-School Time, egannett@wellesley.edu Shari Asplund, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Shari.Asplund@jpl.nasa.gov Julie Lutz, University of Washington, nasaerc@u.washington.edu
This participatory workshop on effective strategies for the use of formal education materials in after-school science programs is being developed by the Community-Based Organizations Working Group (CBOWG) of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Learning in out-of-school/afterschool settings offers an opportunity for youth to develop problem-solving

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Monday, September 18, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Monday PM Clinic Sessions
Time: 3:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Category: Informal and Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Baltimore Bringing the HiRISE Mars Camera Down To Earth With Hands-On Activities
Loretta McKibben, University of Arizona, loretta@LPL.arizona.edu
Most students think of a spacecraft science instrument as a mysterious "black box" that only NASA scientists can understand. A series of handson exercises developed at the HiRISE Operations Center teaches students basic image processing and digital camera concepts using simple supplies for formal or informal education settings. Using only a pencil or pen and paper, the first set of exercises illustrates how a digital camera works, what a pixel is, and how a digital line-art image is interpreted and stored in a simple array by a camera's CCDs (charge-coupled devices). Examples of simple shapes translated to various pixel arrays illustrate the limitations of what a digital camera can "see" and introduces the concept of resolution. Students choose an appropriate grid size (or number of pixels needed) for their own custom shape, and then convert this image to a digital binary "file" and "transmit" it to other students and measure their success. Explored next in a series are the basics of image processing, the nature of electromagnetic radiation, and explorations of greyscale and color images as created by HiRISE. A set of hands-on activities for 4th graders to high school utilize a computer (and optional digital camera) to learn how the brain "sees" in 3D, the mathematics behind stereo photography, how to create a stereo anaglyph using special software, and how the analysis of such images are useful to planetary scientists. Exercises and lessons include applicable National Science Education Standards. Workshop attendees will "bring HiRISE down to Earth!" URL for More Information: http://hiroc. LPL.arizona.edu/asp2006 Session Outcome: Session attendees will learn hands-on techniques which help K12 students to understand how a complex spacecraft instrument works. concepts in space science education. Experienced curriculum developers and NASA scientists worked closely together to weave existing and newlydeveloped lessons into a coherent Sequence, which has now been field tested in classrooms nationally. Our goal was to create a flexible resource to help teachers build conceptual pathways in their space science curriculum at grades 3 8. Through a whole-group hands-on activity in this session, participants will learn how the Sequence develops key concepts, and uses an assessment system, active investigation, discussion and writing, student readings, and a technology component. Using the Sequence as a jumping-off point, LHS and NASA developers will facilitate small-group discussions of challenges that all curriculum developers face as they strive to help educators. For instance, how do we choose what to include in instructional materials? How do teacher feedback and data about gains in student understanding help us adapt materials? How much pedagogical and science background should we provide for teachers? What is an effective and practical assessment system? Participants will receive copies of a portion of the newly published materials. Session Outcomes: Participants will come away with insights and ideas they can use as they design and/or implement high-quality instructional materials. They will gain more understanding of the challenges and benefits of scientists and educators working collaboratively to develop resources that are effective and exciting for today's teachers and students.

Category: Informal and Formal education Conference Strand: Towards Broadening the Audience Location: Columbia NASA and the Navajo Nation...Bringing Astrobiology to a Native American Community
Daniella Scalice, NASA Astrobiology Institute, dscalice@mail.arc. nasa.gov Sheri Klug, Arizona State University Mars Education Program, sklug@mail.arc.nasa.gov Jessie Antonellis, University of Arizona Life and Planets Astrobiology Center, jcantone@email.arizona.edu Alice Carron, ArtReach International, artreachstudios@hotmail.com
A 2005 NASA Explorer Institute (NEI) project, `NASA and the Navajo Nation' created a working collaboration between NASA and Navajo educators to draft, field test, finalize, and deliver informal educational materials and an educational model that would best reach Navajo youth living on the reservation. Building on a 2004 NASA Explorer Institute Focus Group with members of the Navajo education community hosted by ArtReach Studios, the project leads developed six hands-on activities and a short video to meet the needs that were identified by the focus group participants. The Community Night model, previously developed and used effectively by NASA SMD E/PO in rural communities, was selected as the best method with which to frame and deliver the materials. The biggest challenge identified by the focus group participants was sustainability. Because project timelines are typically limited, our solution was to host a seminar at the project's end in which to discuss both the process and the lessons learned, and more importantly to bring together the education communities of NASA, the Navajo Nation, and other tribes to network and explore opportunities for future collaborations. This presentation will discuss a model of how to work authentically and sustainably with Native American communities, and report on the outcomes of the sustainability seminar. This project was led by the NASA Astrobiology Institute in partnership with the Arizona State University Mars Education

Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Constellation C Designing Exemplar y Instructional Materials
Carolyn Willard, Lawrence Hall of Science, cwillard@berkeley.edu John Erickson, Lawrence Hall of Science, jerick@berkeley.edu Greg Schultz, UC Berkeley Space Science Laboratory, schultz@ssl.berkeley.edu Alan Gould, Lawrence Hall of Science, agould@berkeley.edu
UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science has partnered with five NASA Forum and Mission EPO programs to develop the brand new GEMS Space Science Curriculum Sequence. We began with a teacher needs assessment and research on commonly misunderstood ideas in space science. We consulted state and national educational standards, to help prioritize core

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Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Monday, September 18, 2006 · 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Program, the UCLA Center for Astrobiology, University of Arizona's Life And Planets Astrobiology Center, ArtReach Studios, and the NASA Ames Office of Education. Session Outcomes: We hope the audience will walk away with an understanding of our experience; a model of how NASA can work with a Native American community. We also hope to share our connections with the group to support future collaborations with the Navajo and others.

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Category: Formal Education Conference Strand: EPO Strategies: Building Successful Products and Programs Location: Annapolis Opening the Doors of Research to High School Students
James C. Lochner, USRA & NASA/GSFC, imh@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov Ilana Harrus, NASA/GSFC/JHU, imh@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov S. Beth Barbier, SPSystems & NASA/GSFC, beth@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Sara Mitchell, SPSystems & NASA/GSFC, sara@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
Involving students with real astronomical data is a goal for many E/PO projects. We show how we did it by organizing a student competition based on the Japanese-US astronomy mission, Suzaku. Suzaku was launched in July 2005 carrying the first high-resolution micro-calorimeter spectrometer dedicated to X-ray astronomy. To open the world of research to high-school students, we organized a national competition whose first prize was a share in the data from the Suzaku mission. Based on our experience, we describe how to plan, organize, and carry out such a contest, including the proposal evaluation process. We describe the level of support the students need for preparing their proposals and (for the winners) analysis of the data. We describe how to overcome major problems, e.g. when your education partner drops out or one of the instruments doesn't work as planned. We discuss what we learned about the teachers' experience from the summative evaluation after the contest ended. We also present the lessons learned and provide recommendations and pointers on how to replicate this program for other missions. The winning team, eight high school students working with their teacher, Dr. Mark Hurwitz, hailed from Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco. Although the detector that was to be the focus of the mission was lost for science soon after launch, we were able to provide replacement data from the mission. As a culmination of their experience, the students were able to present their work at the 2006 AAS meeting in Calgary. URL for More Information: http://suzaku-epo.gsfc.nasa.gov Session Outcomes: Participants will learn from our experience. We will describe how to overcome major problems and what we learned in the process. Participants will learn how to put in place a competition for students to provide a hands-on participation in science.

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57

Index of Authors
Addison, Doug ............................................................................... Albert, Lucy .............................................................................. 30, Allen, Jaclyn ........................................................................ 35, 39, Allen, Nick ...................................................................................... Alonso, Jose .................................................................................... Antonellis, Jessie ....................................................................... 50, AOP Observers ............................................................................... Apsell, Paula ................................................................................... Armosky, Brad J.............................................................................. Asplund, Shari .......................................................................... 39, Atkinson, Cynthia .................................................................... 26, Au, Wilson ...................................................................................... Austin, Shermane A........................................................................ Azgui, Naima .................................................................................. Bahr, Michele.................................................................................. Balloon Payload Project Team ....................................................... Barbier, S. Beth ......................................................................... 39, Barnes, Thomas G. ......................................................................... Barrick, Rex .................................................................................... Bartolone, Lindsay ................................................................... 22, Beck-Winchatz, Bernhard........................................................ 19, Bedient, James ................................................................................ Bednarski, Marsha.......................................................................... Begay, David ................................................................................... Bennett, Michael ............................................................................ Benningfield, Damond .................................................................. Benyo, Julie ..................................................................................... Berendsen, Marni ..................................................................... 18, Betrue, Rosalie ................................................................................ Bianchi, Luciana ............................................................................. Bloom, Arthur ................................................................................ Blurton, Craig................................................................................. Bobrowsky, Matthew................................................................ 24, Boonstra, Don ................................................................................ Bordenstein, Sarah R...................................................................... Borne, K.D. ..................................................................................... Bowman, Catherine ....................................................................... Brissenden, Gina ...................................................................... 41, Brown, Tim..................................................................................... Bueter, Chuck ................................................................................. Burress, Benjamin .......................................................................... Butterworth, Anna ......................................................................... Cain, Fraser..................................................................................... Carron, Alice .................................................................................. Cash, Mark ..................................................................................... Christian, Carol .............................................................................. Cianciolo, Frank .............................................................................
58

