NASA Education Express Message — July 24, 2014
Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.
Free Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional Development
Audience: Grades K-12 In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators
Next Webinar Date: July 24, 2014, at 7 p.m. EDT
Family Day Events at Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum
Audience: All Educators and Students
Next Event Date: July 25, 2014
Airborne Research Experience for Educators Academy
Audience: K-12 Educators
Research Experience Dates: July 28 – Aug. 1, 2014
Applications Open Until Spots Filled
Free Webinar Series — GLOBE and Next Generation Science Standards Alignment
Audience: K-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: July 29, 2014
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Postsecondary Sustainability Awards
Audience: Higher Education
Intent to Nominate Date: Aug. 1, 2014
“Ask NICE” Workshops in Virginia
Audience: Middle School and High School Educators
Event Dates: Aug. 6-7, 2014
Research Opportunities for International Space Station (ISS) Utilization Including Higher Education Opportunities
Deadlines: White papers must be submitted on or before 5 p.m. EDT, Aug. 29, 2014. Full proposals must be submitted on or before 5 p.m. EDT, Nov. 14, 2014.
Louisiana Tech University Online Course — Steps to STEM: NASA Education Resources for STEM Engagement
Audience: K-12 Educators
Application Deadline: Aug. 30, 2014
Destination Station: San Diego
Audience: All Educators and Students
Exhibit Open Through Sept. 2, 2014
REGISTRATION OPEN: Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2014
Audience: 9-12 Educators and Students
Registration Deadline: Sept. 5, 2014
Free Webinar — Secrets to Fundraising for Competing in NASA Challenges
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Webinar Date: Sept. 10, 2014
2015 ICESat-2 Mission Hexacopter Engineering Challenge
Audience: Undergraduate College Students from Accredited U.S. Colleges and Universities
Application Deadline: Sept. 12, 2014
Call for Papers — The NACA Centenary: A Symposium on 100 Years of Aerospace Research and Development
Audience: Scholars and Graduate Students
Submission Deadline: Sept. 15, 2014
MAVEN Workshop — Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
Audience: Elementary Educators
Application Deadline: Sept. 15, 2014
Workshop Date: Sept. 21, 2014
Second Annual Astrobiology Symposium at the Library of Congress
Audience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Symposium Dates: Sept. 18-19, 2014
Send Your Name to the Asteroid Bennu!
Audience: Educators and Students Worldwide
Deadline: Sept. 30, 2014
OSSI NIFS — Spring 2015 Opportunities
Audience: Higher Education Students
Application Deadline: Oct. 12, 2014
Don’t miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educator and Student Current Opportunity pages on NASA’s website:
— Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/
— Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/
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Free Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional Development
NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.
Earth Science Series Part 2: Where Are We?
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: July 24, 2014, at 7 p.m. EDT
This webinar is the second in a free webinar series to introduce educators to earth science activities with an emphasis on the geological features of Earth and other planets in our solar system. Participants will learn how to use the game introduced in Part 1 to compare geological features on Earth with features on Mars.
Earth Science Series Part 3: Our Earth — View From Space
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: July 29, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT
This webinar is the third in a free webinar series to introduce educators to earth science activities with an emphasis on the geological features of Earth and other planets in our solar system. Participants will gain a unique perspective on satellite images by examining and interpreting data received from orbiting resources.
Earth Science Series Part 3: EarthKAM — Pictures of Earth
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: July 30, 2014, at 7 p.m. EDT
This webinar is the fourth in a free webinar series to introduce educators to earth science activities with an emphasis on the geological features of Earth and other planets in our solar system. Participants will learn about Sally Ride EarthKAM, a NASA educational outreach program that uses a camera on the space station to let middle school students request images of specific locations on Earth.
For more information about these webinars and to register online, visit https://paragon-tec.
Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Judy Buttler atjudy.a.buttler@nasa.gov.
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Family Day Events at Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian’s Family Day event series celebrates the diverse ethnic and cultural communities that have contributed to aviation and space exploration. Events will commemorate historic and current contributions through presentations and activities for the entire family. The events are free and open to the public.
Discover the Moon Day!
