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6.
Planetarium Education Activities
- Astronomy
Link:
-
is a listing of astronomy research and education experts available
to assist planetarium educators in devising their programs and
outreach activities. Contact: Jim Manning, Taylor Planetarium,
Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT 59717 (406-994-6874); [e-mail:
ammjm@gemini.oscs.montana.edu]
- International
Planetarium Society:
-
Holds conferences, publishes The Planetarian magazine,
offers special publications and a directory. Contact them c/o
Hansen Planetarium, 15 S. State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111.
Their web-site is http://sunsite.unc.edu/ips.
A job information service is available c/o S. Fentress, Director,
Strasenburgh Planetarium, P.O. Box 1480, Rochester, NY 14603 (send
a stamped, self-addressed envelope). There are also active regional
organizations of planetarium staff, whose work is described in
The Planetarian.
- Lawrence
Hall of Science (LHS)
-
has offered an excellent series of training workshops for those
working with portable planetaria and has a series of activity
books for such planetaria (see section 2)
- Learning
Technologies, Inc.:
-
Small company that makes the Starlab inflatable/portable planetaria
and trains teachers on how to use them. Also distributes excellent
kits of material for high school and college astronomy activities.
Contact at: 40 Cameron Ave., Somerville, MA 02144 (800-537-8703);
http://www.starlab.com/
A
number of planetaria sell pre-packaged planetarium shows, including
the Hayden Planetarium, New York City; the Strasenburgh Planetarium,
Rochester, NY; the Davis Planetarium in Baltimore; and the Hansen
Planetarium, Salt Lake City, Utah; and many others.
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7.
Programs Involving Amateur Astronomers
- American
Association of Variable Star Observers:
-
Variable Star Astronomy (VSA) develops activities and materials for
students involving real variable star data. Contact: Aaron Price,
AAVSO, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 (617-354-0484) Further
information available at www.aavso.org
- Astronomical
League:
-
This is the umbrella group of all the amateur astronomy clubs
in the U.S. They sponsor a range of national and local educational
programs; see their newsletter The Reflector, or their
web-site at http://www.astroleague.org.
(Permanent address: Astronomical League, Science Service Building,
1719 N. St., NW, Washington, DC 20036)
- Astronomical
Society of the Pacific (ASP):
-
Project ASTRO: forms and trains ongoing partnerships between astronomers
(professional & amateur) and local 4th-9th grade school teachers
for class visits. Astronomers turn out to make excellent partners
for teachers and can relate well to students. [see appendix]
- Astronomy
Day:
-
Annual day when amateurs around the country bring telescopes to
shopping centers, schools, and other sites to let the public view
the sky. Co-sponsored by many organizations. Contact: Gary Tomlinson,
Public Museum of Grand Rapids, 272 Pearl NW, Grand Rapids, MI
49504 (616-456-3532) www.mcs.net/~bstevens/al/astroday.html.
(For a copy of the Astronomy Day Handbook, see the web-site at
http://www.skypub.com/astroday/adayhbk.html)
- NASA
Night Sky Network:
-
A nationwide coalition of over 200 astronomy clubs around the
USA bringing
the science and inspiration of NASA's missions to the public.
Members of
the Night Sky Network receive free Outreach ToolKits of materials
to convey
a variety of astronomy and space-related topics. The program is
supported by
NASA and administered by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
(ASP).
Find out how to join: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/
-
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8.
Newsletters
- Abrams
Planetarium:
- Sky
Calendar is a well designed monthly sheet that includes a
daily calendar of sky events and suggests a variety of night-sky
observing activities. Contact them at: Michigan State University,
East Lansing, MI 48824 (517-335-4676); http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/
- American
Astronomical Society Working Group on Astronomy Education:
-
Provides an electronic newsletter on announcements and discussion.
Contact: Steve Shawl at shawl@ukans.edu;
or see the web site at www.aas.org.
- Astronomical
League:
- The
Reflector newsletter frequently covers educational activities
by or for amateurs (see section 7)
- Astronomical
Society of the Pacific (ASP):
-
Publishes free quarterly Universe
in the Classroom
online newsletter for grade 3-12 teachers [see appendix]
- Association
of Astronomy Educators (AAE):
-
Has a newsletter on teaching astronomy for its members [see appendix]
- NASA:
- Educational
Horizons newsletter brings news of NASA science and education
activities to teachers. Contact: NASA Headquarters, Education
Division, Code FE, 300 E St., SW, Washington, DC 20546
Note:
Many of the projects listed in the previous sections have newsletters
for their participants and supporters.
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9.
Programs for Students (K-12)
- Astronomical
League:
-
National Young Astronomer Award recognizes outstanding achievment
in astronomy by young people 14-19 years of age. First prize is
a $3000 telescope. Contact: Charles Allen, NYAA, 1007 Rollingwood
Ln., Goshen, KY 40026 (502-589-5400); e-mail: 74023.2331@compuserve.com
- Bart
J. Bok Prize in Astronomy,
-
sponsored jointly by the American Astronomical Society and the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, each year to the top astronomy
project at the International Science and Engineering Fair. Material
for participating in the fair is available from Science Service,
1719 N St., NW, Washington, DC 20036
- NSTA/NASA
Space Science Involvement Program:
-
A series of contests for K-12 students with space-related themes,
involving writing, art, and design. [see appendix]
- University
of Arizona Astronomy Camps
[see listing in section 12]
- U.S.
Space Camp:
-
A commercial venture, now in Alabama, has a camp for younger kids,
an Academy for older ones, and educator programs. U.S. Space and
Rocket Center, 1 Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL 35805 (1-800-63SPACE);
http://www.spacecamp.com
- Young
Astronaut Council:
-
This nationwide program has school or community-based chapters
and produces activities, contests, and materials to encourage
student interest in space. Contact them at: 1308 19th St NW, Washington,
DC 20036 (202-682-1984); http://www.yac.org
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10.
Programs for Students (College)
- American
Astronomical Society (AAS):
-
Harlow Shapley Visiting Lecturer Program, a lecture series designed
to bring astronomers to campuses without astronomy programs in
the U.S.and Canada. Contact A.G. Davis Phillip, 1125 Oxford Place,
Schenectady, NY 12308 (518-374-5636)
- Haystack
Observatory:
-
is developing a center for undergraduate research at MIT's Haystack
Observatory. The education program includes materials, tutorials,
and tools to provide students the necessary background in radio
astronomy and astrophysics. Contact: Dr. Preethi Pratap, Northeast
Radio Observatory Corporation, MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford,
MA 01886 (978-692-4764); http://www.haystack.edu/haystack
- NASA
Spacegrant College and Fellowship:
-
has a wide range of grants and research opportunities for students.
The program is organized via a network of 52 state-wide Space
Grant Consortia. See their web site at http://calspace.ucsd.edu/spacegrant/;
or write Space Grant Office, Education Division, NASA Headquarters,
300 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20546.
- NSF
Research Experiences for Undergraduates:
-
12 sites nationally offera variety of research opportunities for
undergraduates in astronomy. The application deadline varies dependent
upon the site. For more information see http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/reupma.htm#astron.
- Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory:
-
Summer Intern Program for Undergraduates; especially targeted
at women/minority students from small colleges. Contact: Kim Dow,
CfA, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (617-496-7586) [e-mail:
intern@cfa.harvard.edu];
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/REU/REU.html.
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