38 53 52 22 53 56 35 47 37 55 52 34 40 34 20 52 57 37 37 26 23 29 46 44 18 38 40 40 39 40 22 30 32 42 20 29 19 52 26 19 37 34 22 56 37 24 37

Clarke, Timur ................................................................................. Cline, Troy .......................................................................... 44, 45, Cochran, Anita ............................................................................... Coleman, Paul ................................................................................ Connolly, Rachel .................................................... 19, 20, 21, 27, Constan, Zachary ........................................................................... Cooper, Larry ................................................................................. Cordes, Kathy ................................................................................. Corneau, Max ................................................................................. Coshow, Suzanne ........................................................................... Crabtree, Dennis R. ........................................................................ Craig, Matthew ............................................................................... Craig, Nahide ........................................................................... 34, Croft, Steven ................................................................................... D'Andrea, Chris ............................................................................. Danly, Laura ............................................................................. 20, Davis, Anita .................................................................................... Dawson, Dennis ............................................................................. De Marco, O. .................................................................................. Delgado, David ............................................................................... Deming, Grace ............................................................................... Devitt, Terry ................................................................................... DeVore, Edna.................................................................................. Dokter, Erin .................................................................................... Dooling, Dave................................................................................. Drobnes, Emilie........................................................................ 27, Droppo, Ruth ................................................................................. Duncan, Douglas............................................................................ Dussault, Mary ................................................................... 32, 33, Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu ...................................................................... Eisenhamer, Bonnie ..................................................... 30, 31, 43, Eisenhamer, Jonathan .................................................................... Emmart, Carter .............................................................................. English, Jayanne ............................................................................. Erickson, John .......................................................................... 36, Fauerbach, Michael .................................................................. 20, Fay, Patrice ...................................................................................... Feder, Kenneth................................................................................ Foster, Ellen .................................................................................... Foster, Thomas ............................................................................... Fraknoi, Andrew........................................................... 22, 24, 30, Frattare, Linda ................................................................................ Gannett, Ellen................................................................................. Gauthier, Adrienne......................................................................... Gay, Pamela .................................................................................... Gebhardt, Karl ................................................................................ Gibbs, Michael G. ...........................................................................

35 54 37 18 45 48 44 31 50 48 50 51 43 29 48 45 42 23 29 35 21 29 36 38 34 41 20 18 43 51 45 31 24 50 56 21 48 21 42 49 44 42 55 43 22 38 18

Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

Index of Authors
Godfrey, Christine .......................................................................... Godfrey, John ................................................................................. Gould, Alan .............................................................................. 36, Gould, Roy...................................................................................... Greene, W. Michael ........................................................................ Grice, Noreen ................................................................................. Grier, Jennifer ........................................................................... 19, Gurton, Suzanne ...................................................................... 18, Gutbezahl, Jenny ............................................................................ Hailey, Michelle .............................................................................. Hameed, Salman ............................................................................ Hamilton, Douglas ......................................................................... Hamilton, Forrest ........................................................................... Harman, Pamela............................................................................. Harrus, Ilana ............................................................................ 22, Hartman, Mark ........................................................................ 33, Harvey, Janice ........................................................................... 44, Hawkins, Isabel ........................................................................ 44, Heatherly, Sue Ann......................................................................... Hemenway, Mary Kay .................................................................... Henderson, Sandra......................................................................... Hesser, James E. .............................................................................. Ho, Tin Kam ................................................................................... Hoette, Vivian........................................................................... 23, Holden, Peter .................................................................................. Holmberg, C. .................................................................................. Hubble Heritage Team ................................................................... Isbell, Douglas ................................................................................ Jacoby, Suzanne .............................................................................. Janney, Dorian ................................................................................ Jensen, Debbie ................................................................................ Johnson, Leon ................................................................................ Johnson, Rebecca ........................................................................... Jones, Tim ....................................................................................... Kakadelis, Stratis ............................................................................ Kardel, Scott ................................................................................... Kelton, Phil ..................................................................................... Kiefer, Walter .................................................................................. Kimura, Kaoru ............................................................................... Klug, Sheri .................................................................... 42, 50, 52, Knappenberger, Naomi .................................................................. Knisely, Linda ................................................................................. Kobus, Ken...................................................................................... Krishnamurthi, Anita..................................................................... Landsberg, Randall H. ................................................................... Larsen, Kristine ........................................................................ 21, Laval, Barbara ................................................................................. 31 53 56 32 52 23 53 44 25 39 24 21 32 36 57 51 49 45 46 37 30 50 24 51 53 21 32 30 29 39 25 40 37 37 30 49 37 33 51 56 27 31 22 39 18 46 50 Lebofsky, Larry ............................................................................... Lebofsky, Nancy ............................................................................. Lestition, Kathleen ......................................................................... Levay, Zolt ...................................................................................... Lewis, Elaine ............................................................................. 45, Lievense, Stephenie ........................................................................ Lochner, James C................................................................ 35, 39, Lombardi, Doug ............................................................................. Lowes, Leslie ................................................................................... Lutz, Julie ...................................................................... 29, 39, 43, Mace, Kevin .................................................................................... Maddalena, Ron ............................................................................. Manning, James.............................................................................. Maryboy, Nancy ............................................................................. Mayo, Lou ....................................................................................... McCallister, Dan ....................................................................... 30, McFadden, Lucy ....................................................................... 18, McKibben, Loretta ......................................................................... McLaughlin, Stephanie .................................................................. Mendez, Bryan ............................................................................... Metlay, Suzanne.............................................................................. Meyer, Judy ..................................................................................... Meymaris, Kirsten .......................................................................... Michaud, Peter ............................................................................... Mitchell, Sara E. ........................................................... 35, 39, 41, Mon, Manuel ............................................................................ 20, Morris, Penny A.............................................................................. Morrow, Cherilynn ............................................................ 19, 37, Narasimhan, Lynn .......................................................................... Nelson, Becky ................................................................................. Ng, Carolyn .................................................................................... Norman, Dara ................................................................................ Obot, Victor.................................................................................... Ochos, Hugo ................................................................................... O'Connor, Susan ............................................................................ Odenwald, Sten .............................................................................. Orellana, David .............................................................................. Origins Mission EPO Lead ............................................................ Parello, Stephanie ........................................................................... Patterson, David J. .......................................................................... Pence, William D. ........................................................................... Percy, John ...................................................................................... Perrow, Katharine .......................................................................... Peterson, Katie ................................................................................ Peticolas, Laura .............................................................................. Plait, Phil .................................................................................. 22, Pompea, Stephen M. .................................................... 25, 29, 30, 48 48 33 42 54 35 57 36 55 55 37 46 23 44 39 31 35 56 35 34 18 37 30 49 57 21 40 55 25 33 45 38 40 38 33 34 30 32 19 20 35 50 54 22 34 24 38
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Index of Authors
Porro, Irene ............................................................................... 33, Prather, Ed ................................................................................ 41, Pratt, Lisa M. .................................................................................. Preston, Sandra ........................................................................ 37, Price, Aaron ........................................................................ 22, 28, Probst, Ronald ................................................................................ Quick, Amanda .............................................................................. Rabello-Soares, M. Cristina ..................................................... 37, Raddick, Jordan .................................................................. 24, 29, Radnofsky, Mary ............................................................................ Rawls, Greg ..................................................................................... Reardon, Jim ................................................................................... Reiff, Patricia ............................................................................ 25, Reinfeld, Erika ................................................................................ Rest, Carole ..................................................................................... Riccobono, Mark ............................................................................ Richwine, Pebble ............................................................................ Rodney, Paula ................................................................................. Rosing, Wayne ................................................................................ Ross, Rachel .................................................................................... Ruberg, Laurie .......................................................................... 40, Runyon, Cassandra .................................................................. 26, Sadler, Philip................................................................................... Sahr, Thea ....................................................................................... Sakimoto, Phil ................................................................................ Salgado, Carlos ............................................................................... Satoh, Takehiko .............................................................................. Scalice, Daniella........................................................................ 50, Scherrer, Deborah .................................................................... 37, Schultz, Greg ............................................................................ 53, Schultz, Sara ................................................................................... Sears, Derek .................................................................................... Sears, Hazel ..................................................................................... Shaner, Andrew .............................................................................. Shanks, Sharon ............................................................................... Shipp, Stephanie ....................................................................... 33, Shupla, Christine............................................................................ Silva, Sarah ............................................................................... 26, Simonelli, Glenn ............................................................................ Slater, Timothy F..................................................... 29, 36, 41, 52, Smith, Denise ........................................................................... 32, Smith, Stephanie ............................................................................ Sohus, Anita.............................................................................. 19, Sparks, Robert T. ................................................................ 25, 29, Steel, Simon ........................................................................ 26, 32, Steinberg, Daniel ............................................................................ Stephenson, Bryan .........................................................................
60

