Mars "Curiosty" landing on August 5

The Mars rover “Curiosity” will land on the red planet on Sunday August 5, 2012.  Here are some great ideas from NASA to get the kids (and adults) in your summer science program excited about this once in a life time event!

• Host a Mars Gazing Party

On August 5th 2012, viewers can observe Mars in the night sky with a telescope or with the naked eye. At sunset, Mars will sit low in the western sky just above the horizon. Viewers will be able to see the orange planet Mars in between Saturn and the bright star Spica. At this point in its orbit, Mars will be roughly 300 million miles away from Earth and the Curiosity Rover will be only hours away from arriving to this distant orange dot in the night sky.

• Get an overview of Mars

Basic Information on Mars

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mars

Mars Image Collection

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/

3D Images

http://mars3d.jpl.nasa.gov/

• Information about the “Curiosity” landing spot

Destination Gale Crater: August 5, 2012 at 10:31 pm PT

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=3852

Gale's Mount Sharp Compared to Three Big Mountains on Earth

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia15292-Fig2.html

National Parks as Mars Analog Sites

http://www.nps.gov/deva/parknews/mars-and-mojave.htm

• Videos

Curiosity Rover Animation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4boyXQuUIw

Building Curiosity: Landing System Drop Test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YasCQRAWRwU&feature=relmfu

Seven Minutes of Terror

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/videos/index.cfm?v=49

• Additional Information

Official Websites:

http://www.nasa.gov/mars

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html

• Tune in to live coverage of the "Curiosity" rover landing

NASA Media Services Information for Curiosity Rover Landing on 8/5/2012

Landing Coverage begins at 12:00 a.m. EST (9:00 p.m. PST) on the NASA TV Cable Channel:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv

Also, lesson plans and training are available at the following website: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/marsforeducators/soi/

http://www.nasa.gov/mars has a Google map for displaying your Mars MSL events!

Happy space exploring, and stay curious!

Oil Spill! Connecting STEM activities to real world problems

I recently had another opportunity to observe a science program in an after school setting, this time at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland, CA.  The rising fifth graders have an hour and a half of STEM programming after lunch every afternoon, and the day I visited they did an activity about cleaning up oil in the ocean.  They worked with trays filled a few inches with water, feathers, straws, cotton balls and sponges.

I think it's especially challenging to lead activities like this, where the materials you have to work with are analogies of what really happens in the real world.  I was impressed with the ways the facilitator drew connections between the activity they were doing and what happens in the real world.

The facilitator started the activity by asking the kids what they already knew about oil spills.  I was struck by how many hands went in the air, and details the kids knew including the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The group discussed what kinds of engineers help solve the environmental problems caused by oil spills - chemical and environmental engineers.

In groups, the kids examined their 'oceans' of water, with oil floating on top.  They discussed and wrote observations in their science notebooks.

The facilitator introduced some terms and definitions and then passed out materials the kids would use to try to clean up the oil.

As kids formulated their plans for working together to get the oil off the feathers and out of the 'ocean', the facilitator passed around photos of actual oil spills and the effects they have on wildlife.  Then it was time to work together to figure out how to use materials to clean up the oil.

During the discussion after the activity, the kids all said that they enjoyed this activity even though it was very difficult to get all the oil out of the water and off of the feathers.  

In order to help kids make connections between the science activities we do after school and science in the real world, here are some things we see quality programs doing:

• Ask kids what they already know about related issues
• Show kids pictures, news articles or videos
• Introduce kids to a scientist who works on the problem in the field
• Take a field trip
• Participate in a citizen science project to help a scientist conduct a study on a related issue

Let us know some ways that your after school science program connects kids to real world science!

Twitter Chat about STEM in Summer Learning

Are you ready for STEM this summer?

The Coalition for Science After School will host a Twitter chat Thursday May 17, 4 PM to 5 PM EDT about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in summer learning.  During this conversation, you will have the opportunity to share your experiences, learn why summer is the perfect time to explore STEM subjects, and hear from experts about resources and best practices.

The chat will feature representatives from NASA's Summer of Innovation (@NASAExplorerSch), The After School Corporation (@expand_school), the National Summer Learning Association (@summerlearning), Coalition Director Carol Tang (@caroltang1) and other special guests from community organizations who are bringing STEM into summer learning experiences, including the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (@CBASS_National). 

To join the chat and see what others are saying:

1. Go to tweetchat.com and search for the hashtag #SummerSTEM.
2. You do not need a Twitter account to follow the chat, but you do need one to comment or ask questions. If you need to set up a twitter account, you can sign up at http://www.twitter.com. It’s free to join and only takes a minute.
3. To join the discussion, sign into TweetChat using your Twitter account and enter your tweets in the box at the top of the page. TweetChat automatically includes the hashtag for you.
4. Each tweet is limited to 140 characters (including the hashtag #SummerSTEM) but feel free to multiple tweets to pose a question or respond to a comment.

The Coalition's Twitter handle is @sciafterschool.  Feel free to submit questions in advance, either by sending us a message on Twitter or emailing them to sarah.elovich@berkeley.edu.  

Looking forward to seeing you on the chat!