July 25, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia
Celebrate Earth’s moon! Interact one-on-one with Museum scientists who are active in lunar research, learn about current and past lunar missions and spacecraft, see 3-D images of the moon’s surface and more!
http://airandspace.si.edu/
We Share STEM! Connecting Across Cultures
Aug. 2, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT
National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia
Learn about the contributions of scientists and engineers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, professions across cultures. Talk to an astronaut, meet pilots and see their helicopters, including a gyroplane, and participate in hands-on activities. Spanish-language activities and story times along with events featuring Latino STEM professionals will also take place.
http://airandspace.si.edu/
Questions about this series of events should be directed to the Visitor Service line at202-633-1000.
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Airborne Research Experience for Educators Academy
In support of our nation’s commitment to training and retaining 100,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, teachers over the next decade through the 100Kin10 initiative, NASA’s Earth Science Project Office and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Office of Education are recruiting up to 24 STEM and language arts teachers to participate in the Airborne Research Experience for Educators Academy, a five-day research experience from July 28 – Aug. 1, 2014, at the Aerospace Education Research Operations Institute in Palmdale, California. Applicants can be formal (traditional classrooms, public or private) or informal (museum, science center, etc.) educators of grades K-12.
Through interactions with NASA’s unique content, facilities and personnel, the academy will focus on three education goals through a variety of interfaces, including virtual, in-person and self-directed learning:
1. Engage in NASA’s unique, airborne research-based missions.
2. Increase core scientific and research knowledge base.
3. Generate NASA mission-based STEM resources and teaching materials.
Participants will be anchored in a community of scientific practice through an end-to-end airborne experience that will focus on two NASA earth science missions:
1. Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, an investigation of how tropical storms form and develop into hurricanes.
2. Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment, a study of atmospheric compound concentrations and their impact on the Earth’s climate and energy budget.
To increase core scientific knowledge, participants will attend technical seminars from mission scientists and engineers, and observe how NASA conducts cutting-edge aeronautical and airborne science research at the Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California and at the center’s Building 703, a science and aircraft integration facility in Palmdale, California. Technical content may include subject matter in natural events (e.g., earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes), climate, remote sensing, atmospheric chemistry and other relevant subjects.
Further, educators will learn to develop computational and critical thinking skills through an introduction to computer programming using the Arduino microcontroller, and attend pedagogic workshops that focus on engineering design, inquiry-based instruction, and integration of technology and data-focused curricula into the classroom. Experiences will be translated into teaching practice through the use of NASA STEM-based resources, and development of a post-workshop STEM action plan.
This opportunity will remain open until all seats are filled. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, and can apply as individuals or as an interdisciplinary team of two to three persons.
For more information, visit http://aeroi.org/node/13.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Shaun Smith atshaun.smith@nasa.gov.
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Free Webinar Series — GLOBE and Next Generation Science Standards Alignment
Learn more about the GLOBE Program’s Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS, Alignment resources with the following webinars. Each webinar will include discussion on how to integrate and align resources into GLOBE Professional Development workshops.
GLOBE and NGSS Alignment for K-12 Educators — July 29, 2014 at 2 p.m. EDT
This 45-minute webinar will provide K-12 teachers with an overview of the GLOBE Program’s Next Generation Science Standards alignment resources.
GLOBE and NGSS Alignment for GLOBE Partnerships and Trainers — July 29, 2014 at 3 p.m. EDT
Find out about The GLOBE Program’s NGSS Alignment resources for United States GLOBE partners and trainers.
Lessons Learned – Developing the Alignment Between the Next Generation Science Standards and GLOBE — July 29, 2014 at 5 p.m. EDT
Is your organization planning to undergo the process of aligning curriculum materials to Next Generation Science Standards? Listen as members of the GLOBE Program alignment team share lessons learned from the yearlong alignment project.