51 52 20 38 29 38 22 55 43 24 31 49 46 32 32 23 29 20 26 26 54 52 23 40 25 40 51 56 55 56 51 48 48 36 50 52 39 43 20 53 43 31 27 38 54 49 54

Stofan, James .................................................................................. Stoke, John.......................................................................... 30, 53, Strohecker, Margaret ...................................................................... Stroud, Nicholas ............................................................................. Suchecki, Peter C. ........................................................................... Summers, Frank ................................................................. 42, 45, Sumners, Carolyn ..................................................................... 25, Sweitzer, Jim ................................................................................... Taylor, Stuart .................................................................................. Teays, Terry ..................................................................................... Thaller, Michelle............................................................................. Thieman, James .............................................................................. Tobola, Kay ............................................................................... 35, Treiman, Allan ................................................................................ Tucker, Laura .................................................................................. Ueda, T. ........................................................................................... Usuda, Kumiko ............................................................................... van der Veen, Wil ..................................................................... 27, Villard, Ray ..................................................................................... Viotti, Michelle ......................................................................... 27, Vogel, Tracy .................................................................................... Wagner, Susan ................................................................................ Walker, Allyson ......................................................................... 34, Walker, Constance E..................................................... 25, 30, 38, Walter, Donald ............................................................................... Walton, Lindy B.............................................................................. Ward, Dennis .................................................................................. Warner, Elizabeth ........................................................................... Weaver, Donna ............................................................................... Weiss, Iris ........................................................................................ Wentworth, Ben ............................................................................. Westphal, Andrew .......................................................................... Wetzel, Marc ................................................................................... White, Vivian ............................................................................ 18, Wilkerson, Amy .............................................................................. Willard, Carolyn ....................................................................... 36, Winchatz, Michaela........................................................................ Wolff, Sidney .................................................................................. Wood, Charles .......................................................................... 40, Wyatt, Ryan .............................................................................. 20, Young, Donna ................................................................................ Zevin, Dan ................................................................................ 18, Zook, Letha.....................................................................................

48 55 22 21 20 55 46 19 26 52 52 54 39 33 43 20 49 44 41 52 31 26 43 44 40 23 30 35 31 28 23 34 37 44 55 56 23 30 54 45 33 44 40

Engaging the EPO Community : Best Practices, New Approaches Conference Program

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About the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Founded in 1889 in San Francisco, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific long ago outgrew its regionalsounding name to become one of the nation's leading organizations devoted to improving people's understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of astronomy and space. Serving research astronomers, educators of all descriptions, and amateur astronomers, the ASP publishes both scholarly and educational materials, conducts professional development programs for formal and informal educators, and holds conferences, symposia, and workshops for astronomers and educators who specialize in astronomy education and outreach. The ASP's education programs are funded by its own members, corporations, private foundations, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. The ASP's numerous education and outreach programs include Project ASTRO, the Universe in the Classroom teacher's newsletter, The NASA Night Sky Network, Astronomy from the Ground Up, Family ASTRO, Cosmos in the Classroom symposia, and the SOFIA Education and Public Outreach program. Your membership in the ASP is the first step to support the one organization whose primary mission is to bring the wonder and beauty of the universe to students of all ages. Everywhere.

Save the Date!
The ASP 119th Annual Meeting September 5-7, 2007
Holiday Inn Mart Plaza Chicago, Illinois Co-hosted by the Adler Planetarium
Astronomical Society of the Pacific 390 Ashton Avenue · San Francisco, CA 94112 www.astrosociety.org · 415-337-1100