December 3-4, 2005 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Educator Conference Pasadena, CA Topic - Comets, Asteroids, and Much More - Small Bodies, The Solar System's New Zoo

Please join scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for an educator conference on these objects. The conference will take place all day Saturday, December 3 and half day Sunday, December 4 at JPL in Pasadena, California. The conference is open to all educators including museum staff. High school students and above may attend. Anyone under sixteen years of age must be accompanied by an adult (parent or teacher). Read more >

November 21, 2005 New Horizons Training Session

Members of the NASA Solar System Educator Program (SSEP), Solar System Ambassadors (SSA), and Museum Alliance were trained on the science and engineering of the mission by key project personnel and have been equipped with mission materials to conduct their own regional New Horizons events and workshops. Co-Investigator, Dr, Fran Bagenal and Deputy Mission System Engineer, Mr. Jim Stratton lead this training session.

SSEP is a network of 59 highly motivated teachers who have been trained on the New Horizons mission and instruments. These educators lead workshops that show other teachers how to successfully incorporate New Horizons' materials and research into their classes. SSA is a public outreach effort designed to work with motivated volunteers across the nation. These volunteers communicate information about NASA's space exploration missions and recent discoveries to people in their local communities. Currently there are 459 ambassadors in 50 states and Puerto Rico trained on the New Horizons mission and instruments. The Museum Alliance is a partnership between NASA's Solar System Exploration Program and museums, science centers, and planetaria across the country to bring the adventure of exploring to students, educators, and the public. It is intended to bring real-time data and current science and technology to museum visitors through visualizations and professional development of the museums' staff.

November 17 & 18, 2005 Lectures: Exploring Pluto Pasadena, CA Topic - First Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt (From Darkness to Light: The Exploration of the Planet Pluto)

Two free public programs in Pasadena, Calif., will offer an overview of the New Horizons mission to Pluto. Pluto is the only planet in our solar system not yet studied by a robotic explorer, but not for long.

Dr. Bonnie Buratti, a New Horizons science team co-investigator from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, will talk about the mission on Thursday evening, Nov. 17, at JPL and on Friday evening, Nov. 18, at Pasadena City College. Thursday's lecture will be webcast live at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/nov05.cfm.

E/PO Presentation at the New Horizons Science Team

During the November 2005 Science Team meeting at Kennedy Space Center, team members had an opportunity to see the New Horizons spacecraft and the Atlas V.

New Horizons Educator Workshop

The cadre of New Horizons educators converged on APL for a 3-day workshop in August. These K-12 master educators were trained on mission science and engineering goals as well as New Horizons curriculum materials, and will carry out their own regional teacher workshops on the mission. The APL workshop included an opportunity to see the New Horizons spacecraft while it was in testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center., and several discussions with key mission scientists and engineers. These teachers will lead the New Horizons National Teacher Workshop at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., during launch week in January.

Summer on Pluto

Undergrads and grad students from across the country took part in hands-on internships during the integration and test phase of the New Horizons and STEREO missions this summer. Participating students were from the NASA Minority University-SPace Interdisciplinary Network (MU-SPIN) and NASA Academy programs. Each student worked side-by-side with a mission team "mentor" for 8 weeks.

March 31, 2005 National Science Teachers Association Conference Dallas, TX Session Title: Voyage to Pluto, Charon and Beyond

NSTA -These events attract over 30,000 attendees annually. At the conventions, teachers may choose from hundreds of workshops, demonstrations and presentations covering every discipline, grade level, and teaching focus.

Featuring - Alexandra Cha, New Horizons Educator in Residence - Glenelg Country School

New Horizons Space Academy

More than 100 Maryland students, from middle schools in Baltimore, Calvert and Prince George's counties, visited the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory on March 10, 2005, for "Space Academy: Mission to Pluto."

The event, latest in the Space Academy series the Lab launched with Comcast and Discovery Networks in 2000, also included a briefing on the planned New Horizons mission to Pluto; a "press conference" with New Horizons team members Hal Weaver, Mark Perry and Alice Bowman; and a chance to peek into the cleanroom where the actual New Horizons spacecraft is coming together.

To learn more about Space Academy visit: www.spaceacademy.jhuapl.edu.

