April 13, 2009
WSGC Newsletter for Educators
The Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium's electronic newsletter for teachers provides curriculum ideas, Internet links and other resources to help you better meet the Washington EALRs and the National Science Education Standards.TABLE OF CONTENTS
-- EARTH REVEALED EVENTS
-- ARE YOU A TOP STAR? (K-12+)
-- ARCTIC LITERALLY ON THIN ICE
-- EARTH DAY PHOTO CONTEST (5-8)
-- CASSINI SCIENTIST FOR A DAY (5-12)
-- NASA ON FACEBOOK (9-12)
On May 2, the Pacific Science Center will host a day-long special event showcasing Earth, with over twenty hands-on activity stations all facilitated by local scientists.
Activities will take place from from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Visitors can find out how scientists use satellites to understand hurricane intensity, the Northern Lights, Earth's atmosphere and more. Participants include researchers from UW, Microsoft, the National Weather Service and others.
Throughout the month of April, PSC will also hold "research days" on Thursdays and Saturdays for the public to meet with scientists in a conversational setting and engage in hands-on activities related to their research.
For the April schedule and other information, see
For almost 20 years, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has inspired and engaged educators and students of all ages. Now educators (formal and informal) are invited to submit their best examples of using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for science, technology, engineering or mathematics education.
The contest is open to individuals, and teams of up to four people, who are U.S. citizens and are at least 21-years-old. Winning entries will be featured online in the Top Stars Showcase, and creators of the top 10 overall winners will be invited to present their entry to other educators nationwide over the NASA Digital Learning Network.
The first submission deadline is May 29. For more information, visit
The latest Arctic sea ice data from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center show that the decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice cover is continuing. New evidence from satellite observations also shows that the ice cap is thinning as well. For more information and images, go to
Earth is a system of connected parts -- air, land, water and life. Each part is constantly changing, and affecting and being affected by the other parts. The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is holding an Earth Day photo contest, asking middle school students to capture the changes in their local environment.
Between April 22-29, 2009, student participants will take a photograph of something that is changing in their local environment, whether it's in the backyard, outside the school, in a local park, or off in the distance toward the horizon. Students will then research and write an explanation of the photograph (400 words or less).
The top three winners will receive a digital camera, digital photo frame and digital photo keychain, respectively. Entries must be received by e-mail or postmarked by May 9.
For more instructions, visit
Cassini Scientist for a Day is a national essay contest for U.S. students in grades 5-12. The students choose one of three images taken by Cassini and write a 500-word essay as to why they think it will yield the best science results.
Winners and their classes participate in teleconferences with Cassini scientists. The competition is divided into three groups: grades 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12. Students can work alone or in teams of up to four students. All submissions must be the students' original work.
Entries must be received no later than noon Pacific time (3 p.m. EDT) on April 30. For more information, go to
NASA Students @ www.nasa.gov is a Facebook account designed to link students in grades 9-12 to NASA missions, scientists and students who have done things with NASA.
The site highlights upcoming competitions, internships, and contests that NASA has open to students in grades 9-12, as well as colleges and universities. For more information, visit
Ideas, comments and Web sites of interest to other teachers should be sent to Irene Svete, newsletter editor, at
If you are not a regular subscriber and would like to receive our newsletter, simply go to UW's Mailman and fill in a subscription form. Concerned about spam? Please note Space Grant does not sell its address lists.