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National Astronomy Education Projects: A Catalog

4. Audiovisual & Media Materials

Again, we note that only projects or educational organizations are listed, not simply commercial producers of video.

American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT):

Has a modest catalog of audiovisual materials for teaching physics, which includes some astronomy [see appendix]

Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP):

Produces and distributes slide sets on astronomical topics with extensive booklets of captions and background material, as well as many videotapes and CD-ROM's. Available through the online store, the AstroShop [see appendix]

Center for Astrophysics (CfA):

The Private Universe Project is producing a series of videotapes on student misconceptions in science and strategies for promoting conceptual change. Contact: Nancy Finkelstein (617-496-7676)

Coast Telecourses:

Developed 26 half-hour episodes of Universe: The Infinite Frontier, a new educational TV show. Contact at: 11460 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714-241-6109); http://ct.ccc.cccd.edu/default.html

Finley-Holiday Films:

This commercial company has been designated by both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Space Telescope Science Institute to distribute slides and videos to educators at reduced cost. Contact them for a current catalog: P.O. Box 619, Whittier, CA 90608 (800-345-6707); http://www.finley-holiday.com

Lunar and Planetary Institute:

Produces and distributes slide sets, CD-ROMs, and other educational materials on planetary science concepts. Contact: 3600 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77058 (281-486-2175); http://www.lpi.usra.edu

NASA CORE:

Distributes a wide range of NASA audiovisual materials at low cost to teachers. Ask for their catalog & updates. Contact at: Lorain County JVS, 15181 Route 58 South, Oberlin, OH 44074 (216-774-1051, ext 293, 294)

NOVA Television Programs:

With support from NSF, these are among the very best science programs for teaching. Educators can obtain copies of shows at reasonable cost by calling WGBH (the Boston Public TV station that produces NOVA) at 1-800-255-9424.

The Planetary Society:

Produces and distributes slides and videoas about the solar system and the search for life. See the catalog in their Planetary Report magazine or their web-site at http://planetary.org/store.html. Their address is 65 N. Catalina Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106, (626-793-5100).

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5. Computer Materials or Projects

Astronomy Software List Project:

John Mosley of the Griffith Observatory (and Sky & Telescope's primary software reviewer) will supply an up-to-date listing of astronomical software for $2.00. Make check out to John Mosley, 7303 Enfield Ave., Reseda, CA 91335. (It's a great resource.)

The Astronomy Village I and II:

CD-ROM, Mac-based supplementary curriculum for 9th grade students. Contact: Tom Pie, NASA Center for Educational Technologies, Wheeling Jesuit College, 220 Washington Ave, Wheeling, WV 26003 (304-243-2388)

Exploration in Education (ExInEd):

Project directed by Robert Brown at the Space Telescope Science Institute to produce inexpensive Macintosh discs and CD-ROMs of images (ranging from Hubble Space Telescope images to paintings of an asteroid hitting the Earth) and background material in HyperCard format. See their web site at http://www.stsci.edu/exined/.

Hands-On Universe Project:

Trains teachers to do computer processing of student-acquired astronomical images. Contact: houstaff@hou.lbl.gov Further information available at http://www.handsonuniverse.org

Joint Education Initiative:

Develops CD-ROMs & Internet projects for teachers in geologic and planetary sciences. Contact: Robert Ridky, 3433 A. V. Williams Bldg., U. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (301-405-2324)

Lowell Observatory:

Has an innovative interactive exhibit simulating a night at an observatory, with plans available to other institutions. Contact Bill Buckingham, Lowell Obs., 1400 East Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (602-774-3358).

MicroObservatory (Center for Astrophysics):

Developing fully automated, CCD-equipped telescopes with Internet links for remote observing by students. (Ken Brecher at Boston University is also a leader of this project, but contact the Education Dept. at the Center for Astrophysics; address on last page.) http://mo-www.harvard.edu/MicroObservatory

NASA Center for Educational Technologies:

Internet-based middle school curriculum and other resources for educators available. Further information available at www.cotf.edu. or contact Tom Pie, NASA Center for Educational Technologies, Wheeling Jesuit College, 220 Washington Ave, Wheeling, WV 26003 (304-243-2388)

NASA Imagine the Universe Project (formerly the High Energy Astrophysics Learning Center):

Free CD-ROM of the Learning Center and StarChild educational websites with information and activities. Further information is available at http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/

NASA K-12 Internet in the Classroom:

Initiative to help K-12 schools use the Internet for Space Science education. Offers a variey of projects, some without charge, to schools across the United States. Internet initiative videos are available at the cost of distribution from NASA CORE [see section 4]. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov

NASA Spacelink:

An electronic aeronautics and space resource designed to provide current and historical educational information to teachers and students located at http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov. For futher information contact Spacelink, Code CL01, NASA Marshall SFC, Huntsville, AL 35812 (205-544-6360)

Passport to Knowledge:

An ongoing series of "electronic field trips to scientific frontiers" which uses interactive television and online computer networks to "take" students to frontier research areas research. Contact: Passport to Knowledge, P.O. Box 1502, Summit, NJ 07902-1502 (800-626-LIVE) http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/antarctica/passport.html

Project CLEA:

Produces innovative computer-based astronomy lab exercises for undergraduates on IBM and Mac. Contact at: Dept. of Physics, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA 17325 (717-337-6028); http://www.gettysburg.edu/project/physics/clea/CLEAhome.html

Remote Access Astronomy Project:

Computerized telescope and dial-in data distribution (using images from many telescopes) with image processing software & activities. Contact them c/o Dept. of Physics, University. of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (805-893-7240); e-mail: raap@rot.ucsb.edu; http://www.deepspace.ucsb.edu/rot.htm

Science Information Infrastructure Education Project:

National partnership to adapt astrophysics and remote sensing NASA data for use in classrooms through the world wide web. Further information available at http://www.cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/sii/sii_sii.html. Contact Isabel Hawkins, Center for EUV Astrophysics, 2150 Kittredge St., #5030, Berkeley, CA 94720. (510-643-5662) [e-mail: isabelh@cea.berkeley.edu]

Space Telescope Science Institute

has an excellent series of inquiry-based activities on their web site entitled Amazing Space; http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/amazing-space.html

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