Conduct your own New Horizons Space Academy activities:

• Clyde Tombaugh Discovers Pluto
• Activity I: The Shortest Movie Possible
• Activity II: Where's My Blinking Gum Ball?
• Activity III: Simulated Star Field With "Blinking" Objects
• Activity IV: Find Pluto

Click here to view the Space Academy highlights and an interview with New Horizons Engineer Jim Stratton.

---

November 18, 2004 To Pluto and Beyond! Maryland Science Center - Baltimore, Maryland New Horizons Teacher Thursday Program

The Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission seeks to help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of planet Pluto and its moon, Charon. The mission also expects to visit one or more comet-like Kuiper Belt Objects.

Featuring -Alice Bowman, Mission Operations Manager - JHU/APL Kerri Beisser, Alexandra Cha, New Horizons Education and Public Outreach Manager - JHU/APL

Educators can visit FREE the SpaceLink Update Center once a month for a special evening of astronomical activity. From September to June, SpaceLink offers informal introductions to the latest space science and astronomy developments beginning at 6:30 PM. The format includes a presentation from a leading scientist, followed by a related practical application/activity designed for classroom instruction. Time is available afterward for informal conversation with the speaker, as well as to meet other educators and explore SpaceLink. Teachers attending ten Teachers' Thursdays programs earn one Maryland State Department of Education Continuing Professional Development Credit. The evening concludes at 8:00 PM with an invitation to visit the rooftop Crosby Ramsey Memorial Observatory to view the Moon, planets, and stars with our refurbished Alvan Clark telescope, weather permitting.

---

	August 5-8, 2004 NASA's Solar System Educators Program Institute Salt Lake City, Utah
The Solar System Educators Program (SSEP) is a nationwide network of 57 highly motivated teachers who lead workshops that show other teachers how to successfully incorporate NASA materials and research into their classes. The SSEP educators were trained on the New Horizons Mission. Featuring - Fran Bagenal Science Team - University of Colorado and Alice Bowman Mission Operations Manager - JHU/APL

---

	June 28- July 9, 2004 Maryland Summer Center for Space Science Education The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory - Laurel, Maryland Sponsored by the Maryland State Department of Education.
New Horizons was one of the topics of this two week camp as students break into mission teams to design their own missions. This program is for 30 rising 6th and 7th gifted and talented students. It includes hands-on activities as well as tours of APL and session with APL scientists and engineers to help the students design their own mission ideas.

---

June 28- July 28, 2004 NASA OSS Meeting Chicago, Illinois A workshop to foster broader participation in NASA Space Science mission and research programs. New Horizons Education and Public Outreach Poster session offered by Kerri Beisser, New Horizons Education and Public Outreach Manager

---

	April 2, 2004 National Science Teachers Association Conference Atlanta, Georgia Session Title: Voyage to Pluto, Charon and Beyond
NSTA -These events attract over 30,000 attendees annually. At the conventions, teachers may choose from hundreds of workshops, demonstrations and presentations covering every discipline, grade level, and teaching focus. Featuring - Alexandra Cha, New Horizons Educator in Residence - Glenelg Country School and Kerri Beisser New Horizons Education and Public Outreach Manager - JHU/APL

---

July 17, 2004 Maryland Science Center Science Person of the Month -Alice Bowman Maryland Science Center - Baltimore, Maryland

"Remember that even the most well-respected science and math people did not find that all their classes were easy." July's Science Person of the Month is Alice Bowman, Mission Operations Manager for the New Horizons mission to Pluto/Charon at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. SpaceLink, supports the development of careers in science, math, and technology. We believe that "science is not just something you can do; science is someone you can be." The Science Person of the Month program provides visitors the opportunity to meet people involved in cutting-edge research. Find out about their jobs, how they got inspired to follow a career in science, what are their hobbies, and the science moments they remember! Each Science Person answers our questions and makes a personal appearance in SpaceLink at the Maryland Science Center.

---

	January 15, 2004 The New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt! Maryland Science Center - Baltimore, Maryland New Horizons Teacher Thursday Program
Featuring - Hal Weaver Project Scientist - JHU/APL and Kerri Beisser, New Horizons Education and Public Outreach Manager - JHU/APL

---