For more information and to register for the webinars, visit https://www.globe.gov/web/
Questions about this series of webinars should be directedhttps://www.globe.gov/contact-
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U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Postsecondary Sustainability Awards
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) has introduced a new Postsecondary Sustainability Award for the 2014-2015 cycle. In addition to a total of five school and district nominees, each state may nominate one postsecondary institution for exemplary achievement in all three of the program’s Pillars: Reduced Environmental Impact and Costs, Improved Health and Wellness, and Effective Environmental and Sustainability Education. For this award, state selection committees are particularly encouraged to document how the nominees’ sustainability work has reduced college costs, increased completion rates, led to employment, and ensured robust civic skills among graduates; and to make an effort to consider diverse types of institutions. Interested colleges and universities should contact their state higher education authorities for information on how to apply in their states.
Like the PK-12 awards, this category is entirely voluntary. Hearing from interested colleges and universities may be helpful to state authorities considering 2014 – 2015 participation. State higher education authorities should contact U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for more information. They can find updated criteria and other state implementation guidance on our website. All state authorities are encouraged to indicate their intent to nominate in 2015 by Aug. 1, 2014.
Competitions vary by state, but most states will be posting their applications in the fall with deadlines to submit to them in the winter. State authorities’ school, district and postsecondary nominations are due to the Department of Education by Feb. 1, 2015. Interested PK-12 schools and districts should continue to contact their state education agencies about the school and district award applications. Do you have doubts about ED-GRS? Some Frequently Asked Questions on all three award categories are available here.
For more information, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov.
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“Ask NICE” Workshops in Virginia
The NASA Innovations in Climate Education, or NICE, team is going on the road this summer to visit groups of teachers who connected with them for the online sessions offered throughout the 2013-2014 school year.
Onsite “Ask NICE” workshops will be offered during the first week of August to provide NASA Earth Systems Science training for middle and high school teachers. Many NASA resources will be investigated and time will be spent learning how to collect and analyze data. NICE is funded through the Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP.
Events are scheduled for:
— Aug. 6, 2014 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. EDT at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia
— Aug. 7, 2014, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. EDT at the Lake Country Distance Education Center in Clarksville, Virginia
Archived recordings of the 2013-2014 online sessions can be found at the bottom of the page at https://nice.larc.nasa.gov/
For more information about the workshops and to register to attend, please contact Bonnie Murray at bonnie.murray@nasa.gov.
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Research Opportunities for International Space Station (ISS) Utilization Including Higher Education Opportunities
The NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NNJ13ZBG001N: Soliciting Proposals for Exploration Technology Demonstration and National Lab Utilization Enhancements has been amended to include an opportunity for Earth Observations Science Education Outreach. This opportunity is offered in part as a competitive pilot project in conjunction with NASA Headquarters’ Office of Education (OE) and OE at Johnson Space Center.
Proposals need to demonstrate the ability to provide a turnkey educational outreach program in Earth observation sciences for K-12 students utilizing existing ISS still digital cameras, laptops and available software to capture student-requested earth imagery for use in STEM-based curricula support across the nation.
White papers must be submitted on or before 5 p.m. EDT, Aug. 29, 2014. Full proposals must be submitted on or before 5 p.m. EDT, Nov. 14, 2014.
For more information regarding this solicitation, please visit the NSPIRES website athttp://nspires.nasaprs.com/
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Louisiana Tech University Online Course — Steps to STEM: NASA Education Resources for STEM Engagement
Louisiana Tech University is teaming up with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to offer a 10-week course for educators interested in putting a space-themed twist on learning. The course is designed to be a self-paced, online professional development experience focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, education resources available from NASA. These resources have application methods for use in grades 4-9 classrooms with the goal of advancing high quality STEM education utilizing NASA’s unique capabilities.
Applications are due Aug. 30, 2014.
For more information and to enroll in the course, visit http://scitecatlatech.weebly.
Questions about these courses should be directed to Amy McDowell atamy.mcdowell@nasa.gov.
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Destination Station: San Diego
Ever wonder what it’s like to live and work in space? Find out at the Destination Station exhibit! This multimedia exhibit showcases what it’s like to live aboard the International Space Station. The exhibit will be open to the public through Sept. 2, 2014, at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego, California.
To learn more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_
Questions about this exhibit should be directed to Megan Sumner atmegan.c.sumner@nasa.gov.
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REGISTRATION OPEN: Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2014
The Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2014 will take place this fall, offering U. S. high school students the opportunity to design experiments that will be tested in space.
