Afterschool Astronomy, Easy and Interesting

In case you missed it, there is something very interesting happening in the sky. A comet named Holmes is in the middle of an outburst, making it easily visible - even in urban areas. It went from magnitude 17 (fainter than Pluto and not visible with binoculars) to magnitude 2.5 (among the brighter stars). This type of astronomical event can be very engaging for kids, if someone reminds them to look up!

There are a number of tools online that can help with amateur astronomy. Each month, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab posts video podcasts highlighting the most interesting things to see in the sky. Google Earth now includes Google Sky, so you can look up as well as down. If you want a free program that takes you even further, Celestia is great!

If you are actually planning to include astronomy in an after-school program, there are several resources that may help. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is a leader in the field of astronomy education and serves as a professional association for many space science educators. ASP sponsors Project ASTRO, which links astronomers with educators, and Astronomy from the Ground Up, workshops for informal educators. NASA has numerous resources, including those collected at the Afterschool Astronomy site and a new "Beyond Einstein Explorers Program" being tested in Washington DC after-school programs that will soon be widely available. Finally, anyone working with high school students and with access to computers might want to learn about the MIT After School Astronomy Program, in which youth participate in actual astronomy research.

More Time for Learning (Another View)

I expressed my thoughts on extended learning days last week. Now, Karen Pittman, who is wiser than I, offers her thoughts.

Link to Forum for Youth Investment

No Time for Science (Video)

An addition to my previous post. Here is a video about the need for more science time in elementary schools.

Bamboo Microscopes

Nature has an article about an organization in India called Jodo Gyan that provides educational services to underprivileged children. One of their products, a bamboo microscope that costs only $4, is attracting particular attention. Not surprisingly, the inexpensive device is in high demand. Microscopes are a great way to engage kids in science - looking at something they can't otherwise see can be very cool. However, making one for $4 could be transformative - now if we can just get some to the U.S.

A quick Google search found that Jodo Gyan considers itself a social enterprise (as opposed to a not-for-profit or NGO). They create products and deliver services to engage kids in learning in effective ways.

Link to Nature article
(Thanks to BoingBoing for the reference)

Baseball and the Evolution of Language

This post has little to do with my usual topic, but it may be of interest to anyone who works with kids or has ever complained about "kids these days" not knowing proper English. As huge Boston Red Sox fan (Go Sox - World Series champs!), I was drawn to this repost on Slate about how they spell S-O-X. Not surprisingly, our current battle with the language of text messaging (or worse, LOLspeak) is not the first time that efforts have been made to simplify the English language. Did you know that Noah Webster was mostly successful at changing irregular words like "gaol" to "jail", but less successful with "group" to "groop"? I was also interested to learn that Teddy Roosevelt tried to replace the "-ed" suffix with "-t". And, thanks to the practice of the day, the Declaration of Independence will always look like it encourages the "Purfuit of Happineff" to me.

So, with technological change comes the evolution of language. I guess those of us who work with children will jus has 2 deal wif it.