MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contacts:
JPL--Jane Platt (818) 354-0880
Virginia Space Grant Consortium--Amy Dawson (757) 865-0726
Space Explorers, Inc.--Eric Brunsell (920) 339-4600
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 20, 2000
JPL TO TEACH 'RITHMETIC AND ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will train 33 educators
from 22 states to inspire and educate other teachers to share the
wonders of the solar system with students during a Solar System
Educators Institute at JPL March 26 through 29.
The educators, taking part in the Solar System Educator
Fellows program, will learn techniques for training other
teachers to use current space missions to help kids learn math
and science. Back in their home states, each educator will train
approximately 200 additional colleagues.
"It's exciting to share the information I've learned to
reach more people and help get them excited about space," said
Julie Taylor, who has been serving as an educator fellow for the
Cassini mission to Saturn. Taylor, a fifth grade teacher at
Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, CA, says her JPL
training benefits her students, including ten-year-old Mallery
who said, "This year, science has been fun. It's something we'll
enjoy for the rest of our lives."
NASA/JPL missions participating in the institute include
Cassini to Saturn, the Stardust and Deep Impact comet missions,
the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration Program, the
Outer Planets/Solar Probe program, and the Deep Space Network of
ground-based antennas that communicate with spacecraft. The
institute is also supported by NASA's Solar System Exploration
Education and Public Outreach Forum.
Twenty-five additional educators will be selected to take
part in another Solar System Educators Institute at JPL on August
1-5. Further announcements will be posted on the Solar System
Educators web site at http://www.ssep.org .
The Solar System Educators Institute program is managed by
Space Explorers Inc., DePere, WI, and the Virginia Space Grant
Consortium, Hampton, VA., as an element of NASA's Office of
Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Stardust, Deep Impact, Galileo,
Cassini, Mars Exploration, Outer Planets/Solar Probe, and are
managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington,
D.C. The Deep Space Network is managed by JPL for NASA's Office
of Space Flight, Washington, D.C.
Teachers and educators who were selected for the project include:
Sherry Hair Russell Math & Science Center Birmingham, AL
Julie Taylor Desert Trails School Adelanto, CA
Adair Teller Alan B. Shepard School Hawthorne, CA
Diane Lether LA Unified School District Los Angeles, CA
Alan Landever Education Connection Litchfield, CT
Diana Yoder University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
Kathy Chock Kamehameha Elementary School Honolulu, HI
Nancy Tashima Onizuka Space Center Kailua-Kona, HI
Christopher Soldat Mid-Prarie Middle School Kalona, IA
Martin Horejsi Idaho State University Pocatello, ID
Kevin Cole Cernan Earth & Space Center River Grove, IL
Michael Ford Unified School District Holton, KS
Jennifer Linrud Wichita Collegiate School Wichita, KS
Terri McManus Williams Science & Fine Art Topeka, KS
Liliana Klass Fort River School Northampton, MA
Donna Young The Wright Center Medford, MA
Ardis Maciolek Grosse Pointe High School Grosse Point, MI
Ken Gagner Morris Area Elem. School Morris, MN
Dee McLellan Meadow Creek Christian School Andover,MN
Bob Riddle Southwest Charter School Kansas City, MO
Byron Montross Wingate Elementary. School Fort Wingate, NM
Malcolm Cameron Christa McAuliffe Planetarium Concord, NH
Karen Sinex Pacific University Eugene, OR
Dan Malerbo Carnegie Science Center Pittsburgh, PA
Louis Irwin University of Texas/El Paso El Paso, TX
Carol Lutsinger Brownsville School District Brownsville,TX
Shannon Miller Llano Junior High School Llano, TX
Peggy Donahe Aneth Community School Montezuma Creek, UT
George Hastings VA Math & Science Center Richmond, VA
Anne Ireland Challenger Center Alexandria, VA
Ellen VanPay Green Bay Public Schools Green Bay, WI
Sandra Bast Space Explorers, Inc. DePere, WI
Scott Mecca Cheyenne Central High School Cheyenne, WY