Zero Robotics challenges high school student teams to write their own algorithms to fly the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES. The competition starts online where teams compete to solve an annual challenge guided by mentors. Students can create, edit, share, save, simulate and submit code from a Web browser. After several phases of virtual competition, finalists will be selected to compete in a live championship aboard the International Space Station.
Registration for the competition closes on Sept. 5, 2014. The competition begins with a live webcast kickoff event from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sept. 6, 2014.
For more information about the tournament and to register your team to participate, visithttp://www.zerorobotics.mit.
Zero Robotics is organized by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Space Systems Laboratory, Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation and TopCoder, and is sponsored by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, NASA and the Center for Advancement of Science in Space.
Please email any questions about this opportunity to zerorobotics@mit.edu.
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Free Webinar — Secrets to Fundraising for Competing in NASA Challenges
NASA has several exciting technical challenges open for universities and colleges. The challenges include the Student Launch, the Robotic Mining Competition, the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, the X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge, as well other challenges. In order to be successful, teams not only need to master engineering and technical obstacles, they must also raise the funding necessary for equipment and travel expenses.
To help all universities and colleges interested in competing, the NASA Minority Innovation Challenges Institute, or MICI, is hosting a free webinar on Sept. 10, 2014, at3 p.m. EDT. Topics covered during the session will include:
— Fundraising practices utilized by teams that competed in the 2014 NASA Robotic Mining Competition.
— How to locate potential donors, and the best way to land contributions.
— How to use crowdfunding websites to expand fundraising efforts to regional and national levels.
— Grant opportunities that are open and receptive to funding university teams.
The webinar will be hosted by a certified fundraising executive along with two certified grant writers.
To sign up for this webinar and gain access to MICI’s other free webinars, visithttp://nasamici.com/upcoming-
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Mary Baker atmary@nasamici.com.
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2015 ICESat-2 Mission Hexacopter Engineering Challenge
The Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, mission will host the 2015 ICESat-2 Mission Hexacopter Engineering Challenge at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on April 17, 2015. This challenge will task teams of students with measuring the height of Earth around us, from tree canopies to bodies of water. This challenge will be the first of its kind in a yearly series of ICESat-2 engineering challenge events.
Student teams will be selected to participate in this challenge through a proposal and selection process. Participating teams will design and build hexacopter multirotors that can create a digital elevation model of a specific area within a predetermined amount of time. Students will also submit technical and educational reports describing in detail their efforts throughout the competition process.
This challenge is open to undergraduate college students from accredited U.S. colleges and universities. Teams may consist of one to five students and a university mentor/instructor. Due to the nature of the challenge, multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.
Applications are due Sept. 12, 2014.
For more information about the 2015 ICESat-2 Mission Hexacopter Engineering Challenge, visit http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Questions about this challenge should be directed to hexacopter challenge coordinator Brian Campbell at Brian.A.Campbell@nasa.gov.
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Call for Papers — The NACA Centenary: A Symposium on 100 Years of Aerospace Research and Development
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, or NASM, and NASA’s History Program Office invite proposals for papers to a special symposium commemorating a century of aerospace research and development. On March 3, 1915, the U.S. Congress established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, “to separate the real from the imagined and make known the overlooked and unexpected” in the quest for flight. In honor of that centennial, NASA and NASM will team to present a symposium on the history of the NACA. This historical symposium will be held in Washington, District of Columbia, on March 3-4, 2015.
All are invited to submit proposals. Major themes to be addressed in the symposium include:
— The NACA organizational and institutional structure and evolution.
— The NACA model of public/private partnerships in aerospace research.
— The NACA’s contributions to aerospace theory, ground research and flight operations.
— Individual projects.
— Broad themes in the history of the agency.
— Research projects versus other structural attributes.
— The social, economic and/or political history of the NACA.
— The NACA culture and its evolution.
— The relationship of the NACA to other entities, both private and public.
— Innovation in aerospace research.
— Models of partnership.
Possible topics are not restricted to these major themes. All papers are envisioned as scholarly contributions exploring broad thematic issues and questions.
Contributions from international scholars and graduate students with an interest in this history are welcome.
