May 4, 2005
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
-- SMALL BODIES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM WORKSHOP (3-12)
-- SPACE SCIENCE EXPLORERS SERIES LAUNCHED (K-12)
-- NASA NEWS ON THE GO
-- HUBBLE CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY
-- MARS AND THE ANTARCTIC
A few spaces are still available to take part in the May 7 workshop, "Rocks, Pebbles and Ice: Small Bodies in the Solar System." Here's your chance to learn how to conduct a classroom debate on whether Pluto is a planet, identify the various types of meteorites by examining samples, and explain the "where, when and why" of meteor showers. From asteroid impacts, past and future (What is this about 2029?) to making "edible meteorites", this workshop will be a lively romp through content and activities on the small (but important) objects that permeate our solar system.
Join Educator Resource Center Director Julie Lutz and Aerospace Education Specialist Brian Hawkins from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Condon Hall 311, just off the University of Washington Seattle campus. The registration fee is $10, including lunch and UW parking pass. Seven clock hours are available for $15. Both are payable at the workshop. Participants will explore the nature of comets, learn about upcoming NASA comet missions like Deep Impact (July 2005) and Stardust (January 2006), and try out popular classroom activities like "Comet on a Stick" and "Edible Meteorites," as well as examining real meteorite samples borrowed from the UW Astronomy Department's meteorite collection.
For more information and registration, contact
Who are NASA's Space Science Explorers? They are the scientist studying black holes in distant galaxies, and the engineer designing robotic instruments that will probe hard-to-reach planets. But explorers also include the teacher explaining the mysteries of the cosmos and the student wondering if life exists anywhere besides earth.
This new monthly series appearing on the NASA portal will introduce the NASA Space Science Explorers, young and old, with a variety of backgrounds and interests. The first article features Marilyn Lindstrom, formerly a meteorite curator at NASA's Johnson Space Center, who has had an asteroid and an Antarctic ridge named after her. Articles are written for different grade levels (see the URLs below).
Using an iPod or any portable MP3 player, you can now explore the Universe while driving, jogging, waiting in line ... just about anywhere. It's easy: tune in to the Science@NASA podcast. The podcasts provide audio versions of the same great stories available on their website and through their e-news broadcasts, stories on topics like prospecting for lunar water and solar eclipses on the moon.
For more information, go to
During the 15 years NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has orbited the Earth, it has taken more than 700,000 photos of the cosmos; images that have awed, astounded and even confounded astronomers and the public.
Mural-sized celestial images of the Eagle Nebula and Whirlpool Galaxy were unveiled in April at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. In our state, the images will be displayed at the Pacific Science Center and the Palouse Discovery Science Center in Pullman. Electronic image files and additional 15th anniversary information are available at:
"Antarctic Guide to Martian Weathering" explores the similarities between the soil chemistry of Antarctica's Dry Valleys and that of Mars.
Soils in the Antarctic Dry Valleys contain traces of silicate alteration products and secondary salts much like those found in Martian meteorites. The guide is available at the Planetary Science Research Discoveries (PSRD) website, an educational site sharing the latest research on meteorites, planets, and other solar system bodies being made by NASA-sponsored scientists.
For a copy, 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.