Some travel support scholarships may be available for international scholars and graduate students. Please indicate your interest in a need statement included with your paper proposal.
We intend that a subset of the papers will merit publication.
Proposals for papers should include a title and an abstract, as well as the author’s curriculum vita, and travel support need statement (as appropriate). Please send all proposals, in the form of a 300-word abstract and a brief vita electronically to Dr. William P. Barry, NASA chief historian, at bill.barry@nasa.gov, and Dr. Roger D. Launius, associate director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the National Air and Space Museum, launiusr@si.edu. The deadline for abstract submissions is Sept. 15, 2014.
Decisions about acceptance and support will be made by Nov. 1, 2014.
For more information about the Call for Papers, visit http://www.nasa.gov/
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MAVEN Workshop — Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission is set to arrive at Mars on Sept. 21, 2014. Celebrate the arrival with the MAVEN education team at this one-day workshop about the mission and the accompanying elementary program, Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore! The program features six standards-based lessons that combine science, literacy and art to help students understand planetary habitability and the MAVEN mission.
The workshop will include dinner and lectures by MAVEN scientists. Following the workshop, participants will watch the NASA TV broadcast of the MAVEN spacecraft’s arrival at Mars.
The workshop will take place on Sept. 21, 2014, in Boulder, Colorado. Registration is $20 and includes coffee, snacks and dinner. Applications are due Sept. 15, 2014, but space is limited so interested educators are encouraged to apply early.
For more information about the workshop and to apply online, visithttp://lasp.colorado.edu/home/
Please email any questions about this opportunity to epomail@lasp.colorado.edu.
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Second Annual Astrobiology Symposium at the Library of Congress
The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress in the District of Columbia, in cooperation with the NASA Astrobiology Program, is hosting the second annual Astrobiology Symposium on Sept. 18-19, 2014.
“Preparing for Discovery: A Rational Approach to the Impact of Finding Microbial, Complex or Intelligent Life Beyond Earth,” is a two-day symposium featuring panel discussions, lectures and audience question-and-answer sessions. Panel members include professors, scientists, philosophers and astronomers representing various universities and organizations including NASA, the SETI Institute and the Library of Congress.
The event is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required.
For more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/
Questions about the symposium should be directed to Jason Steinhauer atjste@loc.gov.
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Send Your Name to the Asteroid Bennu!
NASA is inviting people around the world to submit their names to be etched on a microchip aboard a spacecraft headed to the asteroid Bennu in 2016.
The “Messages to Bennu!” microchip will travel to the asteroid aboard the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft. The robotic mission will spend more than two years at the asteroid, which has a width of approximately 1,760 feet (500 meters). The spacecraft will collect a sample of Bennu’s surface and return it to Earth in a sample return capsule.
The deadline to submit names online is Sept. 30, 2014. Participants who submit their names to the “Messages to Bennu!” campaign will be able to print a certificate of appreciation to document their involvement.
For more information and to submit your name, visit http://planetary.org/bennu.
Participants who “follow” or “like” the mission on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/
For more information about the OSIRIS-REx mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex and http://osiris-rex.lpl.arizona.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to tps@planetary.org.
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OSSI NIFS — Spring 2015 Opportunities
NASA’s One Stop Shopping Initiative for Internships, Fellowships and Scholarships, or OSSI NIFS, strives to provide high school students and undergraduate and graduate students at all institutions of higher education access to a portfolio of internship, fellowship and scholarship opportunities offered by NASA mission directorates and centers.
Visit the Office of Education Infrastructure Division LaunchPad to find information on internship, fellowship and scholarship opportunities. The site features the OSSI NIFS online application for recruiting NASA interns, fellows and scholars. This innovative system allows students to search and apply for all types of higher education NASA internship, fellowship and scholarship opportunities in one location. A single application places the student in the applicant pool for consideration by all NASA mentors.
Applications for spring 2015 opportunities are due Oct. 12, 2014.
To find available opportunities and to fill out an online application, visithttps://intern.nasa.gov/index.
Inquiries about OSSI NIFS should be submitted via https://intern.nasa.gov/oic/.
